CIRCA (art platform)

Last updated
Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts
CIRCA LOGO.png
FoundedOctober 2020 [1]
Headquarters Piccadilly Circus, London [2] [3]
Area servedWorldwide (London, New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin, Milan, Los Angeles, Melbourne) [4]
Founder(s) Josef O'Connor [2] [1] [5] [4]
IndustryArt & Culture
URL circa.art

The Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts (CIRCA) is an art and culture platform based in London's Piccadilly Circus. [3] [2] Founded in October 2020, they commission and stream a monthly program of art and culture for three minutes every evening across a global network of billboards in London, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Milan, Berlin, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Seoul. [5] [6]

Contents

History

The 4K display billboards at Piccadilly Circus 4K Display Piccadilly Circus 2017.jpg
The 4K display billboards at Piccadilly Circus

CIRCA was established in 2020 [7] by British-Irish artist Josef O'Connor. [8] [7] [9] They have a free public art program which is presented in partnership with Europe's largest screen, [2] Piccadilly Lights, and distributed across a global network of billboard screens in Tokyo and Seoul. [10] [11] [1]

The daily public art program pauses the advertisements across a global network of screens for three minutes every evening. They commission new work to fill the space that considers the world in response to the present year: circa 2020, 2021, etc. [2] It is the largest digital art exhibition in Europe. [2]

The first artist to fill the three-minute daily slot was Ai Weiwei, [11] who is quoted as saying in an interview with The Art Newspaper that "CIRCA 20:20 offers a very important platform for artists to exercise their practice and to reach out to a greater public”. [2] Other notable artists and curators whose works have been exhibited as part of the CIRCA programs include Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović, Cauleen Smith, Eddie Peake, [2] [7] Patti Smith, [12] [7] James Barnor, [13] [14] [7] Vivienne Westwood [8] David Hockney, [6] Alvaro Barrington and Anne Imhof. [7]

Each commission for the project is approved by an independent council chaired by the British independent curator and ex-director and chief curator of The Royal Academy, Norman Rosenthal. Other members include the Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, Ramita Navai, Greg Sanderson and Patrick Morey-Burrows. [15]

#Circaeconomy

Each month, the exhibiting artist creates a print [12] sold online to support the #CIRCAECONOMY initiative. Launched with Ai Weiwei in October 2020, a percentage of the profits from each print is circulated back into helping build an economy that commissions new public art in the community, to nurture more diverse cultural industries and supports emerging creative potential. In May 2021, CIRCA partnered with Dazed to launch 'Class of 2021' a new global arts initiative awarding one emerging artist with a #CIRCAECONOMY cash prize of £30,000 generated from the sale of artist prints. [16]

Profits have also been used to support institutions, including Chisenhale Gallery and The Showroom with no-strings cash grants. [17] Since launching in October 2020, CIRCA has distributed over £500,000 in cash grants, scholarships [18] and donations. Following the success of their Yoko Ono [19] collaboration in March 2022, CIRCA donated £300,000 to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund

Programme

Since its launch in October 2020, CIRCA has commissioned new-media work from emerging and established artists every month. The work is often socially involved and motivated by the desire to engage with public discourse and debate. For three minutes each day, a monthly rotating digital art program pauses the commercial advertisements on London's iconic Piccadilly Lights, Seoul's K-Pop Square and Tokyo's Yunika Vision. [5] [20] [9]

On the occasion of British artist David Hockney presenting his iPad drawing “Remember you cannot look at the sun or death for very long,” in May 2021, a total of 85 screens, including New York Times Square and Pendry West Hollywood joined CIRCA in presenting the largest digital art exhibition in the world. [6]

The CIRCA public art program is free to attend and presented at the same time every evening - 20:20 throughout the year 2020 and 20:21 throughout the year 2021, and so forth. [5] It is also streamed on the CIRCA website. [2] [1]

CIRCA 20:20

CIRCA 20:21

CIRCA 20:22

CIRCA 20:23

Notable events

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivienne Westwood</span> British fashion designer (1941–2022)

Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood was a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, Sky Arts ranked her the 4th most influential artist in Britain of the last 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piccadilly Circus</span> Road junction and public place in London, England

Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piccadilly Circus tube station</span> London Underground station

Piccadilly Circus is a London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself, with entrances at every corner. Located in Travel-card Zone 1, the station is on the Piccadilly line between Green Park and Leicester Square stations and on the Bakerloo line between Oxford Circus and Charing Cross stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hockney</span> British artist (born 1937)

David Hockney is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin University of the Arts</span> Art school in Berlin, Germany

The Universität der Künste Berlin, situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universities in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serpentine Galleries</span> Art gallery in Hyde Park, London

The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery, and Serpentine North, previously known as the Sackler Gallery. The gallery spaces are within five minutes' walk of each other, linked by the bridge over the Serpentine Lake from which the galleries get their names. Their exhibitions, architecture, education and public programmes attract up to 1.2 million visitors a year. Admission to both galleries is free. The CEO is Bettina Korek, and the artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Rosenthal</span> British independent curator and art historian

