In a time of so much uncertainty, and since most of us around the world are now staying home, the 1-54 team felt the need to share the online initiatives that resonated with us. Below is a list of our favourite online projects that you can explore from your sofa in Nairobi, your terrace in London or your brand new home-office in New York! Want to support 1-54 and receive monthly newsletters like this one with rounds-up of all new and ongoing online and offline exhibitions on contemporary African art and its diaspora worldwide? Become a 1-54 Friend and join the community!
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MOST EXCITING EXHIBITIONS TO EXPLORE ONLINE
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One of our favourite resource for visiting museums while staying home is the infinite Google Arts & Culture. The platform has partnered with a multitude of museums around the world to offer free and unlimited access to their collections. The Sydney Biennale has announced that the current edition will be made available on the platform after its early closure; we can't wait to explore works by Ibrahim Mahama, Joël Andrianomearisoa and Zanele Muholi, among many others.
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We have been spending way too much time on social media lately, navigating through exciting museum initiatives such as #MuseumsFromHome and #MuseumBouquet ! While on Instagram, don't miss Norval Foundation's new project #60SecondArt, showcasing daily videos about one artist or artwork.
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Another great way to spend time and feel like you're travelling the world from home is to explore the series launched by the online platform Contemporary &: Installation View #MuseumShutDown, showcasing images and videos of dozens of exhibitions held at galleries and art centers throughout the world. Read more about the initiative here.
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Contemporary & #MuseumShutdown
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We are also delighted to see that so many of the galleries and art centers we work with have been coordinating great online exhibitions and launching digital projects. Here is a list of exciting projects to check out: - Scroll down the online viewing room for Wura-Natasha Ogunji that Fridman Gallery has published on their website, and don't miss an excerpt of her performance Will I still carry water when I am a dead woman? (2013) on the same platform. - The online presentation of This is Uganda, a solo exhibition by Collin Sekajugo, presented by Sulger Buel Gallery, is available. - October Gallery ( @octobergallery) and its Education Department ( @og_education) are starting a weekly #CreativeChallenge on Instagram for everyone at home. This week's challenge is inspired by artist Benji Reid. See here to get started. - Magnin-A is presenting their current exhibition, What dreams are made of, on Artsy and will be posting two live interviews on Instagram every week, inviting the artists working with the gallery to discuss their work ( @galerie_magnin_a). The first interviewee was Joseph Obanubi, the second will be Omar Victor Diop.
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What dreams are made of, presented by Magnin-A on Artsy
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Afikaris' Dialogues online exhibition
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- Subscribe to Loft Art Gallery's recently launched weekly newsletters which focus on one artwork or artist presented by the gallery. The first one highlighted Joana Choumali's work. The gallery is also posting quotes from their artists on Instagram ( @loftartgallery), focusing on how this period is inspiring them. - Galerie Nathalie Obadia has launched a similar project, and will be highighting one artwork in its weekly newsletter from now on; the first one of the series was sent on 26 March and showcased the series Au réveil, il était midi, by artist Carole Benzaken. - Galerie Cécile Fakhoury has also launched a weekly newsletter, entitled 'Edition Spéciale', sent on Fridays, gathering information about the gallery's artists and exhibitions. In the first one, they shared the full catalogue of the exhibition Innocente, by Dalila Dalléas Bouzar. - The online viewing of Curtis Talwst Santiago's installation at The Drawing Center, Can't I Alter, is now available.
