Columns & Features

Artist Introspectives

The Most Public of Private Spaces

Artist Introspectives

The Most Public of Private Spaces

Artist Ahmed Mater discusses the influence of the public and public space on his powerful portraits of the Islamic world.

This Week in Art

Rob Pruitt’s “The Church,” Trevor Paglen’s Flag, and Joan Jonas’s Tate Modern Retrospective

This Week in Art

Rob Pruitt’s “The Church,” Trevor Paglen’s Flag, and Joan Jonas’s Tate Modern Retrospective

A look at this week’s art news, including “Rob Pruitt: The Church,” a solo exhibition and space for ongoing community engagement investigating the intersection of religion and public spaces.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Communicating en Masse: The Art of Activism

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Communicating en Masse: The Art of Activism

Educator-in-Residence Nick Kozak offers politically neutral ways of teaching on protest art and activism in the classroom.

This Week in Art

Yinka Shonibare’s Central Park Sculpture, “Word on the Street” in Times Square & LA’s Giant Neon Uterus

This Week in Art

Yinka Shonibare’s Central Park Sculpture, “Word on the Street” in Times Square & LA’s Giant Neon Uterus

A look at this week’s art news, including Yinka Shonibare’s new public installation, “Wind Sculpture (SG) I,” near the 59th Street entrance of Central Park.

This Week in Art

Doreen Garner at “Invisible Man Tattoo,” Diana Al-Hadid at Madison Square Park, & Tania Bruguera at Turbine Hall

This Week in Art

Doreen Garner at “Invisible Man Tattoo,” Diana Al-Hadid at Madison Square Park, & Tania Bruguera at Turbine Hall

A look at this week’s art news, including Doreen Garner’s tattoo project, “Invisible Man Tattoo,” Diana Al-Hadid’s upcoming public installation in Madison Square Park, and Tania Bruguera’s 2018 commission for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Doreen Garner Upends the Pedestal

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Doreen Garner Upends the Pedestal

In February, Art21 premiered two new films from the digital series “New York Close Up,” and published a new playlist in honor of Black History Month.

Strategies & Resources

Seeing These Streets: Analyzing the Visual Landscapes of Urban Spaces

Strategies & Resources

Seeing These Streets: Analyzing the Visual Landscapes of Urban Spaces

Educator-in-Residence Nick Kozak details his unit on street art, in which students critically examine the anonymous artists creating work in their neighborhoods.

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Nick Kozak

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Nick Kozak

Meet Art21 Educator Nick Kozak, and learn how he’s breaking down the barriers his students face by incorporating contemporary art practices in the classroom.

This Week in Art

“Art in the Age of the Internet” at ICA Boston, Laurie Anderson’s New Book & More

This Week in Art

“Art in the Age of the Internet” at ICA Boston, Laurie Anderson’s New Book & More

A look at this week’s art news, including the exhibition “Art in the Age of the Internet” at the ICA Boston which explores how the internet has shaped contemporary culture and artistic production.

Letter from the Editor

Whose Public?

Letter from the Editor

Whose Public?

Art21 Executive Director and Chief Curator Tina Kukielski introduces the new winter issue, stressing the need for contemporary art and artists in the current debates over public space, power, and ownership.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Embarking on Our 21st Year with New Films

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Embarking on Our 21st Year with New Films

Art21 is starting off 2018—the year of our 21st anniversary—with a special series of five new film premieres featuring five artists.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Celebrating Artists Who Connect Communities

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Celebrating Artists Who Connect Communities

In December, Art21 launched a new playlist and published eight new articles in the Art21 Magazine’s issue on “Empathy.”

Strategies & Resources

Below the Surface: Creating Hope through Portraiture

Strategies & Resources

Below the Surface: Creating Hope through Portraiture

Educator-in-Residence Joseph Iacona’s students embark on a project of self-discovery, inspiring them to feel hopeful about themselves and their future while protecting their identities.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Radical Art in a Conservative School

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Radical Art in a Conservative School

Art21 Educator Dennis Greenwell shares how a project on empathy helped his students better understand one another and our current political landscape.

Booked

How Did We Get Here? A Reading List for Understanding Race in America

Booked

How Did We Get Here? A Reading List for Understanding Race in America

Artist Cauleen Smith and “Culture Type” editor Victoria L. Valentine select twelve texts that offer rare perspectives on the central role race plays in American life.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Jordan Casteel Brings Extroversion into an Introverted Studio Practice

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Jordan Casteel Brings Extroversion into an Introverted Studio Practice

In November, Art21 premiered two new short films, published a new playlist on sketches, and launched a new magazine issue on “Empathy.”

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Keep it Real, Keep it Relevant

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Keep it Real, Keep it Relevant

Educator-in-Residence Joseph Iacona shares the impact socially engaged artists have in classrooms with trauma-impacted students.

