Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/666019
LED BY FOUR VISIONARY WOMEN UNDER 30, THE YEAR-OLD ARTS TEAM HAS ALREADY HELPED OLAFUR ELIASSON AND AI WEIWEI, AS WELL AS THE SMITHSONIAN, CONNECT WITH NEW AUDIENCES THAT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN WORK THEY SUPPORT, RATHER THAN MERELY FUND IT. culturedmag.com 215 percentage of fully funded projects? JN: Dance. We have a 63 percent success rate. It's a small but very supported, supportive community. What are some of the more surprising projects or proposals you've had? VR: We are the space for the new and innovative, so we often have artists doing something outside of their typical practice. Hyatt Mannix: Olafur Eliasson is a good example of that. VR: Yes! His work is often about light, so he came to Kickstarter to launch a solar-powered charger that would enable people—often off the grid—to charge their phones through sunlight. HM: Another example is Alec Soth, the Minneapolis-based photographer. He launched a project to outfit an old RV into a mobile learning environment for teenagers. The goal is to bring in local artists and teachers and help teens experience the world through photography and art. What are some recent innovative projects on Kickstarter? VR: Tania Bruguera's project, Institute of Artivism, launched in March. William Kentridge has a project in collaboration with Tevereterno, Triumphs and Laments, which will include murals and a puppet performance along the Tiber River in Rome. We also have a proposal from the Chinati Foundation for their Robert Irwin Project. HM: Tania is using rewards in an interesting way. One of them is that you can blame her for something you've done complete with documentation. Do you have any particular goals for your categories? JN: I'm looking forward to hosting more IRL [in real life] experiences for creators, maybe inviting them to come in for cocktails and choreography. I want to give them opportunities to meet other artists and collaborate. I would love to see a project that is completely constructed via backers, so you pledge $1 and get to insert a move; then if you pledge $5 you get five moves. There are so many possibilities that haven't been tapped, and that's exciting. VR: For me, it's establishing us as a place to discover and create art that should be shared with the public and be socially engaged. Is there anyone in your dreams to tap as a potential Kickstarter partner? HM: You should see the list—we have maybe 400 people on it! VR: Vik Muniz has been on my mind as someone who could do something awesome. I would love to see Kara Walker work with us for her next public project, or Amanda Williams, an artist in Chicago I think is really rad. How is Kickstarter in dialogue with the traditional model of patronage? VR: For me it's about options. People often ask if it's okay if part of a project is funded through a grant or foundation and then part of it will be at Kickstarter, and that is totally fine. It's also exciting to think about a world in which funding for the arts is democratized in a sense—that what is being created is the result of a conversation with a broader group who might not traditionally have had the power and potential to be patrons. The ways in which Kickstarter can be used are still changing. I think there's a lot of dimensionality there and we're encouraging people to just explore. PHOTO BY WHITNEY BROWNE