ACCA Open is a new series of contemporary art projects commissioned for the digital realm. Initially conceived as a way for ACCA to continue to work with and support contemporary artists during COVID-19-related gallery closures and disruptions, ACCA Open began as an open-call invitation to Australian artists from all backgrounds, career levels and practices to submit ideas for projects that could be presented through digital platforms.
One of the intentions of the series was to support artists to develop their practice in new ways, and we are delighted to announce six new commissions by participating artists Archie Barry, Zanny Begg, Léuli Eshrāghi, Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey, Amrita Hepi and Sam Lieblich, and Sean Peoples. Traversing the fields of artificial intelligence, sound, animation, video and archives, their works speak to the breadth of possibility working in the digital realm, and respond to the unusual times and cultural conditions in which they are produced.
Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey explore the endless ambience and elasticity of time, while Amrita Hepi and Sam Lieblich deploy language, movement and neuroscience to consider the increasing prevalence of algorithmic subjectivity. Archie Barry’s project is oriented towards the affective realms of sound and music, away from ocular-centric presence, while Zanny Begg’s filmic narrative presents psycho-philosophical reflections on histories of isolation, contagion and quarantine. Sean Peoples and Léuli Eshrāghi draw on cosmology and the digital archive as an open source for speculative fiction and historical re-interpretation, and as a meeting place and a keeping place for ancestral and other forms of knowledge.
The works commissioned for ACCA Open also support development of ACCA’s programming beyond the gallery walls, offering audiences and viewers multiple ways to engage with contemporary art through our digital platforms.
Projects Launch Dates:
Wednesday 19 August
Amrita Hepi and Sam Lieblich: Neighbour
Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey: How much time do we have?
Wednesday 30 September
Archie Barry: Multiply
Léuli Eshrāghi: AOAULI
Wednesday 28 October
Zanny Begg: Magic Mountains
Sean Peoples: OFFWORLD
Curatorial team: Max Delany, Annika Kristensen, Miriam Kelly
Digital publishing, consultation and design development: Rowan McNaught
Selection panel: Max Delany, Artistic Director/CEO, ACCA; Annika Kristensen, Senior Curator, ACCA; Miriam Kelly, Curator, ACCA; Bianca Winataputri, Public Programs Coordinator, ACCA; Fayen d’Evie, Artist, academic, publisher and ACCA Board member; and Rowan McNaught, Artist and publisher
ACCA Open commissions are supported in part by Creative Victoria’s Strategic Investment Fund. ACCA also acknowledges the ongoing support of Creative Victoria, Australia Council for the Arts, Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, and City of Melbourne.