The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, in collaboration with The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, kicks off 2021 with Cecilia Jansson’s workshop Explore the Distance, the third in the series Overcoming. Art Practices for the New Normal.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection continues its dialogue with young adults thanks to an opportunity to interact remotely with young, internationally renowned artists and learn about their artistic practices through Overcoming. Art Practices for the New Normal, four workshops conceived together with The Swatch Art Peace Hotel. The Swedish artist Cecilia Jansson will lead Explore the Distance, which will be held remotely from January 22–24, 2021. The universal language of art creates bridges between people of all ages and places around the world. While museums and cultural sites remain closed, the project plays an important role in giving young artists and the participants a voice in creating a continuous exchange of ideas and reflections.
The workshop is free and in English. Reservations possible since January 4, subject to availability. Two introductory meetings with the artist have been held on Zoom, open to all, on January 8 and 18. Carlo Giordanetti, CEO of The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, and Karole P. B. Vail, Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection participated in the first meeting on January 8.
The workshop led by Jansson will look at the technique of drawing and at the human body as one’s measuring instrument and limit. The social distancing of recent months has drawn attention to the external boundaries of our bodies, bringing an awareness of the psychological and emotional impact from closeness and physical distance. The workshop will focus on discussions, exercises and assignments to help participants process these current topics and be able to deliver their interpretations by creating large-scale drawings on paper. Techniques will include drawing, collage, and assemblage. The workshop will investigate boundaries of physical limitations and conclude with a symbolic installation of body silhouettes drawn by the participants. During the first part of the workshop, the artist will give instructions in a tutorial for drawing one’s silhouette. Everyone may participate by then sending their work by January 13, 2021 to: Education Department, Peggy Collection Guggenheim Dorsoduro 701, 30123 Venice.
“Cecilia Jansson’s work during her residency at The Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai fascinated me from the beginning, thanks to the artist’s ability to integrate the human being into her work, rendering it an object of representation and an active subject at the same time,” said Carlo Giordanetti. “In this workshop, which marks a significant step in our collaboration with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Cecilia has been able to combine the essence of her vision with current circumstances. I am sure that an interesting idea of a new community will evolve from her work and that of the young participants, perhaps the most pressing challenge of this historic period. We are excited and look forward to beginning the new year alongside the Peggy Guggenheim Collection with a truly inclusive art project that is open to everyone, especially to our younger audience, and which perfectly aligns with Swatch’s spirit of dialogue and contemporary art.”
The collaboration with Swatch Art Peace Hotel allows the participation of two emerging international artists, S.O.B and Cecilia Jansson, past recipients of the artist residency designed by Swatch. Founded in 2011 by Swatch President Nick Hayek, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel brings together artists from various disciplines—dance, music, performance, photography, video art, visual arts, and creative writing—and gives them the opportunity to live and work for a few months in Shanghai. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel has hosted 370 artists from over 50 countries so far. This art community has turned the artist residency into a laboratory for contemporary creative experimentation and cultural exchange in Shanghai. Over the past thirty years Swatch has developed a close connection with art and supported the making of a place and a community for free creative expression. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel translates such interest into a place of complete artistic freedom. Hence the wish to support the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and its values as a long-term corporate supporter of Guggenheim Intrapresæ and, in 2020, with this collaboration which focuses on and supports current art practices.
In addressing the issues of the contemporary world through the lens of art, Overcoming: Art Practices for the New Normal is part of the collaboration, which began in 2018, between the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and ASviS, the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development that promotes the 17 Goals of the United Nations 2030 agenda. The project focuses on quality education, goal number four of the United Nations 2030 agenda.
Harper’s Bazaar is the media partner for the series.