About + 2021 Theme

What is DEALR?

DEALR is a collaborative project. Six artists of various mediums are blind paired to form teams of two. Those teams are given a theme, a budget and 16 collective days over three months to create 1-2 large works or 5-10 small works of their choosing.

DEALR invites participants to approach their collaborations without constraints or caveats beyond the initial theme. The goal is for artists to share ideas and techniques while taking up the mantle of play, connection and wonder after a stressful period of relative isolation.

 
 

  • DEALR builds relationships and encourages trust through collaboration.

  • Teams of two artists are asked to conceptualize a dream project utilizing their respective skills in tandem with each other. The project can be large or small, in a studio or out in the world. The only limitations are that of the artists’ imaginations.

  • Once artists decide what their project will be they set about the task of bringing their concept to life. Artists document and share their ideas through photography, video and bi-weekly zoom discussions to disseminate their visions.

 

2021 Theme

Artistic Inspiration:

Throughout history, there are examples of famous artistic collaborations (e.g. Man Ray and Marcel Duchamps, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera or Andy Warhol and Basquiat), some more successful than others.

These collaborations required a certain amount of trust, an element of play and a spirit of innovation. Some produced incredible bodies of work, while others provided a road map to a period in the artists' lives in which they expanded their practices through thoughtful experimentation. This project takes inspiration from the power of collaboration while encouraging community building, creative freedom and play.

Premise:

Artist works will respond to the inquiry; does the principle of form follows function still apply in a pandemic age? Mid-pandemic, our perspectives on consumption and what we "need" have changed. We are now more likely to embrace the idiom: less is more. Instead of thoughtlessly accumulating, we tend to value objects with deeper meaning beyond pure consumption or aesthetics.

How, as artists, makers and creators, does this impact our practice? Does form need to follow function, or can elements of play, joy and hubris be introduced to enhance or inform how we approach functionality in post-pandemic life?