Local artists are getting into the holiday spirit. Living Arts of Tulsa is having its Holiday Art Market starting Friday night, Dec. 1. News On 6’s Alyssa Miller was live to give us a festive preview.
Friday, December 1st 2023, 10:22 am
By:
News On 6
TULSA, Okla. –
Local artists are getting into the holiday spirit. Living Arts of Tulsa is having its Holiday Art Market starting Friday night, Dec. 1. News On 6’s Alyssa Miller was live to give us a festive preview.
Dozens of fairs. Hundreds of galleries. Thousands of artists. Tens of thousands of artworks. Hundreds of thousands of spectators. Too many shows and parties and lunches and brunches and diners and toasts and hosts and installations and “activations” to count. Miami Art Week, held the first full week of December each year, is the Super Bowl of contemporary art in America.
How can any one thing possibly stand out amidst all that commotion?
Most don’t, a rare few do.
One of those for 2023 is an interspecies art project pairing the legendary pop music group The B-52s with artsy chimpanzees from “Save the Chimps,” a rescue sanctuary located in Ft. Pierce, FL. The collaboration can be seen at this year’s Spectrum Miami art fair, taking place December 6 through 10 at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center.
The group has collaborated over the last six months with 16 creative apes from one of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world, developing an art collection entitled “Wild Planet,” named after the band’s second album. Comprised of 52 acrylic on canvas paintings in various sizes, the artworks, ranging in price between $1,000 and $5,000, will be available for purchase at the fair. Interested parties should act fast, nearly half the collection has already been scooped up by fans prior to the exhibit’s opening.
The B-52s’ interest in animal advocacy goes back years. The group has a decades long association with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and their first hit, 1979’s “Rock Lobster,” is an animal rights anthem.
In a conversation with Forbes.com, The B-52s lead singer and co-founder Kate Pierson explained how she was introduced to “Save the Chimps” by the organization’s events director and friend Dan Mathews. “Save the Chimps” supplies its animals with art making materials as an engagement tool. Not all of them are interested any more than all humans are interested in art making, but for those individuals who are, their pursuit is keen.
Kate Pierson from The B-52s with a canvas she’s readying to send to Save the Chimps for completion … [+]
Save the Chimps
Remove images of uncontrollable primates swinging in cages throwing paint around and rolling in it. Man’s closest genetic relative in the animal world gives thought and consideration to its compositions. Pierson visited the sanctuary in summer of 2022, amazed by the intensity and artistic intention of the chimps painting there.
Pierson was wowed by the brush handling, their focus, and the obvious joy and interest they take in artmaking. The idea for a collab was hatched.
Band members paint the base canvases in various background colors recalling their most popular album covers. They also select the color combinations for the chimps to finish each artwork in their own style during their leisure time. Each piece in the collection has been named after a B-52s song or lyric and is signed by the band.
A limited-edition poster from the collection will also be available to purchase for $50 during the fair. All poster and artwork sales proceeds go to “Save the Chimps” in support of its life-long care for chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, the pet trade and the entertainment industry.
After the crowds have left Art Week, Miami remains one of the top destinations in the world for contemporary art. Highlighting this winter’s presentations is “Gary Simmons: Public Enemy,” opening at the Perez Art Museum December 5 to coincide with Art Week and running through April 28, 2024. “Public Enemy” marks the first comprehensive career survey for Gary Simmons (b. 1964, New York) and features nearly 70 sculptures, paintings, photographs, works on paper, and installations, as well large-scale wall drawings created on-site.
This is not pink flamingo, rum drink, party artwork. Miami may be known for good times, but Simmons philosophy is that the job of an artist is to take viewers out of their comfort zone.
“Art isn’t always a pretty, nice thing,” he says. “Sometimes it needs to punch you in the face.”
Put your mouthpiece in because Simmons’ work does just that.
Gary Simmons, Step into the Arena (The Essentialist Trap), 1994. Wood, metal, canvas, Ultrasuede, … [+]
Whitney Museum of American Art, 2007
Since the late 1980s, Simmons has played a key role in situating questions of race, class, and identity at the center of contemporary art discourse. Notable for his early application of appropriated pop-cultural imagery, Simmons’ work aims to analyze and expose histories of racism in visual culture. Over the course of his career, he has revealed traces of these histories in sports, cinema, literature, music, architecture, and urbanism, while drawing heavily on genres such as hip hop, horror, and science fiction.
