“29 x 29”

School of Visual Arts alumni donate work to support arts education in NYC public schools

Photography portfolio to raise funds for The Center for Arts Education

Exhibition: April 19 – 21, 2012

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 19, 6 – 8pm

Bruce Silverstein Gallery

529 West 20th Street, 3rd floor, New York City

http://mfaphoto.schoolofvisualarts.edu/29x29

(New York, March 5, 2012) — An accomplished group of graduates from the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) have donated original work to create 29 x 29, a limited-edition photography portfolio, the sale of which will benefit The Center for Arts Education (CAE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that New York City public school students receive quality arts education throughout their K-12 school years. An exhibition of the work selected for the portfolio project will be on view at Bruce Silverstein Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, 3rd floor, New York City, from April 19 – 21, 2012. The exhibition “29 x 29” is co-presented by The Center for Arts Education, the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at SVA and Bruce Silverstein Gallery.

Rising to the vanguard of their field, the artists of “29 x 29” have had their work exhibited internationally at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Walker Art Center; the Guggenheim Museum; the J. Paul Getty Museum and Tate Modern, among others, and have had their work featured in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, ARTnews and Art in America. The 29 participating artists are: Adam Bell, Alison Brady, Margarida Correia, Kate Cunningham, Rachel Feierman, Abigail Feldman, Sarina Finkelstein, Christopher Fisher, Shuli Hallak, Thomas Holton, Shai Kremer, Molly Landreth, Gina Levay, Jeff Liao, Karen Moscovitch, Yamini Nayar, Rachel Papo, Suellen Parker, Matthew Pillsbury, Nicholas Prior, Kanako Sasaki, Sarah Schorr, Alix Smith, Amy Stein, Lorenzo Triburgo, Jan Wandrag, Shen Wei, JeongMee Yoon and Nina Young.

CAE Executive Director Eric G. Pryor said, “The Center for Arts Education is honored to be the beneficiary of this extraordinary project. On behalf of the more than 1 million students and teachers in our public schools, CAE would like to thank the artists of 29 x 29 for their commitment to arts education for students across New York City.”

The project was organized and curated by SVA alumni Christopher Fisher (2005 MFA Photography, Video and Related Media) and Hilary Schaffner (2010 MFA Photography, Video and Related Media), director of Halsey Mckay Gallery in East Hampton, New York. Fisher proposed the idea for the project as a way for the SVA classmates from 2004 - 2006 to reconnect, while working on a joint project for a charitable cause of significance to them as photographers. “Funding for the arts is usually the first thing that gets cut,” says Fisher. “We saw this project as a way we can help out and support CAE’s mission which, as artists, seemed like a perfect fit.”

MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department Chair Charles Traub explained, “It’s a great pleasure to see graduates from our department at SVA—an immensely successful group of young photographers—come together to lend their talent in support of an organization aimed at championing the rights of schoolchildren to a proper arts curriculum that they are entitled to and desperately need, and encouraging future generations of artists. As an educator and a long-time supporter of CAE, I’m delighted to see what they have done with 29 x 29 and hope this project will provide momentum to inspire other artists to follow the lead of these SVA graduates and help such a worthy cause.”

Bruce Silverstein, director of Bruce Silverstein Gallery and CAE board member said, “It is an honor and a necessity to support the arts in our public schools, and we are thrilled to be collaborating with our friends at the School of Visual Arts in presenting such a remarkable group of works, by such a progressive group of artists in support of the work of The Center for Arts Education.”

Vince Aletti, photography critic for The New Yorker, has written an introduction to the 29 x 29 portfolio. Only 29 signed and numbered editions will be produced, which will be available for purchase. Purchasing details can be found on the project's web site. All sale proceeds from 29 x 29 will benefit The Center for Arts Education (CAE).

The exhibition “29 x 29” will open with a reception on April 19, 2012 from 6 – 8pm at Bruce Silverstein Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, 3rd floor, New York City and will remain on view through April 21, 2012. The gallery will be open on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 from 12noon – 4:30pm.

About the co-presenters:

One of the first graduate programs to incorporate digital practice, the MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media Department at the School of Visual Arts is dedicated to the creative practice of both traditional and digital lens-based arts and to the integration of new theories, contexts and techniques of these ever-evolving media. Emphasizing the expansion of the photographic vocabulary, the Department encourages students to challenge the current boundaries of their media, and to look at the ways in which design, video, social media, telecommunications, and other electronic components are impacting contemporary work in the field.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose. For more information, visit www.sva.edu.

Established in 2001, the Bruce Silverstein Gallery’s principle focus is the representation of an international roster of contemporary artists as well as established artists of great influence. The gallery is committed to discovering, examining, and contextualizing known and unknown artworks by modern masters as well as innovative artists of today. For more information, visit www.brucesilverstein.com.

The Center for Arts Education (CAE) is dedicated to ensuring that all New York City public school students have quality arts learning as an essential part of their K-12 education. Today CAE leads the effort to ensure quality arts learning opportunities through a unique combination of school based, direct service programs in all arts disciplines, professional development, and advocacy and public engagement. For more information, please visit www.caenyc.org.

Media Contacts:

The Center for Arts Education: Alex Navarro-Kay, 646.360.0651, alex@berlinrosen.com

School of Visual Arts: Keri Murawski , 212.592.2164, kmurawski@sva.edu

Bruce Silverstein Gallery: Jennifer LaMaide, 212.627.3930, jennifer@brucesilverstein.com