12 Oct 2010

A.R.G:Artists Respond Globally

Through communication technology IN MY OWN BACKYARD I CAN SEE THE WORLD brings artists from around the world together in their studios. Officially launched in May 2010, one local CHICAGO artist is currently paired with one INTERNATIONAL artist. The artists did not know anything about each other before they began. Each pair was directed, to find their own solution, topic and common ground without restriction. 
 
Global platforms of social networking such as Facebook, international communication platforms such as Skype and Jajah, and readily available web based translation programs such as Google translate are being used by the artists in their collaborations.
 
Communication will be recorded or notated by the artists for use in monthly or bimonthly video documentation of the artist's process of navigating through the collaborative relationship. Documentation in the artist's studio and their exterior surroundings will also be recorded as part of a larger collaboration between a documentary film crew, the sixteen artists and the international community at large. Videos, photographs and notes from each pair will be posted as they are completed to an interactive website, accessible by the artists and the global community. These videos will provide a peak inside the successes as well as frustrations of creative production, through process. The viewer will be privy to the back-story, which is rarely ever exposed.
 
Due to the broad reach of global artists represented by this project, A.R.G wishes to connect to the ethnically and economically diverse community in Chicago of all ages. The first exhibition of In My Own Backyard is a launching pad for the project and the first of three scheduled exhibitions between October 2010 and 2011. The event will be open and accessible to the general public on the first floor gallery of the Zhou B. Center.
 
Artists include Ceasr Conde, Kate Friedman, Ginny Sykes, Connie Noyes, Gabriella Boros, Sergio Gomez and Harry Sudman from Chicago and International artists, Yvette Dunn, South Africa, Roland Orepuk, France, Simeon Todev, Bulgaria, Suzlee Ibrahim, Malaysia, Petronilla Hohenwarter, Germany, and Regina Peieira Lopes, Brazil

ARG: Artists Respond Globally is a project based organization, which connects artists and communities who are interested in communication and collaboration on a global scale. The mission of ARG is to utilize the personal or local act of art making in combination with global relationships and communication technology. ARG's aim is to create dialog, strengthen understanding, and support awareness of social, political and aesthetic concerns through creative practice and process.

Project director and instigator Connie Noyes began this project with a small observation. As she participated in several painting symposiums and residencies in Dubai,  South Africa, Bulgaria, Tunisia and Montenegro from 2005 - 2008 she noticed how artists from all over the world were able to get along. It didn't seem to matter where they were from, what language they spoke, their religion or beliefs about social issues, the artists communicated from the heart, through their creative spirit and seemed to celebrate their differences. The project has grown from this small idea though local and global networking.

IN MY OWN BACKYARD I CAN SEE THE WORLD is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts, with an in-kind donation provided by the Zhou-B. Art Center for this exhibition. For more information on how to become involved or to contribute to this global project please contact A.R.G.