“Public Enemy” references early hip hop and the iconic group of the same name, and also the target Black men carry on them in America as an imagined “public enemy” in the minds of many.
Speaking of hip hop, the next must-see on a Miami arts crawl is Art of Hip Hop, an exhibition opening in Wynwood (299 NW 25th St.) December 5 spotlighting the visual unsung heroes of Hip Hop culture including photographers, album cover artists, graffiti visionaries, and logo designers.
The inaugural exhibition, From the Bronx to the Beach, will showcase rare vintage ephemera ranging from hip hop’s first New York City DJ, Kool Herc, to Miami’s own pioneer Uncle Luke. On display are the works of famed hip hop photographers alongside hip hop album covers. The exhibition also shines a special spotlight on Miami’s own hip hop history, capturing it through the lenses of local historian and photographer Derick G and photographer Esdras T. Thelusma.
More local history comes alive at the Historic Hampton House Museum of Culture & Art, located within a former Green Book hotel. The Green Book was a travel guide for African Americans during Jim Crow with information on what restaurants, hotels and attractions were safe for Black travelers.
The museum debuts “Gimme Shelter,” its first art exhibition, on December 5. Featuring over 25 artists including superstars Derrick Adams, Nick Cave, Charles Gaines, Howardena Pindell and Carrie Mae Weems, the show highlights how shelter and safety are integral to cultural production and collective creation.
MIAMI, FL – MAY 12: The restored Historic Hampton House is seen where in the 1960s, the Hampton … [+]
Getty Images
Also opening just in time for Art Week, an all-new Museum of Sex housed in a 32,000-square-foot converted warehouse in the Allapattah district. The Museum of Sex New York flagship debuted in 2002, and its first satellite location promises to bring the same commitment to preserving, presenting, and celebrating the cultural significance of human sexuality to Miami.
The Museum of Sex in Miami opens with the first U.S. solo museum exhibition for pioneering Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, a retrospective look at the design and marketing of sexual health products from the 1920s to today, and an enhanced edition of the museum’s blockbuster installation “Super Funland: Journey into the Erotic Carnival.”
Lastly, enjoy Miami’s perfect winter temps by perusing art along The Underline, another idea imported from New York.
Meg Daly founded The Underline in 2013 after a bike accident with the purpose of transforming the underutilized land below Miami’s Metrorail into a 10-mile linear park, urban trail, and public art destination recalling New York’s High Line. The Underline has become the fastest moving project of its size in the country, raising over $140 million in support, and one of the most visited and appreciated sites in Miami as a real effort in making the city more resilient and connected.
Enjoy The Underline’s developing art trail beginning at the Brickell Metrorail Station North Entrance (SW 1st Avenue & SW 10th Street, exit north).
Brickell, FL, USA – September 26, 2021: Photo of the new Underline Brickell Miami Downtown
getty
Charles City Arts Center Assistant Director Karl Haglund joined the morning show for Community Conversations where he spoke about the upcoming Holiday Art Market, along with December after school art classes and more.
For more details on Arts Center events and activities, go to CharlesCityArts.org.
Honoring JPMorgan Chase’s Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and hosted by actress and comedian Cecily Strong, the event raised a record-breaking $8.2 million for the nonprofit’s national social impact campaigns
NEW YORK, Dec. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — On Thursday, November 30, the Ad Council, America’s leading organization harnessing the power of communications for social change, held its Annual Public Service Award Dinner. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, was honored for his exceptional contributions to corporate citizenship, including his support for numerous Ad Council campaigns. Grammy Award-winning artist Brittany Howard was recognized by the organization as a “Champion of Good” and performed “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at the event hosted by actress, comedian and “Saturday Night Live” alum Cecily Strong. The Dinner also featured live performances from the Brooklyn United Evolution Drumline and the LA CAN Freedom Singers from “America’s Got Talent.” The Annual Dinner was held at the Glasshouse in New York City and raised a record-breaking $8.2 million to support the Ad Council and its national social impact campaigns.
