Kaldor Public Art Projects have been taking art to the wider spaces of the outdoors for over 50 years. Together with Australian and international artists Kaldor brings innovative art projects to realisation for presentation in public spaces. The first Kaldor project, the monumental Wrapped Coast (1969), saw environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude literally wrap two-and-a-half kilometres of cliff-face at Sydney’s Little Bay in swathes of fabric tied down with copious lengths of rope.
Clearly with the world in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, developing an art project for the public sphere at this time isn’t a viable option but, where there is desire – there is will, and where there is will – there is a way! Kaldor have established a creative partnership with London’s Serpentine Galleries, Independent Curators International and Google Arts & Culture to bring ‘Project 36: do it (australia)’ into the digital realm. A first for Kaldor Public Art Projects.
‘Project 36: do it (australia)’ is presented as part of a global network of creative exchange, whereby a series of artists instructions will be shared with the international partners’ wide-reaching audiences under the title ‘do it (around the world)’, and will be bringing 50 new commissioned artworks into public view while at the same time seeking to inspire audiences to make art at home.
From 13 May, each week, Australian artists Rafael Bonachela, Lauren Brincat, Megan Cope, Brian Fuata, Dale Harding, Saskia Havekes, Amrita Hepi, Jonathan Jones, Janet Laurence, Ian Milliss, Glenn Murcutt, Tracey Moffatt, nova Milne, Khaled Sabsabi and Latai Taumoepeau, who work across a range of artistic disciplines, will be presenting a string of typed or handwritten instructions (some paired with drawings or videos) for ‘do it (Australia)’, and they will be calling on audiences to get creative and share their own interpretations, with their own artistic vision.
The team at Kaldor will be revealing the artists instructions on their website and via Instagram over a three-week period and will be gathering and sharing the communities responses on their networks.
Curator and Serpentine Galleries’ Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist along with artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier launched ‘do it’ in 1993. For over three decades the ‘exhibition in progress’ styled project has been showcased around the world, and to date boasts more than 400 sets of artists’ instructions, which have been exhibited in 150 art spaces, across 15 countries and includes the creative input of renowned international artists Ai Weiwei, Yoko Ono, Louise Bourgeois, Adrian Piper, Tracey Emin and Richard Wentworth.
“Hans Ulrich Obrist and I have known each other for many years, and we are delighted to be working with him again on this global project. It is our hope that this 36th Project helps bring creativity to Australians at home and showcases Australian artists internationally,” says Kaldor Public Art Projects Director John Kaldor AO.
Watch ‘Project 36: do it (Australia)’ unfold here and be ready for anything from the absurd to the philosophical to come your way through this double-billed arts initiative taking Australian artists onto the world stage and connecting communities in a flurry of creativity.