From the Executive Director
As we look forward to the spring equinox, new filming abounds. Sometimes we plant seeds with artists up to two years before we release a film or educational guide out to all of you. In the last weeks alone, consider the seedlings spread! Our directors and producers (and their cameras) are hitting the road and we feel lucky to be sharing our love of storytelling with so many game-changing artists. New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, California, Puerto Rico, and Italy welcome on-location shoots with Art21, as spring is about to take root.
For those hungry to learn how artists are addressing making work and investigating life in the late stages of a pandemic, worry not. We are amid a wave of new film releases, equally so set on travel and finding meaning in a splintered world of past, present and future. In our latest release, Tommy Kha returned to his hometown with director Jia Li: “I always return to Memphis. Memphis is just that kind of nexus point between mythology and history, and sentimentality and memory. It’s something to be misremembered in a way.”
We love exploring places with artists, and especially all of you. Thank you for helping us in our mission to shine light on some of the most inspiring artists of our time.
Tina Kukielski
Susan Sollins Executive Director and Chief Curator
March 16, 2022
Explore: Feminisms
IMAGE: Carrie Mae Weems in her Syracuse, NY studio, 2011. Production still from the Art21 Extended Play film, “The Kitchen Table Series.” © Art21, Inc. 2011.
Considering and complicating feminist thought and practice, these artists command transformative practices in the face of social, generational, and individual adversities.
Investigate a single domestic space with Carrie Mae Weems, walk a tightrope with Janine Antoni, and create solid forms with liquid materials with Lynda Benglis in Feminisms.
Event: Art as Exchange/Exchange as Art
Join us on March 22nd at 7:30 PM E.T. for an Art21 Virtual Teacher Workshop.
How can students explore contemporary art practices by engaging in collaborative exchanges? Inspired by the participatory strategies of a diverse array of contemporary artists, hear how two alumni of Art21 Educators use exchange in their classrooms.
Presenters will model a variety of flexible, exchange-based art curriculum that are engaging, empowering, fun, and help build creative communities of practice in classrooms.
The program is free and will take place via Zoom.
Marina Abramović embraces fashion
Filmed at her New York office in 2011, Marina Abramović discusses how her relationship to fashion and femininity have evolved over the course of a 40-year career.
“When I said, ‘Okay, I think I am an okay artist. I can really enjoy myself and embrace fashion.’ That was really the turning point for me,” says Abramović in our “Extended Play” episode.
“And that was another liberating thing. I’m not ashamed of this.”
Event: Laylah Ali Artist Talk
Join us from anywhere on March 24, 2022 at 2:00 PM E.T. for a special presentation with artist Laylah Ali.
In celebration of the new Explore area of Art21.org, Art21 will host public programs around the themes, mediums, and narratives collected by Art21 staff. This installment draws inspiration from the artists featured in our “World Building” collection.
A Q&A will follow the presentation with Ali.
The program is free and will take place via Zoom.
Art21 Educators: Application Open
Art21 Educators is an intensive, year-long professional development initiative and learning community. The program is designed to support K–12 educators in any subject area who are interested in bringing contemporary art, artists, and themes into classroom teaching and learning.
The application deadline for the 2022–2023 year of Art21 Educators is March 31, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
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Your donation – in any amount – is vital and contributes directly to the production of films, programs, and education materials, ensuring that resources on contemporary art remain accessible for free on Art21.org.