Attended by prominent executives from the media, marketing, advertising and technology industries, the Annual Public Service Award Dinner recognizes the organizations and individuals who support the Ad Council and its social impact efforts. This year’s dinner theme was “Together for Tomorrow” and was co-chaired by Carla Hassan, Ad Council Board Member and CMO of JPMorgan Chase, and Diego Scotti, Ad Council Chair and General Manager, PayPal Consumer Group and Global Marketing. JPMorgan Chase and Verizon were Diamond sponsors for the event. Platinum sponsors included Adobe, Amazon Ads, Disney, Google, IPG, Meta, TikTok and WPP. Gold sponsors included Comcast Advertising, NBCUniversal, Netflix and Publicis Media. Silver sponsors included Art & Science, Deloitte, Droga5, Fox, GroupM, Huntsman Mental Health Institute, iHeartMedia, Johnson & Johnson, MediaLink, Northwell Health and Salesforce. In addition, Art & Science, iHeartMedia and NBCUniversal served as the evening’s Entertainment Sponsors and Adobe as the Creative Content Sponsor. TikTok sponsored the “For You” Carpet, Google sponsored the Cocktail Reception and Meta sponsored the After-Party. Spirits were donated by Diageo.
“The Annual Dinner is an amazing opportunity to not only celebrate the impactful campaigns that have ignited positive change across the nation, but also honor the incredible individuals behind them,” said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council. “As we come together to recognize all that we have accomplished, I look forward to the future, where we will continue driving meaningful progress with the compassion and purpose that define our work.”
Jamie Dimon was presented with this year’s Public Service Award for his role running a healthy and vibrant company while helping to create a more inclusive economy for their company’s employees and the customers and communities they serve. JPMorgan Chase has been a trusted and active partner of the Ad Council since 1960, helping to drive significant impact on key issues such as skills development, COVID-19 vaccine awareness, saving for retirement and more. Additionally, under Dimon’s leadership, JPMorgan Chase has used its business expertise and resources, philanthropy and the skills of its more than 300,000 employees to make investments and develop business solutions that help to create a stronger and more inclusive economy. This includes a historic investment in Detroit’s comeback from bankruptcy that has become a model for how business, community and government leaders work together to solve challenges; helping people with criminal backgrounds through hiring and public policy; a significant business investment to advance racial equity; and employee and community programs that underscore why the future of work is about skills, not just college degrees.
The event also highlighted partners who not only have been impacted by the issues the Ad Council addresses, but who are also on the ground, working alongside the Ad Council to create an impact on those issues. These individuals included:
Videos of Christian Hayne and Tonja Myles were shown at the event, produced by emotion studios and directed by Bryan Rawles, spotlighting the impact they are making within their communities and connection to the Ad Council’s purpose-driven work. This partnership was secured thanks to Adobe.
Cecily Strong is an actress and author best known for her work as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 2012-22. For “SNL,” Strong received back-to-back Emmy Award nominations in 2020-21 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Critics Choice Award nomination. She earned rave reviews for her notable Judge Jeanine Pirro, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Melania Trump impressions. Strong co-hosted “Weekend Update” alongside both Seth Meyers and Colin Jost. Strong recently starred in the second season of Apple TV+’s hit musical series, “Schmigadoon!,” on which she also serves as a producer. Her memoir, This Will All Be Over Soon, was released in 2021. That same year she made her New York stage debut at The Shed in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and returned to star in the production at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2022. She also co-stars in the upcoming animated feature “Garfield.” Strong has appeared in the films The Female Brain and Paul Feig’s reboot of Ghostbusters, as well as Melissa McCarthy’s The Boss, The Bronze and The Meddler. Additionally, Strong emceed the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Strong was raised in Oak Park, IL and has a B.F.A. in theater from the California Institute of the Arts.
Galvanizing, cathartic, and wildly soul-expanding, Brittany Howard is one of the most essential artists of our time. With five Grammy Award wins and sixteen nominations, Brittany catapulted from her start with Alabama Shakes to a solo career that sees her as a radically idealistic commentator on the state of the human condition. There is a reason that when major artists, awards shows, films and brands look to create a bold cultural moment, they turn to this trailblazing and generous collaborator. Her next record, entitled “What Now” will be released February 2, 2024.
The Brooklyn United Music and Arts Program (BU) is a community-based organization that serves New York City youth. As an art form, marching band combines the elements of musicianship and pageantry and allows each student to participate in an all-encompassing and life changing activities. Brooklyn United is focused on the development of youth through Academic Support, Character Development, Skills Building and Performance Opportunities. It is through these pillars that we strive to build strong, well rounded, healthy, confident and capable young people.
