What We’re Reading Now: The Rise of Moving Image Art

As the current pandemic has forced many cultural events and spaces to close their doors, consumer appetite for online experiences has been booming. The unexpected situation is ushering in a golden age of virtual media, making good on the initial promise of digital, while offering new life and unprecedented access to some of the world’s cultural touchstones, some previously financially or physically inaccessible. While the world largely remains physically isolated, digital media is offering a bridge to an exciting range of experiences.

Discover what Forbes, The Guardian, Spear’s Magazine and others have to say on how moving image art is experiencing a breakthrough.

Art Credit: Joe Hamilton, Cézanne Unfixed

A Rising Demand For Video Art Redefines The Gallery Business

Originally published by Forbes

During the days of the global COVID pandemic, video art was suddenly everywhere: from major industry headlines to local news reports. The most expensive living artist, David Hockney has created video art for Telegraph Magazine while in lockdown in France. In North Carolina, Ian Berry artist presented a public video art piece celebrating the region’s textile heritage and essential service workers. As museums rushed to upgrade their virtual programming, the digitally-native art has been finally gaining momentum…

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‘It’s great if you’re bored with Netflix’: video art flourishes in lockdown

Originally published by The Guardian


Shana Moulton with Nick Hallett Act one from Whispering Pines 10, 2016. video-still Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich

Video Art is experiencing a breakthrough- which started even before coronavirus quarantined culture online. “Coronavirus pandemic has made video art the most essential and accessible art form” – Barbara London, The former MoMA video art curator. As the art world has adapted to the reality of the pandemic lockdown with online exhibitions, video artworks started occupying the space once filled by physical exhibitions. Moving image art is flourishing…

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In Unusual Move, Top Collector Julia Stoschek Makes Essential Video Art Available for Free Online

Originally published by Artnews


Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Büsi, 2001.COURTESY THE ARTISTS

Few collectors have placed as great an emphasis on moving-image art as Julia Stoschek.  Julia has amassed more than 850 works that include many of the most important films, videos, and digital works of the past 50 years. With most of the art world moving online during the COVID closures, the German collector has taken some of her holdings digital too. “From the very beginning, film and video were driven by a democratic impulse and ideas of circulation that were supposed to enable access to art on a wider scale,” Stoschek told ARTnews

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Tired of Netflix? Stream experimental film and video art

Originally published by Hyperallergic


From That which identifies them like the eye of the Cyclops (2015), dir. Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (image courtesy the filmmaker)

The multidisciplinary artist Kate Lain started a simple Google spreadsheet called “Cabin Fever” in the hopes of gathering links to experimental films she could send to her students once classes were moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lain divided her “playlist” into sections, such as “For when you need to laugh or smile,” “For when you wanna sing & dance,” and even “For when you just want to scream or break something.” In less than two weeks, Lain’s spreadsheet has grown to include hundreds of experimental films and artists’ moving image works from around the world…

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Introducing ‘art for the digital age’

Originally published by Spear’s Magazine

“We live in a digital age, defined by technology and the growth of the online world, and that is altering the way we experience art. Increasingly, it means film and software have become the paint, the screen has become the canvas and a new destination for art…” – Rob Anders, Co-founder & CEO at Niio

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Virtual Exhibitions You Can Enjoy at Home

Social isolation is a challenge, beyond the effort for survival necessities like food and medicine.  When we’re stuck in our homes, it swells the need to fill an extraordinary amount of unstructured time.  Luckily, there’s a way to use this time to enrich yourself culturally in the comfort/ confinement of your own home.  Many of the most prestigious museums, galleries, and art fairs around the world are open to the public- at home! Iconic institutions such as the Musée D’Orsay in Paris, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City and many more, are now open for everyone in the form of virtual tours.  Now we can all enjoy a long virtual walk through museums, from the comfort of home.

Musée D’Orsay

Musée d’Orsay is the French national museum of fine and applied arts, located in Paris. The museum features works of French artists from the 19th century. Its collection includes painting, sculpture, photography, and decorative arts from artists such as Gustave Courbet’, Édouard Manet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Take a virtual tour.

