Rhizome Commissions Voting
by Nick Farr on June 4, 2009
in Art & Beauty, New Funding Models
While funding for the arts is easier to come by in good times, it’s always the first thing to go during a downswing. Finding funding for the arts is a profession in and of itself, one that needs to shift away from begging governments, corporations and foundations to a model that directly engages those moved by the arts.
One such model I’m personally familiar with is the Rhizome Commissions Program. I joined Rhizome so I could support commission proposals from Edith Kollath and Diana Eng, both friends of mine from NYC Resistor. Were it not for their participation, I wouldn’t have even heard about Rhizome let alone added them to the list of organizations I’m proud to be a supporter of.
While contests like these aren’t a perfect way of picking worthy art projects, the program’s use of online approval and instant run-off voting is one strong way Rhizome helps “encourage and expand the communities around … emerging artistic practices that engage technology.”
I’m happy to report that Diana’s proposal, Fictional Jewelry and Other Wistful Adornments is one of the finalists. All of the projects themselves are worth checking out, and I expect to blog more about these artists and their work in the future. Below the fold are the links and my ranking of the finalists, with their project summaries (some of which I truncated for brevity’s sake).
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