Born in the heart of Skid Row in Los Angeles, the LA CAN Freedom Singers have united to deliver a powerful message that “art has no address” and can be a driving force for generating ideas and solutions to combat homelessness. The LA CAN Freedom Singers have taken their message of hope and endless potential to audiences across the country, captivating them with spirited performances and heartfelt discussions. Their magic was recently on full display on their journey to the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent. Guided by the transformative vision of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the LA CAN Freedom Singers provide a prominent platform that dispels and reshapes the negative narratives that often overshadow communities like Skid Row.
The Ad Council’s Public Service Award Dinner is the organization’s largest fundraising event, with the last Annual Dinner in 2022 raising more than $7.1 million to support the Ad Council’s national social impact programs. Having just completed its 69th year, this event has been honoring corporate leaders for their contributions to public service since 1953. To learn more about the Ad Council, visit adcouncil.org.
The Ad Council
The Ad Council convenes creative storytellers to educate, unite and uplift audiences by opening hearts, inspiring action and accelerating change around the most pressing issues in America. Since the non-profit’s founding, the organization and its partners in advertising, media, marketing and tech have been behind some of the country’s most iconic social impact campaigns – Smokey Bear, A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Love Has No Labels, Tear the Paper Ceiling and many more. With a current focus on mental health, gun safety, the opioid epidemic, skill-based hiring and other critical issues, the Ad Council’s national campaigns encompass advertising and media content, ground game and community efforts, trusted messenger and influencer engagement, and employer programs, among other innovative strategies to move the needle on the most important issues of the day.
To learn more or get involved, visit AdCouncil.org, join the Ad Council’s communities on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X, and view campaign creative on YouTube.
SOURCE The Ad Council
Well, we made it to the end of the year (almost!), and we are back at the Art Angle with our monthly Round Up, where we bring together some of our esteemed reporters to talk about the big stories that are swirling in the air.
Joining host Ben Davis this week to chat are senior editor Kate Brown and senior market reporter Eileen Kinsella.
As always, there is a lot to talk about this month. First up, we’ll discuss the the state of the art market as evidenced by the recent art auctions in New York, ahead of the final crash of art fairs of the year taking place in Miami. We’ll also talk about the state of politics and culture in Italy, which interestingly enough, now involves a conversation about J.R.R. Tolkien, the beloved author of Lord of the Rings. Finally, we discuss artist Anish Kapoor and his Vantablack, ultra-black artworks, which are on view now at Lisson Gallery in New York.
Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
Denmark-based hearing aid med tech GN is teaming with Design Cells and Soundly in a new campaign that explores the inner workings of the ear through “vibrant visuals.”
This consumer-based education campaign is directed at boosting awareness around hearing wellness, showing the complexities of the ear and how we hear, as well as the often-unknown side effects of losing your hearing.
This includes potential neurological deterioration, as untreated hearing loss has in a recent study been linked to an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
That study, called Achieve, was published in The Lancet this year and found that using hearing aids could reduce the risk of developing dementia by up to 48% in high-risk individuals. There are also social implications, as losing hearing can severely impact communication, as well as safety issues on situational awareness.
To highlight all of this, and implicitly plug the need for hearing aids, such as the ones GN markets, the med tech, anatomy animations specialist Design Cells and consumer hearing marketplace company Soundly are joining forces to run “Inside the Ear,” a digital art campaign aimed at “demystifying hearing loss and hearing health,” according to a press release.
The campaign showcases a series of educational videos created by Design Cells to illustrate the complex inner workings of the ear.
The videos show elements of hearing, such as how sounds reach our brain; what noise-induced hearing damage looks like; and what hearing loss looks like inside the ear.
“At GN, our mission extends beyond providing innovative hearing technologies,” said Mirjam van Oort-Lohuis, chief marketing officer at GN Hearing.
“Through campaigns such as “Inside the Ear” we are dedicated to educating and empowering individuals, enabling them to make informed decisions about their hearing health and inspire proactive steps toward achieving better hearing.”
Work by Diana Beltrán Herrera
Every month, Colossal shares a selection of opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. If you’d like to list an opportunity here, please get in touch at hello@colossal.art. You can also join our monthly Opportunities Newsletter.
$1,800 Innovate Grants for Art + PhotoFeatured
Innovate Grant awards two $1,800 grants each quarter to one visual artist and one photographer. In addition, eight applicants will receive honorable mentions, be featured on the website, and join a growing community. International artists and photographers working in any medium are eligible.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST on December 14, 2023.