Sir Norman Rosenthal is a British independent curator and art historian. From 1970 to 1974 he was Exhibitions Officer at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. In 1974 he became a curator at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, leaving in 1976. The following year, in 1977, he joined the Royal Academy in London as Exhibitions Secretary where he remained until his resignation in 2008. Rosenthal has been a trustee of numerous different national and international cultural organisations since the 1980s; he is currently on the board of English National Ballet. In 2007, he was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. Rosenthal is well known for his support of contemporary art, and is particularly associated with the German artists Joseph Beuys, Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer and Julian Schnabel, the Italian painter Francesco Clemente, and the generation of British artists that came to prominence in the early 1990s known as the YBAs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisson Gallery</span>

Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with locations in London and New York, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents over 50 artists such as Art & Language, Ryan Gander, Carmen Herrera, Richard Long, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Jonathan Monk, Julian Opie, Richard Wentworth, Anish Kapoor, Richard Deacon and Ai Weiwei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelia Parker</span> British artist

Cornelia Ann Parker is an English visual artist, best known for her sculpture and installation art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ai Weiwei</span> Chinese conceptual artist and dissident

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In April 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport for "economic crimes," and detained for 81 days without charge. Ai Weiwei emerged as a vital instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation's most vocal political commentators.

Excessivism is an art movement. In 2015 American artist and curator Kaloust Guedel introduced it to the world with an exhibition titled Excessivist Initiative. The review of the exhibition written by art critic and curator Shana Nys Dambrot, titled "Excessivism: Irony, Imbalance and a New Rococo" was published in the Huffington Post. Its early adopters go back to late 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Abosch</span> Irish conceptual artist

Kevin Abosch is an Irish conceptual artist and pioneer in cryptoart known for his works in photography, blockchain, sculpture, installation, AI and film. Abosch's work addresses the nature of identity, value and human currency and has been exhibited throughout the world, often in civic spaces, including The Hermitage Museum, The National Gallery of Ireland, The National Museum of China, The Irish Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, The Bogotá Museum of Modern Art, ZKM, Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, and Dublin Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Ai Weiwei street art campaign</span>

The Free Ai Weiwei street art campaign was a series of protests during the PRC government's secret detention of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei for 81 days in 2011, organised by Hong Kong artists and art supporters. Various slogans calling for the immediate release of the artist such as "Free Ai Weiwei", and "Who's afraid of Ai Weiwei" accompany stencilled images of Ai were applied onto pavements, pedestrian overpass, and building walls all over Hong Kong, and similar posters and signs were displayed worldwide.

<i>Gangnam for Freedom</i> 2012 film

Gangnam for Freedom is a 2012 video clip produced by the British sculptor Anish Kapoor. It is a parody of the international K-pop hit single "Gangnam Style", and it was created to advocate the freedom of expression as well as to support the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, whose parody of "Gangnam Style" was blocked by Chinese authorities immediately after it was uploaded. The video features appearances by the staff of numerous contemporary art museums as well as human rights activists from Liberty, Index on Censorship, The Helen Bamber Foundation, and Amnesty International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chisenhale Gallery</span> Non profit art gallery in London

Chisenhale Gallery is a non-profit contemporary art gallery based in London's East End. The gallery occupies the ground level of a former veneer factory on Chisenhale Road, situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, near Victoria Park and flanking the Hertford Union Canal. Housed in the same building are two other distinct initiatives: Chisenhale Studios and Chisenhale Dance Space, named also for the road on which they reside.

Michael Hue-Williams is a British art dealer and gallery director. He currently lives and works in London, and owns Albion Barn gallery in Oxfordshire.

Ian Cheng is an American contemporary artist known for his "virtual ecosystem" live-simulated digital artworks. His artworks explore the capacity of living agents to deal with change, and are "less about the wonders of new technologies than about the potential for these tools to realize ways of relating to a chaotic existence." His work has been widely exhibited internationally, including MoMA PS1, Serpentine Galleries, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Venice Biennale, Leeum Museum and other institutions.

Anne Imhof is a German visual artist, choreographer, and performance artist who lives and works between Frankfurt and Paris. She is best known for her endurance art, although she cites painting as central to her practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef O'Connor</span> British artist and curator (born 1990)

Josef O'Connor is a British-Irish artist and curator. His multi-disciplinary works include interactive media and digital content. He is the founder and artistic director of CIRCA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg</span> British artist (born 1982)