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The Drawing Center's online viewing of Curtis Talwst Santiago's exhibition
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- De Buck Gallery will soon be launching a social media series called De Buck Gallery Voices on their Instagram ( @debuckgallery), an interview collection that will feature intimate audio clips of artists speaking about their work and process from their studios. - Berman Contemporary will be publishing virtual tours of their upcoming exhibitions, and has already made available a virtual tour and walkabout with the artist of Gold, Guns and Paradise, an exhibition by Juan Stockenstroom curated by Els van Mourik. - Addis Fine Art has published beautiful installation shots of their current exhibition, Liberty, by sculptor Adiskidan Ambaye, taken in their Addis Ababa gallery. - Galerie Le Sud is posting video content dedicated to artworks every week on their Instagram ( @galerielesud), with close ups on the work and technique. - Le 18, an art center in Marrakech has launched a new project entitled Une Quarantaine de Notes, where anyone can send notes, sketches, to-do-lists, oral stories, songs, music, recipes, playlists, photographs, manifestos, videos, short-movies and more to le18marrakech@gmail.com to be featured on a dedicated section of their website. A selection of notes will also be selected to feature in a publication and potential exhibition at Le 18 in the future. More info...
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Le 18's Une Quarantaine de notes online project
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EXPLORE 1-54 NEW YORK ONLINE
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Read your 1-54 emails and follow us on social media to discover the online version of 1-54 New York 2020 that we are working hard to make happen! Start by exploring the 1-54 website, where all artists biographies have been made available, along with an image of their work and details about the gallery presenting their work. Don't miss this opportunity to read through this precious content and learn more about the artists exhibited at the fair. We are delighted to announce that 1-54 New York 2020 will be made available via an Artsy online VIP preview on 4-5 May, before the edition is open to navigation to all from 6 May. You will be able to explore the entire fair online and enquire about works directly on the platform. 1-54 will also be publishing regular content on its website and social media channels from now and until the fair (curators and artists interviews as podcasts, live videos of artists studio visits and discussions with them about their practice during such a challenging time, written pieces, and more). Find us here: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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1-54 New York 2020 website: discover all exhibited artists biographies
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OUR FAVOURITE LISTS BY THE ART NEWSPAPER
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A very useful resource during confinement, The Art Newspaper, has curated great lists of things to watch, listen to or do during social distancing times: - Artful resources to keep kids entertained and educated at home ( read here); - Some video art to enjoy at home under coronavirus isolation ( read here); - Fill your ears with art: the top culture podcasts to listen to during coronavirus lockdown ( read here); - The top online museum and art tours to enjoy from home ( read here); - The top 6 hashtags to follow now as the art world moves onto social media ( read here).
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FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR ARTS ORGANISATIONS
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Extremely useful information about grants and loans in the UK, US, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy to help organisations and individuals in the art world recover from the COVID-19 crisis can be found here.
For NY based organisations, another helpful resource is the New York Foundation for the Arts website, listing all available emergency grants. Explore here...
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In the UK, Arts Council England has announced a £160m emergency response package to support individual artists, freelancers and cultural organisations. This will help individuals and organisations focus on two things: sustaining their livelihoods and businesses, and developing creative responses to the COVID-19 crisis, to help buoy the public for its duration. The emergency response package will comprise of £20m for creative practitioners and freelancers, £50m for organisations who aren’t in our National Portfolio and £90m for National Portfolio Organisations. Read more...
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#ArtistSupportPledge, an initiative set up by the Sussex-based artist Matthew Burrows, is offering a self-sustaining lifeline to an ever-expanding number of fellow artists across the world. The concept is simple: artists are invited to post pictures of their works for sale for £200 or less on Instagram using the hashtag #ArtistSupportPledge. Every time an artist makes £1,000 in sales they then pledge to plough back £200 on purchasing the work of another artist using the hashtag. There are no enforcements, it is a system based on trust. Read more...
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And last but not least, follow 1-54 team's favourite Instagram accounts for a good laugh in these challenging times: The Art Gorgeous ( @the_art_gorgeous), Art Handler Magazine ( @arthandlermag) and the notorious Jerry Gogosian ( @jerrygogosian) who has launched a super exciting podcast series with top personnalities in the art world.
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Stay safe, and stay tuned!
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1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair6 - 10 May 2020, online NY edition available on Artsy7 - 11 October 2020, Somerset House, London February 2021, La Mamounia, Marrakech
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