Artis (non-profit company)
| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Type | Art |
| Focus | art |
| Location |
|
Key people | Yael Reinharz, Rivka Saker |
| Website | http://www.artiscontemporary.org |
Artis is an independent nonprofit organization that broadens international awareness and understanding of contemporary visual art from Israel.
Artis aims to actively engage in shaping global dialogue around, and in recognition of, contemporary visual art from Israel. Artis supports artists – regardless of religion, race or ethnicity – who take creative and intellectual risks, and/or who address social challenges through creative practice. Artis supports freedom of speech and freedom of expression for all people.
The organization aims to broaden international awareness and understanding of contemporary visual art from Israel, through a variety of platforms for both artists and art professionals.[1] The main program areas are: Public Programs, Grant Programs, Research Trips, and Career Development. Artis facilitates the expansion of the Israeli visual arts community beyond the country's borders.[2]
History
Rivka Saker,[3] Chairman of Sotheby's Israel, founded Artis in 2004,[4] as a series of events, exhibitions and publications focused on art and artists from Israel during Armory Arts Week in New York. Artis hired its first Executive Director, Yael Reinharz, in 2008. During her tenure, Artis has distributed over $1 million in grants for artists and exhibitions worldwide in 16 countries, presented over 100 public programs and commissioned, hosted 130 international art professionals in Israel, and mentored dozens of artists in career development programs.[5] In 2010, Artis received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in the State of New York and established its Board of Directors. The Artis logo transliterates the organization's name into Israel's official languages of Hebrew and Arabic.
Initial Artis Public Programs included panels such as Perceptions of Israeli Contemporary Art as part of the Global Scene with critics Francesco Bonami, Massimiliano Gioni, Dan Cameron, Elsa Longhauser and Smadar Sheffi at Sotheby's, and a commissioned performance by Sigalit Landau of Bachus, a transformation of a bicycle-mounted concrete mixer in a large traveling, chiming, music box and ice cream giveaway point. Since 2004, Artis has regularly produced and presented public programs and commissions including talks, exhibitions, panels, and performances with emerging and leading artists from Israel, most often in conjunction with other leading arts organizations such as the New Museum, Performa, Jewish Museum, the Swiss Institute, Tate Modern, and many others. In 2012, Artis expanded its public program offerings to Los Angeles, presenting events at MoCA, For Your Art, RedCat, and many others. Artis has also participated in art fairs since 2011, including NADA New York, NADA Miami Beach and the Armory Show.
In 2007, Artis organized its first Research Trip to Israel for museum directors, curators and writers. This week-long trip led directly to the creation of solo exhibitions of work by artists Yael Bartana at MoMA PS1 and Sigalit Landau at MoMA. Soon thereafter, numerous articles in publications such as The New York Times,[6] Frieze, Artforum[7] and the Art Newspaper began to take more serious consideration of the burgeoning community of artists from Israel by publishing essays and reviews and establishing relationships with local writers in Tel Aviv.
Artis takes part in the dialogue around the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.[8] In 2015, Artis commissioned Chen Tamir's essay published in Hyperallergic about the history of the boycott.[9]
In 2015, Artis announced a gift of $1 million from an anonymous donor to advance opportunities for visual artists from Israel. The anonymous gift enabled Artis to continue its research trips and career development programs for artists, and to expand its grant program from $100,000 to $250,000 per year through the core grant areas. This donation helped grow the Artis' annual budget to $1 million and expand its staff, adding a new Artis base in Tel Aviv.[10][11][12]
Programs
Public Programs
Artis has commissioned and presented public programs in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London, including lectures, performances, exhibitions, artist talks, and artist commissions. Artis has presented with MoMA PS1, The New Museum, Performa, Tate Modern, and MoCA, and has participated in art fairs such as NADA and The Armory Show.
Grant Programs
Since 2004, the Artis Grant Program has supported international exhibitions and projects that advance visibility of visual art from Israel. The organization has awarded over $1 million in grants to 60 organizations in 16 countries. The Artis Grant Program consists of:
Exhibition Grants
Support for non-profit organizations around the globe presenting exhibitions that include artists from Israel and that advance innovative curatorial thinking about contemporary art from Israel. Recipients include: Yael Bartana, Ori Gersht, Dor Guez, Gilad Ratman, Naama Tsabar, Ariel Schlesinger, and Public Movement.
Project Grants
Support for artists who live in Israel to carry out research or development towards future projects.
Travel & Research Grants
Support for international artists, curators and writers to travel to Israel to pursue research.
Scholarship Fund
Support for artists from Israel enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program at Columbia University School of the Arts. Recipients include Uri Aran, Tamy Ben-Tor, Mika Rottenberg, Ohad Meromi, Lior Shvil and Ben Hagari. The first recipient of this grant was Guy Ben-Ner, in 2003.
Research Trips
Since 2007, Artis has hosted over 130 international museum directors, curators and critics on semi-annual Research Trips to Israel. The trips are designed to provide members of the international art community with opportunities to engage with Israel's visual arts community, while exploring historical and contemporary sociopolitical developments.[13] Alumni of these trips have produced projects such as solo exhibitions of Sigalit Landau at MoMA (2008) and Yael Bartana at MoMA PS1 (2009); The Compromised Land, a group exhibition at the Neuberger Museum of Art (2013); and acquisitions by MoMA, MOCA Los Angeles and The Hammer Museum.
Career Development
Since 2011, Artis has supported career development opportunities for artists from Israel with workshops presented by Creative Capital in 2010 and 2011 in New York, and then in Tel Aviv in partnership with Asylum Arts and Artport in Tel Aviv. The program has over 120 graduates to date.
References
- ↑ Tom Teicholz, Championing Israeli Contemporary Art, The Huffington Post, January 2015: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-teicholz/championing-israeli-contemporary-art_b_6476098.html
- ↑ The Jerusalem Report, Mar 20 2013, "Tough times in the big apple" http://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Arts-And-Culture/Tough-times-in-the-Big-Apple-307087
- ↑ Globes (Lady Globes), August 6, 2015, "האישה החזקה באמנות הישראלית חושפת את אחורי הקלעים" http://www.globes.co.il/news/docview.aspx?did=1001056865
- ↑ Haaretz, Mar 31 2008, 40-41p. "קודם נכבוש את מנהטן"
- ↑ ArtSpace, July 18, 2015: http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/yael-reinharz-artis-interview-52992
- ↑ The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/arts/design/12chance.html?_r=0
- ↑ Artforum: http://artforum.com/diary/id=31104
- ↑ The Artnewspaper: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Cultural-boycott-of-Israel-under-fire/37104
- ↑ Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/179655/a-report-on-the-cultural-boycott-of-israel/
- ↑ ArtAsiaPacific: http://www.artasiapacific.com/News/ArtisRecievesUSD1MillionAnonymousDonation
- ↑ Artforum: http://artforum.com/news/id=50413
- ↑ Artnews: http://www.artnews.com/2015/02/24/artis-receives-1-m-anonymous-donation/
- ↑ Art Review, Sep 2009, "Art and Politics in Israel" http://artreview.com/opinion/opinon_2009_jonathan_td_neil_on_his_first_trip_to_israel/