Guggenheim Museum

Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, located in New York, is committed to innovation, collects, preserves, and interprets modern and contemporary art, and explores ideas across cultures through dynamic curatorial and educational initiatives and collaborations. With its constellation of architecturally and culturally distinct museums, exhibitions, publications, and digital platforms, the foundation engages both local and global audiences. Take a virtual tour.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) established itself as a representative institution of Korean modern art. The museum’s four branches, including Gwacheon, Deoksugung, Seoul, and Cheongju. MMCA Gwacheon is devoted to various genres of visual arts such as architecture, design, and crafts. MMCA Deoksugung showcases modern art from Korea and overseas. MMCA Seoul focuses on introducing global contemporary art. MMCA Cheongju fulfills the museum’s primary duty to collect, preserve, study, exhibit, and educate. Take a virtual tour.

The Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum, located in Amsterdam is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. The permanent collection includes over 200 paintings by Vincent van Gogh, 500 drawings and more than 750 letters. The museum also presents exhibitions on various subjects from 19th-century art history. Take a virtual tour.

Vincent van Gogh,Het Gele Huis (1888)

Uffizi Gallery

Uffizi Gallery, located in Florence, is famous for its outstanding collections of ancient sculptures and paintings (from the Middle Ages to the Modern period). The collections of paintings from the 14th-century and Renaissance period include Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, in addition to many precious works by European painters. Take a virtual tour.

Sala Caravaggio e Artemisia

New Museum

Founded in 1977, the New Museum is a leading destination for new art and new ideas. It is Manhattan’s only dedicated contemporary art museum and is respected internationally for the adventurousness and global scope of its curatorial program. Since 2013, the museum has been running “First Look: New Art Online,” a monthly exhibition series through which new digital artwork is commissioned from exciting artists and presented on the museum’s website. Take a look at the artworks.

Rachel Rossin, Man Mask,2016(still). Stereoscopic 360 Video. Courtesy the artist

Art Basel: 235 Galleries Showing in Online Viewing Rooms 

Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms are on view from March 20, 2020. Participating galleries have all risen to the challenge and have chosen a curatorial concept for their virtual rooms, with the added benefits of being unconstrained by the dimensions of a traditional white cube. From blue-chip paintings to outdoor sculptures, visitors can enjoy all. Visit the viewing rooms.

Alserkal Art Week

Alserkal Avenue is a renowned cultural district of contemporary art galleries, non-profit organisations, and homegrown businesses in the Al Quoz industrial area of Dubai. Spread across 500,000 square feet, Alserkal Avenue is a vibrant community of visual and performing arts organisations, designers, and artisanal spaces that have become an essential platform for the development of the creative industries in the United Arab Emirates. On view 23 – 28 March. Visit the Art Week.

Screen IT

Screen IT focuses on the impact of the “screen culture” on contemporary art. Visitors can discover artworks in many different genres, such as TV, video, internet or VR, and in many different topics, such as bitcoins, AI or fake news. Take a virtual tour.

Jennifer in Paradise by Constant Dullaart

The Kremer Museum

Founded in 2017 by Sotheby’s and Studio Libeskind, the Kremer Museum is a museum that exists solely in the realm of virtual reality. The museum’s collection includes pieces by Jan van Bijlert, Ferdinand Bol and other Dutch and Flemish masters of the craft. Access to this unique museum can be purchased on VR platforms like Steam for only $9.99. Visit the museum.





Samsung & Niio Art Launch Prestigious Global Digital Art Competition Celebrating Visual Arts on ‘The Wall’

Open to artists worldwide, competition will culminate in a first-of-its-kind global exhibition in May

Originally Published by Samsung Newsroom

Samsung Electronics is today announcing the launch of an open call competition in collaboration with Niio, a premium platform for new media art. Now open for entries from nascent, emerging and established artists, the Samsung The Wall x Niio Art Awards aims to discover the most inspiring digital art from around the world. Entrants will compete for a chance to be exhibited internationally on Samsung’s The Wall, the highest quality, large form factor 4K Micro LED digital art canvas, and qualify for up to $15,000 in cash prizes. The competition will culminate in summer exhibitions at ten showcase locations including Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

The first-prize winner of the competition will be invited to attend the unveiling event of their winning entry at Samsung’s The Wall showroom in May. All winners will be selected by a panel of renowned experts in visual art. When assessing each submission, the judges will be looking for artworks that display artistic and conceptual excellence, including creativity, originality and detail. 

