Six years ago I began a journey to try to learn all that I could about contemporary art and one of the most influential and amazing resources I relied on was the non-profit organization Art 21.  Art 21,  Art in the 21st Century is a PBS series, educational resource, archive, and history of contemporary art. It premiered in 2001, and is now broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide. Every two years they produce a new season of original TV and Art:21 is the only series on United States television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists.

Last Friday, PBS premiered Season 8 with a focus on artists from different cities around the world. The Chicago episode was breathtaking and I recommend you shut off Anderson Cooper tonight and watch Episode 1. The next new episodes air this Friday at 9 & 10PM and they present a rare opportunity for you and your family to see how some of the most creative people in the world do what they do and to hear from them directly.

We created One River School of Art + Design to teach art and our curriculum is built on some of the very same artists that Art 21 has profiled over the last eight years. I am also proud to say that last week I joined the Board of Trustees for Art 21 and I hope to help support their growth. What they do is a national treasure…Art 21 serves our greater good and if you would like to support them as well you can make a donation here.

Art in the 21st is the counterbalance to all that is bad in the world…check it out and you will smile and feel better about humanity…its that simple.

Matt Ross
Founder
#MondayThoughts #Art21
matt@oneriverschool.com