Letter from the Editor

Living in an Age of Empathy

Letter from the Editor

Living in an Age of Empathy

Curator Yvette Mutumba discusses how biased empathy can be problematic, but when understood as a means of inclusive human solidarity, empathy can lead to a greater understanding of the issues troubling the world today.

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Joseph Iacona

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Joseph Iacona

Meet Art21 Educator Joseph Iacona, and learn how he incorporates contemporary art practices in classrooms with adjudicated youth and trauma-impacted teens in Philadelphia.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Scenius, Inspiration, and Invention

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Scenius, Inspiration, and Invention

Educator-in-Residence Todd Elkin reflects on the ways in which his classroom embodies the concept of “scenius,” in which creative inventions emerge from social contexts, as the students working near each other riff off one another’s strategies and ideas.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Jamian Juliano Villani Paints Under Pressure

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Jamian Juliano Villani Paints Under Pressure

In October, Art21 released a new film on artist Jamian Juliano-Villani and celebrated a decade of filming with Julie Mehretu.

Art 2.1: Creating on the Social Web

The Art of the Prototype: Museums and Technology

Art 2.1: Creating on the Social Web

The Art of the Prototype: Museums and Technology

The director of the Knight Foundation’s Technology Innovation program, Chris Barr, shares the details of a new collaborative initiative between its arts and technology teams.

On View Now

Cloth is a Battleground in Stephanie Syjuco’s “CITIZENS”

On View Now

Cloth is a Battleground in Stephanie Syjuco’s “CITIZENS”

In Stephanie Syjuco’s “CITIZENS,” textiles and cloth become signifiers of the battles over patriotism and identity.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Assessment as Dialogue: Shifting Power Dynamics in the Classroom

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Assessment as Dialogue: Shifting Power Dynamics in the Classroom

Educator-in-Residence Todd Elkin explains the origins of his experimental curriculum “Assessment as Dialogue,” which upends the traditional power dynamics in a classroom and asks students and teachers to collaborate on the most effective methods of learning.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Julie Mehretu Recontextualizes the History of American Landscape Painting

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Julie Mehretu Recontextualizes the History of American Landscape Painting

In September, Art21 released the a new “Extended Play” film documenting Julie Mehretu’s monumental commission for the new SFMOMA.

On View Now

Philadelphia Illuminated

On View Now

Philadelphia Illuminated

Philadelphia writer Heather Holmes offers her thoughts on Cai Guo-Qiang’s public art project “Fireflies,” in which 27 pedicabs lit with Chinese lanterns circle Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Staff Pick

Staff Picks: Summer + Fall 2017

Staff Pick

Staff Picks: Summer + Fall 2017

The Art21 staff presents a selection of our favorite fall exhibitions on view in New York.

Strategies & Resources

Seven Strategies for the Studio Art Class

Strategies & Resources

Seven Strategies for the Studio Art Class

Art21 Senior Education Advisor Joe Fusaro offers seven tips for keeping projects and curriculum fresh in studio art classes.

New Kids on the Block

Making Paper: Hong Hong’s Performative Process

New Kids on the Block

Making Paper: Hong Hong’s Performative Process

Artist Hong Hong combines two traditional forms of papermaking—Tibetan and Japanese—to create large-scale abstract paper sculptures.

Letter from the Editor

Invention vs. Innovation

Letter from the Editor

Invention vs. Innovation

NEW INC director Julia Kaganskiy introduces the issue by drawing an important distinction between invention and innovation.

On View Now

Climate Change & Data Drawings: An Interview with Maya Lin

On View Now

Climate Change & Data Drawings: An Interview with Maya Lin

Maya Lin discusses hurricanes and climate change in relation to the work in her new show, “Ebb and Flow,” opening today at Pace Gallery.

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Todd Elkin

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Todd Elkin

Meet Art21 Educator Todd Elkin, and learn how he incorporates contemporary art practices in his classroom in Fremont, California.

Artist Introspectives

Objective Truth vs. Subjective Perception

Artist Introspectives

Objective Truth vs. Subjective Perception

Filmmaker Natalia Almada considers the subjectivity involved in the creation of both her documentary and fiction projects.

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Summer Inspiration with Ten New Films

Roundup

Art21 News Roundup: Summer Inspiration with Ten New Films

In August, Art21 released the final two “Summer of Shorts” films, published new magazine articles and a new playlist.

Artist Introspectives

A Safe Place

Artist Introspectives

A Safe Place

Artist and Stanford professor Jonathan Calm reflects on the vastly different experiences conveyed in two photographs he took of the Lorraine Motel—one in black-and-white and the other in color.

Artist Introspectives

Why Wishes Matter

Artist Introspectives

Why Wishes Matter

Amanda Long shares the motivation behind her public artwork, “Wishing Well,” which gives people a space in which to dream.