We wrote a guide/book on contemporary creation in New York.
What do artists have to say about the city they live in, when it comes to societal challenges? Aude & Anne co-wrote a book about contemporary creation in New York for French publishing company Les Ateliers Henry Dougier.
The book was launched in February 2022.
We spoke with artists and art professionals living in New York to hear their views. Through 40+ face-to-face encounters and interviews, the book helps shed new light on the city, its diversity, its powerful creative potential as well as its social fabric.
Our intention was to highlight the booming world of contemporary art in all its forms across New York’s 5 boroughs, and emphasize the role that artists can play in their communities.
Our book is available in most bookstores in France, at Albertine in New York and online.
On June 2, 2022, we were invited by FIAF (French Institute / Alliance Française) in New York to lead a conversation (in French) about the book. See it in replay here.
“Disparities in class, wealth and resources exist everywhere but in New York, everything is amplified times 10. The Bronx is the poorest neighborhood in America, whereas it is only 4 subway stops away from the richest. Among the poor and working class here, art is seen as something that is not for them. Art is now transforming lives and community around here.”
— Michael Kamber, Founder and director of the Bronx Documentary Center
“The multiplicity of difference is what New York is. Everybody is from somewhere, even the Americans are from somewhere. It’s a cosmopolitan place. The pace of it, the urbanity of it, are amazing. My idea of dance is broader than the choreographed event, you’re constantly in dialog, exchanging. In this space where a healthy informed body is determined to engage with another body, there’s always a potential for something greater to emerge. Using the body efficiently to make it resonate is for the better.”
— Nora Chipaumire, Choreographer & Dancer
“The people in my portraits are people that have a life, that have had a life – they’ve suffered, they have that intensity in their eyes. I like people that have a roadmap on their faces. Look, these people are me. I photograph me. I’m putting my soul out there.”
— Bruce Gilden, Photographer
“I moved to New York when I was 19. Art school felt a bit too safe for me and I needed to make the world my curriculum. As artists, we are all inspired by the world around us, and we translate that into something. Right now is a very interesting time because everything and every world are intersecting. My generation is an embodiment of integration, and we need to show the world how to see that.”
— Kennedy Yanko, Painter & Sculptor
“New York is one of the few cities that is intimately tied to the entire world. Growing up here prepares you for the world. My job as an artist is to see, and to make visible all the communities that I touch. Art is about making connections. Culture integrates, it brings people together.”
— Christopher Myers, Multimedia Artist, Writer & Playwright