Art21 is celebrating a significant milestone in 2018—it’s our 21st anniversary. Today we’re proud to premiere a debut film, our first in the new year: a rare, exclusive interview with legendary artist Barbara Kruger. She reflects on her beginnings as an artist and discusses her most recent projects: a site-specific installation in a New York City skatepark commissioned by Performa, and an immersive room-wrap at Sprüth Magers gallery in Berlin.
Kicking off a year-long celebration of our 21st anniversary, this film is the first in a series of five premieres this winter, featuring artists Raúl de Nieves, Doreen Garner, Abigail DeVille, and Jack Whitten. Our winter programming also includes a themed issue of the Art21 Magazine inspired by Kruger’s direct approach to interacting with the world around us, and in particular those places for communication outside of museum and galleries. Launching this Friday and entitled “Whose Public?”, the issue will include a special interview with Kruger accompanying her new film.
“Something to really think about is what makes us who we are in the world that we live in,” says Kruger in today’s premiere, “and how culture constructs and contains us.” We hope our programs inspire you to consider our shared spaces this year—both physical and digital, cultural and political—and expand on their limitless possibilities.
New Video Featuring Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger: Part of the Discourse
Premiered January 24, as part of the Art21 digital series Extended Play
While sharing her earliest influences and what led her to become an artist, Barbara Kruger explains the origins of her 2017 Performa commission, Untitled (Skate), a site-specific installation at Coleman Skatepark in New York City’s Lower East Side.
“Money talks. Whose values?” says Kruger, quoting some of the panels installed in the skatepark. “These are just ideas in the air and questions that we ask sometimes–and questions that we don’t ask but should ask.”
Event: Film Premiere & Talk with Doreen Garner
Join Art21 on February 5 at the Ace Hotel New York for the premiere of an upcoming film from our New York Close Up digital series.
The film features artist Doreen Garner as she prepares for her recent exhibition at Pioneer Works, entitled White Man on a Pedestal. Garner’s sculptures and performance explore the medical history of Dr. J. Marion Sims, who has been canonized as ‘The Father of Modern Gynecology,’ despite the savage procedures he performed on enslaved women without anesthesia or consent.
The world premiere screening of the film will be followed by a conversation with the artist. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.
Image: Artist Doreen Garner at work. Production still from the Art21 digital series, New York Close Up. © Art21, Inc. 2018.
Application Now Open for the Upcoming Year of Art21 Educators
Last week we were pleased to open the application process for the eighth year of our professional development initiative, Art21 Educators. K-12 teachers from across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are invited to apply for this year-long program, which kicks off with a Summer Institute here in New York City.
Learn more about the program, and apply today.
Featured Playlist
Slow Unfolding Moments
While some artists fill their studios with noise and action, others require a certain quiet—an intimacy facilitated through stillness. For artists whose work and practices exist in this quiet, they tune their energies to develop environments that foster peacefulness for creators and viewers alike.
The artists in this playlist find serenity in silence and ask us to press pause so we can find it too.
Support Art21 & Help Bring Contemporary Art to Classrooms
Teachers around the country utilize Art21’s educational resources to teach the creative and critical ideas of contemporary artists across subjects and disciplines. Art21’s films, Educators’ Guides, and Learning Library are used in classrooms around the world to encourage critical thinking and creative problem solving in students.
A donation, in any amount, directly supports the continued production of our films and educational resources that impact over 2.5 million students every year.
Please donate today to support Art21’s educational initiatives.
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