FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York, New York – Art21 is proud to announce the release of a new film: “Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo): Radical Transparency” premiering Wednesday, October 2nd at 12:00 p.m. ET on Art21.org and YouTube. The sixth 2024 release of Art21’s digital film series, New York Close Up, “Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo): Radical Transparency” explores the artist’s experience living in the New Museum during an exhibition. Watch the trailer.

For her New Museum exhibition Nothing New (2023-2024), artist Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo) replicated her green bedroom in the museum and lived there during the run of the exhibition, transforming her most intimate environment into a shared work of art. In this documentary short, we follow the artist as she moves between the real and the performed, sharing her experience of living in this radically public yet deeply personal space.

“I think for me and a lot of other trans girls that I know, the bedroom starts to feel like a sanctuary,” says Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo in the film. “It’s a space to feel safe and maybe not have to deal with what exists in the world.”

“Jade’s art, particularly the conceptual and performance aspects, is rich with the kinds of thematic questions and provocations that inspire much of my own work,” says Drew de Pinto, the film’s director and producer. “We hope the formal experimentation and treatment of space in the film can serve to translate the conceptual foundations of the live performance into the short film format.”

The film will premiere in New York City at Art21’s “Big Night of Shorts,” a celebration of recent Extended Play and New York Close Up films, on Friday, September 27th, at 7:00 p.m. Following the screening, attendees are invited to stay to toast and mingle with the artists and filmmakers. $12 Tickets and more information can be found at art21.org/big-night-of-shorts.

Tune in to the digital premiere of “Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo): Radical Transparency” on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET at Art21.org and on Art21’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/art21org. To learn more, email Art21 Associate Director of Communications, Hannah DeGarmo, at [email protected].

About New York Close Up

New York Close Up (NYCU) is devoted to capturing early career artists living and working in New York City. NYCU films have been accepted and honored by over 100 film festivals, including the BlackStar and DOC NYC film festivals, as well as the Academy Awards-qualifying, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. NYCU films have also been honored with 2 Webby Award nominations and 8 Vimeo Staff Picks. Most recently, NYCU films have been accepted at the 2022 Frameline, Fullframe Documentary Film Festival, Miami Film Festival, and Rooftop Films.

New York Close Up is made possible with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Every Page Foundation, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Henry Nias Foundation, and individual contributors.

About Art21

Art21 is the world’s leading source to learn directly from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, the mission of Art21 is to educate and expand access to contemporary art, producing documentary films, resources, and public programs. Learn more at Art21.org.

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Press Contact

Hannah DeGarmo
Associate Director of Communications, Art21
[email protected]