The Erin Donohue and Family Ceramics Artist ResidencyFeatured
Hosted by the Artists Association of Nantucket, this ceramics residency will bring one artist to Nantucket to teach two five-week classes, one introductory course for the community and a more intermediate one for students and professionals. The program offers lodging, studio space, a $500 travel stipend, and a $2,000 stipend for living expenses and materials.
Deadline: April 5, 2024.
2024 NOT REAL ART Grant for ArtistsFeatured
Six visual artists based in the U.S. and working in any 2D or 3D medium will win a no-strings-attached cash award of $2,000, plus PR and marketing support. There’s no application fee, and you can find out more on Colossal.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PT on January 1, 2024.
Open Calls
Beam Center New Hampshire Open Call (International)
The center seeks proposals for public artworks that will be realized by a community of more than 100 young people at Beam Camp in Strafford, NH. Artists receive a $5,000 award and a $15,000 fabrication budget.
Deadline: 12:00 a.m. ET on December 11, 2023.
BLINK Cincinnati Call for Artists (International)
BLINK, Illuminated by ArtsWave, is calling for artists working in light-based experiential installation, murals, projection mapping, digital art, or animation to submit proposals. BLINK plans to commission 12 to 15 new murals, 30 to 40 temporary lighted installations, and 30 to 35 projection/digital animation installations.
Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Orange County’s Innovation Lab Public Art Call (International)
One or more artists or collaboratives will be selected to create a public work for Orange County’s Innovation Lab in Pine Hills. The total budget is $77,600.
Deadline: December 27, 2023.
Prisma Art Prize (International)
Open to emerging painters and artists, this quarterly competition awards €2,000 in cash and €3,000 in services annually, plus exhibition opportunities. There is a €29 submission fee.
Deadline: January 11, 2024.
Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2025 (United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
This portrait competition is open to all media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, textiles, video, performance art, and digital or time-based art. One winner will receive $25,000 and a commission to portray a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Other prizes range from $1,000 to $10,000, and all finalists will be included in an exhibition. There is a $50 entry fee.
Deadline: Midnight MT on January 26, 2024.
Sony Future Filmmaker Awards (International)
The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards elevates voices that bring a fresh perspective to storytelling. The shortlisted filmmakers are flown to Los Angeles for an exclusive four-day event to gain unparalleled insight into all aspects of the filmmaking process to advance their careers.
Deadline: February 15, 2024.
Grants
The Puffin Foundation 2024 Annual Artist Grant Program (U.S.)
This grant supports projects in fine arts, photography, music, and environmental artistic activism created with public education in mind. Most grants range between $1,200 and 1$,500.
Deadline: December 2, 2023.
2024 Right of Return Fellowship and Frieze Impact Prize (U.S.)
The Center for Art & Advocacy and Frieze partner to present a prize of $25,000 and a chance to exhibit at Frieze Los Angeles. The Right of Return Fellowship is open to formerly incarcerated creatives from every discipline for a grant of $20,000, awarded to six people. The additional Frieze Impact Prize is awarded to one Right of Return Fellowship alumnus or one of the new six fellows.
Deadline: 11: 59 p.m. on December 10, 2023.
NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship (New York)
This $8,000 unrestricted grant is available to artists working in fiction, folk/traditional art, interdisciplinary work, painting, and video/film at any stage of their career.
Deadline: 5 p.m. ET on December 13, 2023.
Newberry Library Artist in Residence Fellowships (International)
The Newberry Library has two fellowships for visual and performing artists, filmmakers, and other humanists. Programs last one month and grant $3,000 stipends.
Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Nordic PhotoBook Award (Norway)
Photographers with a cohesive body of work interested in publishing a book are invited to apply for this Kr 200,000 award to support the production, distribution, and promotion of the work.
Deadline: January 1, 2024.
Booooooom Photo Awards (International)
Photographers are invited to submit images in one of five categories, each with a $1,000 top prize. The winners, plus 20 shortlisted photographers, will be featured in and receive a copy of a special mini-photo publication. It’s free to submit one image, and there is a $15 fee to submit up to ten images in one category.
Deadline: January 12, 2024.
Alden Mason Foundation Award (Washington)
The Alden Mason Foundation offers three prestigious awards created to pay homage to the enduring artistic legacy of Washington-based artist Alden Mason. One award of $12,000 and two runner-up awards of $1,000 each are awarded to exceptional painters.