“Samsung is always exploring new ways to make premium content as impactful as possible and take users’ experience to the next level,” said Hyesung Ha, Senior Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “This open call, in partnership with Niio Art and its global community of leading artists, celebrates the latest and greatest talent in digital art and provides the art community a meaningful platform on which its artistic creations can be showcased. The competition will also play a major role in heralding the next generation of display experiences – all brought to life on the awe-inspiring The Wall.” 

“In today’s connected world, artists rely on digital tools to tell their stories. We are thrilled to partner with Samsung to offer artists everywhere a chance to share their creations on the most iconic and exquisite large-scale canvas there is,” said Rob Anders, CEO of Niio. “Moreover, our plans for the synchronized, global unveiling of the winning artworks in May will change the way digital art is experienced in the world.”

Niio inspires people everywhere by providing seamless access to premium video and new media art through its state-of-the-art technology and curated distribution platform. Niio’s platform now empowers a growing network of over 4,000 artists and art partners from over 70 countries to self-publish media art; the published artwork can then be borrowed or acquired to be viewed on high quality connected display devices anywhere in the world.

Now available globally, The Wall represents the latest application of Samsung’s modular MicroLED technology which can be custom-tailored to any size and aspect ratio, immediately enhancing the aesthetic of any space.

To learn more about the open call, artists can visit https://www.niio.com/get/the-wall-open-call/ and enter their artwork, as well as find submission details, specification requirements, rules, important dates and prizes. And to discover The Wall, please visit: https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/led-signage/the-wall.

About Niio

Niio is reimagining the way humans interact with art in their everyday lives. Underpinned by a robust technology platform that powers the ‘digital art’ ecosystem, Niio has amassed a global community of leading artists, galleries and institutions who store and publish the largest catalogue of the finest moving image art in one place. By enabling seamless access to premium digital art on any screen, anywhere, Niio is unlocking an entirely new form of media consumption: digital art, on demand.

ZERO ONE Digital Art Festival

Zero One is a new initiative that seeks to create a unique experience by combining art, technology, sound & space.  Through the layered experience of ancient and futuristic elements and tangible and virtual art, visitors can take in narratives that challenge  imagination and human experience.

The Festival brings together some of the most influential digital artists in the world today, both local and from overseas. Digital Arts use breakthrough technologies and traditional mediums to create a multifaceted art experience. Through code-based music tools, artificial intelligence, 3D scanning (Photogrammetry), digital processing, learning algorithms and more. For two nights only, the stones and remnants of the ancient citadel turned into a backdrop and indeed an integral part of these incredible contemporary works of art and performances.

Featured artists: Refik Anadol, Quayola, Clement Valla, Zeitguised and many more.

What We’re Reading Now: Hotels As Art Museums

Whether on business or vacation, hotel guests are notably receptive to interesting experiences and renewed perspectives. In today’s hospitality industry, art can make the difference in prompting that all-important digital story of the guest experience. Discover what The New York Times, Indiewalls, Architectural Digest, and others have to say on how some properties have begun to push the boundaries of what it means to be a hotel with great art.

The New York Times // An Art Museum in Your Hotel Lobby

Procuring and exhibiting art in all forms has been synonymous with the hotel experience for several decades now, with both luxury and midlevel brands highlighting local artwork and museum-quality pieces rather than predictable poster reprints. Read More

Art Installation Alizarin in the Peninsula Hong Kong’s Lobby. Image by Simon J Nicol.

Artnet News // 8 Amazing Hotels Around the World with Museum Quality Art Collections

In the material world, we live in, there are many new places making headlines, by redefining luxury. There’s no debating the fact that waking up in a gorgeous location, looking at millions of dollars worth of beautiful art is pretty much incomparable. If you’re a fan of luxe travelling, check out a list of eight top hotels around the world that boast great art collections. Read More

A part of the museum space at 21c Louisville Museum Hotel. 
Photo: Courtesy of 21c Museum Hotels.

