Arriving later this month is a brand new season of the Peabody Award-winning Art in the Twenty-First Century series. The landmark tenth season of the longest-running television series on contemporary art premieres September 18, 2020 at 10:00 p.m. on PBS.
Full episodes and segments can be streamed here on Art21.org and Art21.live, as well as on PBS.org and the PBS Video app.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times
Three new episodes feature twelve artists and one collective, charting artmaking in London, Beijing, and regions around the United States-Mexico border.
Included in the new season are Tanya Aguiñiga, John Akomfrah, Phyllida Barlow, Guan Xiao, Anish Kapoor, Liu Xiaodong, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Christian Marclay, Richard Misrach, Postcommodity, Song Dong, Xu Bing, and Yin Xiuzhen.
Where to Watch
Live broadcast
PBS and PBS Video app (U.S.)
Full artist segments
Available the day of each episode premiere at 10pm ET
Full episodes
PBS and PBS Video app (U.S.; available the day of each episode premiere at 10pm ET)
Art21.org (all regions; beginning October 18)
Episode Guide
For the first time in the show’s history, the filmmakers chronicle artists’ responses to an entire bi-national region, the U.S.-Mexico border, where artists create platforms for an assembly of voices to speak. In London and Beijing, artists contemplate disruptions caused by the rapidly changing political and architectural landscapes of their cities.
“London”
Premiered Friday, September 18 at 10:00 p.m.
Buoyed by London’s history of artistic excellence, the artists featured in this hour draw inspiration from decades of British art while contending with the repercussions of colonialism and xenophobia, brought to light at a time of massive political upheaval in the country.
“Beijing”
Premiered Friday, September 25 at 10:00 p.m.
Amid Beijing’s dizzying economic, urban, and cultural transformation, artists have responded to its relentless evolution with urgency and ambition, all the while contending with many centuries of Chinese cultural traditions. This hour witnesses the maturing of a unique contemporary-art hub and follows a multigenerational group of artists who grapple with memory, modernization, and their roles in the global art world.
“Borderlands”
Premiered Friday, October 2 at 10:00 p.m.
A vast geography encompassing open deserts and densely populated metropolises, the region between the United States and Mexico has long been a site of not only political conflict and social struggle but also intense creative ferment. Employing a fresh curatorial and filmmaking approach, the filmmakers connect and juxtapose a group of acclaimed artists—Tanya Aguiñiga, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Richard Misrach, and Postcommodity—as they work along the U.S.-Mexico border, interweaving their stories to chronicle the creative responses to one of the most divisive moments in the history of this area.
Free Digital Programs Offered Worldwide
In conjunction with the premiere of the new season, Art21 will partner with organizations around the world to present free community screenings as part of the long-running Screening Society program.
Screening Society is an international free screening initiative created to increase knowledge of contemporary art, spark dialogue, and inspire creative thinking for a global audience.
In response to on-going safety measures, Art21 reimagined the 2020 edition of Screening Society as a digital-first experience. Screenings will take place online from October 3, 2020 to January 31, 2021.
Learn more about hosting or attending a Screening Society event.
Art21 will also host a series of digital screenings and talks joined by artists from each of the three new episodes. All programs are free and open to the public with registration. Visit our event calendar for listings and registration details.