Deadline: January 13, 2024.
BBA Artist Prize 2024 (International)
Artists working in all themes, mediums, and experience levels are invited to apply for cash prizes of €1,000, €700, or €500, plus the chance for a solo exhibition in 2025 at BBA Gallery in Berlin, Germany. There is a €29 fee if submitted before December 12, then €39.
Deadline: February 19, 2024.
The Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant (International)
The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program provides one-time interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen catastrophic incident and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Awardees typically receive $5,000, up to $15,000.
Deadline: Rolling.
Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund (Ukraine)
Adobe’s Creative Residency Community Fund commissions visual artists to create company projects on a rolling basis. Awardees will receive between $500 and $5,000.
Deadline: Rolling.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (International)
The foundation welcomes applications from actively exhibiting visual artists who are painters, sculptors, and artists who work on paper, including printmakers. Grants are intended for one year and range up to $50,000. The individual circumstances of the artist determine the size of the grant, and professional exhibition history is taken into consideration.
Deadline: Rolling.
Residencies, Fellowships, & More
On::View Artist Residency (International)
Located in the heart of Savannah’s Starland District, this one-month residency provides a free, high-visibility studio for an artist to complete a new or existing project or to research conceptual, material, performative, and social practices. The program is open to artists from around the world working in any medium and includes an exhibition opportunity.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on December 1, 2023.
Foundation House Artist Residency Program (International)
Six residents receive a $500 stipend, a private bedroom and bathroom, meals, and studio space. The residency will run from January 26 to February 4, 2024.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on December 3, 2023.
Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency #193 (International)
This three-week program brings together three mentoring artists from visual arts, literature, performance, and music to lead sessions for a cohort of residents. Each resident receives accommodations and meals.
Deadline: December 3, 2023.
Rhode Island School of Design Movement Lab Fellowship (International)
Two post-graduate researchers working in animation, filmmaking, immersive arts, performance, game arts, dance, puppetry, robotics, or kinetic sculpture will be awarded ten-month fellowships to explore various aspects of movements. Proposed projects should intersect with language, identity, cultures, ecosystems, and/or peoples.
Deadline: December 4, 2023.
Fondation Fiminco Curatorial Residency 2024 (International)
Curators are invited to apply for a three-month residency from March to May 2024 to research, create, and produce an exhibition at Fondation Fiminco’s location in Romainville (Seine-Saint-Denis), France. The curator receives accommodation, a €3,000 research grant, and up to €1,000 for the production of an event.
Deadline: Midnight on December 10, 2023.
Tusen Takk Foundation 2025 Visual Artist Residency (International)
Mid-career and established artists are eligible for these three- to eight-week residences, which provide housing, studio space, a $625 weekly stipend, and transportation. There is a $20 application fee.
Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts Residency (New York)
Artists and writers are eligible for this residency program, which offers $100 weekly stipends, accommodations, studio space, and meals.
Deadline: January 7, 2024.
The Good Hart Artist Residency (International)
Open to artists, writers, and composers at any stage of their career, this residency on the shores of Lake Michigan offers accommodations, studio space, a $500 stipend, and some meals. There is a $25 application fee.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on January 9, 2024.
Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency (International)
Hosted in Joshua Tree National Park, this residency runs for seven weeks and includes accommodations and studio space. There is a $45 application fee.
Deadline: January 10, 2024.
Hayama Artist Residency (International)
Open to artists working in any medium, this four-week residency offers accommodations, a $200 weekly stipend, an exhibition in Tokyo, and a roundtrip flight to Japan. The application fee is $95.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on January 31, 2024.
Arts/Industry at John Michael Kohler Arts Center (International)
Open to all disciplines, this program selects twelve artists each year for three-month pottery and foundry residencies. No experience with clay or cast metal is required, just an interest in pursuing a new body of work and being open to new ideas. Residents receive a $160 weekly stipend, studio space, housing, transportation, industrial materials, equipment, and more.
Deadline: February 1, 2024.
Hunter Moon Homestead Artist Residency (International)
Artists and arts educators working across disciplines are invited to apply to this program in Palouse. Residents receive one- to three-week stays, with lodging and studio space included.
Deadline: Rolling.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article December 2023 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists appeared first on Colossal.
Many strange things happened in the global economy during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, but few as curious as the NFT boom of 2021.
