Entering into a week where our cultural institutions are shuttered and empty of people, our access to the arts is now directed through a digital portal, Futurecity sets forth to investigate the idea of Digital Placeshaping: a place where the physical world and the virtual world conjoin.
Whilst we have embraced the role of digital as part of our physical world, we have yet to really press upon the virtual commons and delve into how we can make cultural engagement solely for the digital platform.
During this time of disruption, the Futurecity team will share some of the new activities and debate found online and via broadcasting and social media channels triggered by our enforced isolation.
Futurecity Team’s Top Picks
Mark Davy, Founder and CEO
- Invisible Networks, part of New Ways of Seeing series on BBC Radio 4. How is technology changing the way we see? The artist James Bridle reimagines John Berger’s Ways of Seeing for the digital age and reveals the internet’s hidden infrastructure.
Sherry Dobbin, Partner (Managing & Cultural Director)
- The Social Distancing Festival is developed by artists in North America, but designed for global participation and time zones. While it began to populate a viewing programme, on 21 March the Festival announced a featured call to give attention to works that have been put on hold.
Rachael McNabb, Head of Public Art
- “GWA Live: Jordan Casteel” hosted by @thegreatwomenartists virtually celebrates the work of female visual artists. Launching on 25 March is a series of live artist interviews starting with artist Jordan Casteel.
- On 25 March Hauser & Wirth will open “Louise Bourgeois: Drawings 1947–2007,” its first online-only exhibition, with a survey of drawings by Louise Bourgeois, spanning 1947 to 2007. Bourgeois is best known as a sculptor and installation artist, but as the gallery points out, drawing was “a necessary tool to record and exorcise her memories and emotions.”
Ying Tan, Interim Head of Public Art
- #artistsupportpledge – artists have been donating works, no more than £200 each not including shipping in order to support other artists who have lost work, teaching, technical support, gallery work, etc., because of the Covid-19 pandemic
- Kone Foundation invites you to apply for an artist residence that takes place in the artist’s own home – Covid-19 has cleared the calendars of many people working in the arts and this grant will enable them to share and work collaboratively either in the same discipline or different media – this is achieved via a remote connection which includes but is not limited to: presentations, reading groups, chat grounds and afternoon coffee breaks
- The New Yorker has made their coronavirus news coverage and analysis free for all – in remote/virtual world there is still a necessity for satire and good writing!
Andy Robinson, Head of Strategy
- UK artist Nils Norman is reaching via Instagram out to art students everywhere to offer online/IG crits. Alongside his work as an artist across the disciplines of public art, architecture and urban planning, Nils is a guest lecturer and speaker in art schools and academies in the UK and Europe and is a mentor on the fine arts department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam.
Rachel Hutchison, Projects Controller
- Oregon-based illustrator Carson Ellis created the Quarantine Art Club on Instagram where he posts regular prompts, mostly geared towards kids, to challenge people to stretch their own creativity using whatever art materials they have at home.
- Live gigs – just last week, I watched one of my favourite spooky folk bands, Blue False Indigo, give a live concert in their living room. DJ D-Nice is also hosting his ‘Club Quarantine’ dance parties on Instagram – becoming a viral sensation with celebs like Oprah and Michelle Obama dropping into the virtual dance party.
- The Show Must Go OnLine – Actor Robert Myles set up a Shakespearean reading group for professional and amateur actors, collaboratively performing Shakespeare’s complete plays in the order they were written. First up, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, can be viewed on Youtube. Actor friends are setting up their own groups via Houseparty or Zoom, so reach out to your mates to set up your own play reading group.
Chloe Stagaman, Curator
- #ArtFromHome and #MuseuminaMinute: On 23 March, @artbasel posted an #ArtFromHome prompt to create your own Sol Lewitt wall-grid inspired by Paula Cooper Gallery’s online viewing room. And Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center @cincycac has an ongoing stories project called “Museum in a Minute” with prompts and creative at-home projects. I particularly like these initiatives because, after spending the day working virtually, I can shut my laptop and continue to think creatively offscreen.
Yasmin Jones-Henry, Strategist
- @ArtGirlRising is launching an online platform that will be providing 5 online courses hosted by industry professionals. E.g. Topic 1: “Creating Community; Tips and tools for Creating a Following for Your Art” / Topic 4: “Changing the Narrative of the Struggling Artist: Building a Sustainable Art Career.”
George Kekatos, Projects Coordinator
- The Biennale of Sydney announced that it will close its twenty-second edition, which opened to the public on March 14 and will move the entire exhibition online. This year’s edition is titled “NIRIN,” which means edge in Wiradjuri and is an artist- and First Nations-led event. The virtual Biennale will comprise live content as well as walkthroughs, podcasts, interactive Q&As, and curated tours.
Diana Juris, Researcher
- UNESCO library – the world’s richest digital library, not eminently literary but above all historical, made up of anecdotes, rare documents, films and photographs. A great way to discover cultural treasures from around the world.
Elen Salina, Digital Communications Coordinator
- Time Sensitive Podcast by Slowdown – innovators from various fields talk about their practice through the lens of time. Come to hear their life stories, stay for the curious observations on time, as we all learn how to slow down.
- Forest 404 BBC Radio 4 Drama – immersive sci-fi drama in which forests have been erased from history; produced in conjunction with an experiment assessing the effects that natural sounds have on mental health and well-being.
Read our full Digital Culture List here (updated daily)
Read Futurecity Partner Sherry Dobbin’s thought piece on Digital Placeshaping here
Cover photo: Kaws via @AcuteArt_ Instagram