Architectural Digest // 17 Hotels with Amazing Art Collections

These days, hotels offer travellers much more than a place to rest their heads. There are, for instance, a growing number of establishments collecting museum-grade artworks to hang in their lobbies, restaurants, and suites. Between permanent displays and rotating exhibitions, there’s always something to delight art-loving guests. Read More

Art Hotel Denver


Indiewalls // How Standout Hotel Art Can Make a Difference for Travelers

With the rise of the much discussed, millennial-fueled “experience economy,” this is likely to mean that the destinations they choose will be as informed by typical considerations like budget and bucket lists as “Insta-worthy” moments ripe for filling feeds with FOMO-inspiring imagery.

Where are travellers finding such experiences? Read More




What We’re Reading Now: The Power of Art in Healing and Wellness

It has long been believed that there is an underlying healing power of art. From music, dance, poetry, theatre to interactive art and more, there is undoubtedly a link between art and wellness. Discover what Design Week, Freize, the WSJ, and others have to say on the topic:

Design Week //Filling Hospitals with Art Reduces Patient Stress, Anxiety and pain

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has found that the mental health and experiences of those receiving intrusive examinations, surgery, chemotherapy and emergency care are improved when visual art is installed. Read More

Ceramic installation at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, by Adam Nathaniel Furman, image courtesy Gareth Gardner

Frieze //Art in Hospitals Reduces Depression and Pain, Research Finds

The study follows art lessons and trips to museums becoming available as NHS prescription options. It also features research that found that more than 80% of 50 women who underwent colposcopy examinations said that the art ‘greatly improved their anxiety and experience’. Feelings of depression fell by a third amongst patients undertaking chemotherapy. Clinical staff also found that art helped sooth children’s anxiety. Read More

Niio //The Healing Power of Art

Although the benefits of art in medical waiting areas, wards, private treatment rooms and hospital rooms have long been accepted, they have not been widely embraced, beyond traditional pictures and prints. Increased awareness of the benefits of mindfulness and engaging experiences has allowed digital art, displayed on screens or through projectors, to bestow a more immersive atmosphere in health environments. Interactive works, especially those that react to motion, allow a patient to become one with the art, offering a calming and distracting effect. The concept of moving, rotating art is particularly engaging for children. Read More


Interactive Media Wall at Boston Children’s Hospital

U.S. News & World Report //The Power of the Creative Arts in Health and Healing

What does creativity have to do with health, healing and well-being? Studies show that engaging in any creative process is healing. Whether you make a simple drawing or collage, look at art or talk about it, creativity and the arts can help you:

  • Express thoughts and emotions that can be hard to put into words
  • Lower stress and anxiety
  • Relax and feel calmer and happier
  • Connect with yourself on a deep level, no matter what you are going through
  • Find meaning in life experiences
  • Cope with grief and loss
  • Form new connections with others
  • Shift your focus away from pain or stressful thoughts to activities that are soothing, enjoyable and fun
  • Create something unique that gives you a sense of pleasure and accomplishment

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JSTOR // Healing Art in Hospitals Today

Hospitals working to prioritize an arts budget and curator must believe deeply in this endeavour—and be willing to pay for it. Baron and Greene highlight the challenges hospitals face in developing an arts budget, tracking international art budgets for new hospitals in Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, France, West Germany, and the U.S. The most common enforced art expenditure they noted was 1% of the cost of the construction cost of the hospital. Determining and selecting the art for the hospitals is another part of the equation and each hospital handles this differently. Read More

The Wall Street Journal. //More Hospitals Use the Healing Powers of Public Art

Researchers are learning more about the precise ways paintings and other works of art help patients and families in the healing process. With studies showing a direct link between the content of images and the brain’s reaction to pain, stress, and anxiety, hospitals are considering and choosing artworks based on the evidence and giving it a higher priority than merely decoration for sterile rooms and corridors. Read More

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine // Visual Art in Hospitals: Case Studies and Review of the Evidence

That the arts and sciences are seen as two contrasting disciplines, and indeed are defined as such, immediately presents challenges to a discussion of art in medicine, one of the foremost branches of science. There has, nevertheless, always been an awareness of the ‘art of medicine’ and a realization that health is influenced by a wide range of factors, many of which fall outside the conventional boundaries of medical science. Read More