Many artists want to create work that has a social impact. Unfortunately, organizing a successful social-change campaign is not often part of an artist’s education. The Art Action Academy (AAA), now in its second year at Queens Museum, helps socially-engaged artists make their work more impactful and better evaluate the effect of their work.
If you are hungry to learn more about about engaging audiences through creative work that has social impact, or if you work with a community organization and want to incorporate more creativity into your work, this is the workshop for you.
Using a range of contemporary examples of organizing and activism from around the world, participants will study the ways cultural creativity has been employed for social change. We will explore ideas from cultural theory to cognitive science to mass communications. We will learn to apply these ideas through a mix of classroom style presentations and practical exercises designed to unlock our imaginations from the prison-house of the possible – and then to figure out how to make the impossible into reality, through new strategies and tactics. The workshop will culminate in a collaborative creative action.
The goal of the AAA is not merely to impart knowledge, but to access, organize and operationalize the creative, cultural and political resources possessed by artists and activists themselves. In brief, the goal of the AAA is to have participants own their method to further develop as successful artists and effective activists.
The Center for Artistic Activism invites artists (and creative practitioners of all kinds) to apply for a six-day, three-weekend Art Action Academy to be held in collaboration with Queens Museum, as part of its Open A.I.R. Artist Services Program.
Participants will commit to attending the Art Action Academy on Sat Oct 7th, Sun Oct 8th, Sat Oct 21st, Sun Oct 22nd, Sat Oct 28 and Sun Oct 29 from 10am-4pm each day.
The Arts Action Academy is a program of the Center for Artistic Activism and will be led by the C4AA co-founders, Stephen Duncombe and Steve Lambert.
Stephen Duncombe is a professor of Media and Culture at New York University. He is the author and editor of six books, including Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy and the Cultural Resistance Reader, and is a life-long activist.
Steve Lambert is a conceptual artist and professor of New Media at SUNY Purchase. His art has been shown everywhere from marches to museums both nationally and internationally, has appeared in over fourteen books, and four documentary films.
The Open A.I.R. Artist Services Program at the Queens Museum draws on the institution’s resources, staff expertise, and networks to provide workshops and lectures that help artists grow their practice, advance their career, and develop sustainable lives as artists.
A video and website of last year’s AAA final collaborative project “Letters from Home”can be found here:
Video: https://vimeo.com/192693552
Website: http://lettersfromhome.nyc/Queens Museum seeks applications from artists and cultural producers living and/or working in Queens to be considered for the 8th iteration of the Queens International. The Queens International is a biennial that focuses on the international within the local via its dedication to the inherently diverse cultural output of of Queens–the most ethnically diverse county in America. Inaugurated in 2001, the International has been a critical and fertile connection between the Museum and the Queens community, increasing dialog and informing broader initiatives. Historically the exhibition has featured artists of all generations who display a steadfast commitment to their artistic practice, and engagement with a locally- and globally- minded artistic community. Among them are many emerging artists* who have since gone on to be internationally recognized.
Past Queens International participants include: Judith Barry, Matthew Buckingham, Alejandro Cesarco, Chen-Chi Cheng, Rosemarie Fiore, Flux Factory, Tommy Hartung, Leslie Hewitt, Oded Hirsch, Zhang Huan, Ryan Humphrey, Emily Jacir, Anna K. E., Jayson Keeling, China Marks, Rachel Mason, John L. Moore, Arthur Ou, Clifford Owens, Ian Pedigo, Alejandro Alamanza Pereda, Liz Philips, Michael Rakowitz, Trevor Shimizu, Javier Tellez, Teng Chao-Ming, and Allyson Vieira. See more at the Queens International 2016 exhibition page.
About Queens International 2018
QI 2018 will continue in the tradition of presenting the artistic vibrancy of the borough through contemporary cultural production, with the curatorial team relying on the perspectives of Queens artists through the open call to help determine the most urgent and pertinent themes of the moment. However, QI 2018 will also be approached as a research project, giving consideration to the history of the International itself–mining the programmatic characteristics, themes, and demographics of the prior exhibitions for insight on the ways Queens, the Queens Museum, and their relationship have changed over time, and positing the forces that have influenced both differences and constancies.
QI 2018 will mark the first time that the International will have a presence throughout the borough, a milestone realized through a partnership with the Queens Library system–itself a community and cultural organization that continues to modulate in response to the changing needs of the population of Queens. In addition to enriching and broadening the impact of the exhibition, this collaboration will expand upon a growing, robust partnership between the Museum and the Library, and herald the future establishment of a Queens Library branch onsite at the Queens Museum.
The call is open to both existing and newly envisioned works and projects. QI 2018 will be curated by Sophia Marisa Lucas, Assistant Curator at the Queens Museum, with collaborators who will be announced along with participating artists in January 2018.
Queens Museum is dedicated to presenting the highest quality visual arts and educational programming for people in the New York metropolitan area, and particularly for the uniquely international residents of Queens. In November 2013, the Queens Museum completed an expansion that doubled its size to 105,000 square feet. The expansion provides an additional 50,000 square feet of space, including a suite of new galleries, artist studios, flexible public and special event spaces, education classrooms, a café, back-of-house facilities and visitor amenities. This light-filled new space, designed by Grimshaw Architects, exemplifies the Museum’s commitment to openness, inclusion, community partnership and the diverse communities of New York City. A second phase of the project will bring a branch of the Queens Library into the Queens Museum.
Queens Library‘s mission is to meet the needs of the community by offering lifelong learning opportunities and ensuring there is a positive impact in the community. Queens Library fulfills its goals by embracing innovation and change. With a history of offering pioneering programs that meet the diverse needs of the most diverse county in the US. The Queens Library serves 2.3 million people from 65 locations. It circulates among the highest numbers of books and other library materials in the country.
Eligibility and details for applying to Queens International 2018:
This is the 8th iteration of the Queens Museum's biannual exhibition of Queens-based artists and will be on view from October 7, 2018 to February 17, 2018
The Queens Museum defines a "Queens-based artist" as an individual or a collective including at least one member who:- currently lives in Queens, and has done so for 1 year or more, and/or
- currently works in Queens (maintaining a studio or collaborative workspace to make their artwork), and has done so for 1 year or more
Submissions will only be accepted through submittable.com
Deadline: September 25, 2017
Selection: A jury will review applications and make a selection of QI participants. The jury will be made up of the QI 2018 curatorial team and other members of the Queens Museum’s curatorial staff. Selections will be announced in January 2018.
Questions: Please direct any questions about eligibility to cur_intern@queensmuseum.org with the subject line "2018 Queens International Application". We will answer your questions as soon as possible. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
For any technical questions about file formats, uploads, and the application itself, contact Submittable at support@submittable.com
*An emerging artist is one who is at the dawn of their public career but has not had solo exhibitions at established commercial galleries or institutions or received major grants; or one who is well beyond her/his studies, and may have participated in group exhibitions but have not received extensive press or market recognition.