Barely anyone knew what a non-fungible token (NFT) was at the start of that year. By the end of it, more than $40 billion (€36.6 billion) had been spent on blockchain-recorded digital assets and artwork. That made the sector almost as valuable as the global art market itself.
If 2021 was the boom, then 2022 was the bust. In January 2022, the market reached its dizzying height but by September of that year, trading volumes had fallen by a gigantic 97%.
The NFT crash was part of the wider cryptocurrency sector wipeout, which saw an astonishing $2 trillion loss of value.
So, are NFTs simply dead, or is there some kind of future for them?
In early November 2023, OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, announced it was laying off half its workforce. Then there was a bizarre event at a promotional event in Hong Kong for the “Bored Ape Yacht Club,” one of the best-known NFT collections. Dozens of people reported “severe eye burn” after attending the event, which featured heavy use of ultraviolet lighting.
None of that is good news yet there have also been signs recently of a very modest revival in the battered sector, with trading volumes edging up recently after falling steadily throughout 2023.
When the NFT boom took off in the summer of 2021, Andrea Barbon was one of the many people intrigued by the potential of the new innovation.
He quickly created and sold his own collection, a set of computer-generated fractal images.
“This venture sparked in me a profound curiosity and the willingness to delve deeper into NFTs,” Barbon, a finance professor at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, told DW.
“My fascination with the blend of art, technology and finance that NFTs represent motivated me to study them in extensive detail, exploring their potential impact on various sectors and their role in the future of digital ownership and creativity.”
From the start, many were dismissive of NFTs. Bill Gates famously said they were “100% based on the ‘greater fool theory'” — the idea that one can make money through the purchase of overvalued, fundamentally worthless assets as long as there is a “greater fool” who will come along and pay even more.
“Obviously, expensive digital images of monkeys are going to improve the world immensely,” Gates joked in an apparent reference to the Bored Ape collection.
Yet NFTs took off. Perhaps the unique circumstances of the time, when the pandemic meant people around the world were spending unusual amounts of time online and at home, played a part.
Barbon says the cryptocurrency boom, in full flow in 2021, fueled excitement in NFTs while user-friendly platforms such as OpenSea made it very easy for people to buy and trade them.
Then there was the exclusivity factor, cultivated by celebrity purchases and the creation of NFT clubs.
“The allure of NFTs was further amplified by their novelty, the promise of high returns and their role as status symbols within the crypto community,” Barbon said. “This combination of technological innovation, market dynamics and cultural factors created a perfect storm that propelled the NFT boom.”
For Barbon and his colleague Angelo Ranaldo at the Swiss Finance Institute, NFTs represented a fascinating field of study. As part of their academic research, they examined more than 15 million NFT transactions, worth around $18 billion, between January 2021 and September 2022. They came to the conclusion that the whole market represented a bubble.
“We observed a pronounced tendency for bubble-like behaviors in the NFT market,” Barbon said. “This was characterized by rapid price surges, often doubling within days or even hours, followed by steep declines. These fluctuations offered significant returns for investors but also posed substantial risks.”
Something else they noticed was that some investors showed an ability to consistently capitalize on the market’s volatility, making significant amounts of money, while others displayed more reckless behavior.
“The market experienced inflated valuations driven more by speculative fervor than underlying fundamentals,” he found.
Some NFTs have had stunning collapses in value. The Bored Ape collection for example, which became especially popular with celebrities, has lost more than 90% of its value, amounting to several billion dollars. The singer Justin Bieber and the Brazilian footballer Neymar are among those to have spent around $1 million each on Bored Ape NFTs, only to see the value all but disappear.
The fallout from the celebrity NFT craze continues to this day. This week, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was hit with a class-action lawsuit seeking at least $1 billion in damages for his role in promoting NFTs issued by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
As a result, there is deep underlying skepticism about the market. But Barbon says it can still have a future, especially if its returns to its origins as a marketplace for digital artists.
“They are not just a technological novelty but a groundbreaking innovation with practical applications,” he said. “NFTs have revolutionized the market for digital art, providing contemporary artists specializing in digital media a platform to authenticate and monetize their creations.”
He also sees other possible uses for NFTs beyond the art world in realms like digital identity and the ownership of virtual assets.
Yet the bubble and the huge losses incurred means there will be a big question mark over NFTs for a long time to come.
Edited by: Tim Rooks
