Our Weekly Update is here to bring you our favorite links from the past week: art and design news you might have missed, must-see stories, and the best new contests and calls for entry.
New Yayoi Kusama exhibit will open in the Rockaways
The newest show from Yayoi Kusama looks set to be yet another selfie paradise with record-breaking attendance. As part of Rockaway!, a free annual arts festival at New York’s Rockaway Beach, Kusama will be showing Narcissus Garden. The work is comprised of many reflective orbs (which are hopefully less breakable than her pumpkins). Art Net reports:
“The Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama‘s reflective Narcissus Garden, which she first showed at the Venice Biennale in 1966, is set to open in the Rockaways on July 1. The work, which is comprised of 1,500 mirrored, stainless steel orbs, will be installed in a former train garage at New York’s Fort Tilden, a former US military base on the beach.
“Kusama’s Narcissus Garden was also on view at Philip Johnson’s Glass House in 2016 and at England’s Chatsworth House in 2009. But Biesenbach told the New York Times that the upcoming installation in the Rockaways “will look very, very different than before.”
Christo unveils floating sculpture built from 7,506 oil barrels
Pioneering environmental artist Christo’s latest work is an enormous structure floating in the Serpentine Lake, London. Dezeen reports:
“Christo has completed The London Mastaba, a 20-metre-high sculpture floating on London’s Serpentine Lake, which represents his and late wife Jeanne-Claude’s determination to make art free.
“Based on the trapezoid shapes of mastaba, an Arabic word for bench given to Egyptian tombs and seats found outside homes in ancient Mesopotamia, the temporary sculpture is the realisation of the artistic duo’s shared dream of creating a floating version of a form that has fascinated them for half a century.
“The London Mastaba, which is made of 7,506 painted barrels secured to scaffolding and anchored in the lake, was entirely self funded and is free to view by all.”
Anish Kapoor is suing the NRA
Never one to shy away from controversy, UK artist Anish Kapoor is suing the National Rifle Association for their use of his 2006 Chicago work Cloud Gate in an advertisement. It’s Nice That reports:
“In an open letter released in March with the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety Kapoor comments, “the ad seeks to whip up fear and hate. It plays to the basest and most primal impulses of paranoia, conflict and violence”. Kapoor then asked the NRA to remove his work from the video, not wanting it to be “used to promote their vile message”. However, this demand was not met, and with the “solidarity and support” of the public, he has decided to take further action.”
Call for entry: Women Photograph Mentorship Program
Women Photograph, a new initiative aiming to elevate women and nonbinary photojournalists, has opened submissions for their upcoming Mentorship Program. It’s an exciting opportunity for emerging photographers to receive mentorship from industry leaders. Applications are open until July 15:
“Women Photograph is pleased to announce that we’re now accepting applications for our 2018-2019 Mentorship Program, which will pair 22 industry leaders (11 photographers and 11 photo editors) with 22 early-career photojournalists over the course of a year. Mentors include editors from National Geographic, NPR, The Atlantic, and the San Francisco Chronicle, and award-winning photographers based on every (inhabited) continent.
“We are currently seeking applications from women and non-binary photographers with less than five years of professional work experience who might be interested in long-term support.”
Call for entry: Elephant x Griffin Art Prize
Elephant Magazine has teamed up with the UK’s Griffin Art Prize to offer a pretty hefty cash prize to one lucky artist. If you’re based in the UK and recently graduated, this could be for you. Applications are open until July 31:
“We are looking for the next big thing! Announcing the FIRST Elephant x Griffin Art Prize; a collaboration between the UK’s premier art prize for recent graduates, Griffin Art Prize, and international contemporary visual culture magazine Elephant.
“The Prize will offer to one particularly talented emerging artist a bespoke package to support their practice throughout 2019. Open to UK-based artists practicing in all mediums, we are looking for dynamic, committed, emerging artists with the potential to become international stars. Elephant’s motto is ‘Life through Art’ and as such we are looking for artistic practice that engages with the wider issues of the world at large, whether that be through painting, sculpture, installation, film or digital media.”
Call for entry: Broken Pencil Zine Awards
If you make zines, this award’s for you. Broken Pencil, the independent magazine, is seeking submissions for their annual zine awards. Winners will get $200 and will also have their zines sold by Broken Pencil, which is a cool opportunity to get some more exposure for your self-published project. Categories include Best Art Zine, Best Music Zine, Best Micro Literary Journal, and more. Submissions are open until July 1:
“Broken Pencil Magazine is excited to announce that we will once again be rewarding the best of the best in zine culture with the Broken Pencil Zine Awards 2018! We are now accepting submissions from all over the world in search of the finest independently published zines, comics and micro-journals.”
*Have a tip to share? Did you write an article or publish a project that you think we’d like? [Let us know.](mailto:magazine@format.com)*
Cover image: Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama at the Venice Biennale 1966, via Art Net.
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