lowercase focus: January 21, 2021

Welcome to lowercase focus, a bi-monthly program which seeks to highlight emerging artists and exhibitions over the world.

What a crazy year 2020 was. Luckily, I had this platform to share with lowercase readers some of the artistic projects and practices that inspired me whilst in lockdown. And as the arts community evolved throughout the pandemic, those who shifted the way they work to suit the new ways we all consume art. As this is the first article of the year, I’d like to take a different approach than usual: highlighting some of the exhibitions I’m excited to see throughout the year.

1. Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now. National Gallery of Australia.

The feminist tendency within the art world has been strengthening over past years. We’re seeing equality within programming and a more balanced ratio of female to male exhibitors. The National Gallery of Australia is spearheading this trend with their exhibition, Know My Name. It features the most comprehensive collection of female artists in the country’s history and hopes to open new dialogues as well as highlight the histories and achievements of women ‘down under’.

2. The VAA International Online Art Exhibition 2021

The VAA International Online Art Exhibition 2021 is an alternative and ambitious global exhibition that, although avoiding any pandemic responding dialogue, is a repercussion of travel and gathering restrictions. Presented in an entirely online format, the exhibition will showcase the works of over 2000 artists. Interestingly however, the fair works in a direct artist-customer relationship. In essence, taking out the gatekeeper of the gallerist; leaving a viable platform for alternative, experimental or emerging art forms to thrive.

3. The Obama Portraits Tour.

Painted by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, the iconic portraits of Barack and Michelle are set to go on tour through five galleries in the USA through 2021 and early 2022. I find this run of shows to be fascinating. The juxtaposition of art, culture and politics that occurred during the Obama presidency and the sheer number of responses to these works are not to be missed.

4. The Lume

The Lume is a temporary independent touring gallery that focuses on augmented reality and immersive exhibitions. While many galleries have been focussed on digital outreach and alternative programming through 2020, they are a nice reminder of the possibilities of in-person artmaking assisted by modern technology.

5. Digital Earth

Digital Earth is a must see soon exhibition, closing later this month. The Russian project, organised by Winzavod and Re:store in Moscow, with backing from Al Gore, explores the future of our planet through a scientific lens, showcasing the impact of human actions on our environment. The entirely digital affair utilises semantic coding to showcase the possibilities of the geo-space revolution and is not to be missed.

Emerson Radisich is a curator, writer and educator currently based in Melbourne, Australia.