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg is a British and South African artist who lives and works in London, UK. She is known for artworks that explore the relationship between humans, technology and nature. Many of her works are achieved using artificial intelligence and synthetic biology.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Edmonds, Lizzie “Ai Weiwei takes over Piccadilly Circus with video artwork from his early years”, The Evening Standard , 1 October 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Buck, Louisa “New public art project in London will show works by Ai Weiwei and Eddie Peake on Europe's largest billboard”, The Art Newspaper , 24 September 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  3. 1 2 3 4 Brewer, Jenny “Cauleen Smith takes over Piccadilly Lights with Covid Manifesto”, It's Nice That, 2 November 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  4. 1 2 3 “How Josef O’Connor and David Hockney are lighting up the world”, Soho House, 20 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021
  5. 1 2 3 4 Rodorigo, Clara “London, Ai Weiwei on mega screen for Europe's largest digital art exhibition”, Domus , 12 October 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  6. 1 2 3 4 Margolies, Jane “New David Hockney Billboards to Brighten 5 Cities in May”, The New York Times , 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Yalcinkaya, Günseli “Watch Patti Smith, Ai Weiwei, and more review 2020's chaos and creativity”, Dazed , 5 January 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  8. 1 2 3 SEGALOV, MICHAEL “Being Mr Westwood: Vivienne is ‘eccentric, serious and genuine’”, The Guardian , 26 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  9. 1 2 Lloyd, Anthony “Ai Weiwei: ‘I am going to disappear’”, The Times , 8 OCTOBER 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  10. 1 2 Alexander, Ella “Cauleen Smith: "We're not human without culture; art saves people"”, Harpers Bazaar , 13 November 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  11. 1 2 Thorpe, Vanessa “Ai Weiwei on China, free speech – and a message for London”, The Guardian , 4 October 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  12. 1 2 3 Sturges, Fiona “Patti Smith: 'As a writer, you can be a pacifist or a murderer'”, The Guardian , 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  13. 1 2 3 Writer, House “James Barnor, Adwoa Aboah e Vogue Italia”, Italian Vogue , 8 April 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  14. 1 2 3 Serpentine “James Barnor: Past, Present, Future Presented in collaboration with CIRCA. Every day at 20:21pm”, Serpentine Galleries , 1 April 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  15. Welch, Adrian “David Hockney at Piccadilly Circus”, e-architect, 1 May 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021
  16. Rogers, Daniel “Video artists: do you want your work shown on the Piccadilly Lights?”, Dazed , 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  17. 1 2 Writer, Staff “L'arte anglofona risponde al Coronavirus sul più grande schermo d'Europa”, Italian Vogue , 20 November 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  18. Cox, Sarah “Art print sales fund #CIRCAECONOMY Scholarship Program”, Goldsmiths University , 18 January 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022
  19. Carter, Dom “Yoko Ono interrupts the world's biggest screens to share a message of peace”, Creative Boom , 9 March 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022
  20. 1 2 Buck, Louisa “Halloween with Ai Weiwei: artist's new film screens in Piccadilly Circus and online tonight”, The Art Newspaper , 31 OCTOBER 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  21. 1 2 Heardman, Adam “Whipping Water: Anne Imhof vs. Hate for Hate's Sake”, Trebuchet Magazine, 13 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  22. Lloyd-Smith, Harriett “Emma Talbot on optimism, feminism and reconfiguring the roots of power”, Wallpaper Magazine , 18 March 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  23. Chisenhale Gallery “Nikita Gale: SOME WEATHER”, Chisenhale Gallery , 24 May 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  24. 1 2 Yuna, Park “Korean artist Jun So-jung to join Circa's project in August”, The Korea Herald , 6 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  25. “Artist Ai Weiwei reads Dalai Lama's new letter to the world: 'The Art of Hope'”, The Art Newspaper , 11 January 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023
  26. Tsui, Enid “Hong Kong included in global public screenings of video for Ukraine by artist Anne Imhof during February”, South China Morning Post , 5 February 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023
  27. Banks, Grace “‘Putin Is Scared Of Artists’— Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova On Her Political Art And New Feminist Film ‘Hope’”, Forbes Magazine , 10 March 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023
  28. Lloyd-Smith, Harriett “Laurie Anderson's animated notebook drawings to be screened globally on the full moon”, Wallpaper Magazine , 3 April 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023
  29. Lawson-Tancred, Jo “British Painter Frank Bowling's First Digital Artwork, an Evocative Play on Color, Lights Up London's Piccadilly Circus”, ArtNet , 4 May 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023
  30. Rabb, Maxwell (2023-10-10). "German artist Cemile Sahin wins the 2023 Circa Prize". artsy.net. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  31. Alfredo Jaar Official Website “Alfredo Jaar Website”, Alfredo Jaar , 10 November 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024
  32. News, Art “CIRCA PRESENTS ‘GONE? ’BY CULT LONDON-BASED NIGERIAN ARTIST, SLAWN”, Art Plugged, 4 December 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024
  33. Duponchelle, Valérie “Patti Smith et Anne Imhof, deux artistes du tonnerre pour lancer la nouvelle année à Londres”, Le Figaro , 28 December 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  34. Malzahn, Catherine "Vivienne Westwood celebrates her 80th birthday in the most Vivienne Westwood way" Archived 2021-07-30 at the Wayback Machine , CR Fashion Book , 8 April 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021