Unlocking the Relationship Between Art and Space
At NINE dot ARTS, we regularly tell our clients that transforming a space into an art experience is as much about the process as it is about the outcome. If you happened to read our latest blog post, you’d learn that the most powerful art installations start with the foundation of a clear vision and well-defined goals.
Our skilled art curators use this foundation as their “North Star,” making sure that everything the client sees and experiences, including the artists we partner with and types of artwork we recommend curating, is a reflection of their brand, goals and expectations for the installation.
With that baseline in mind, our curating team, through detailed research and curatorial creativity, begins to form the makings of an inspired and purposeful art experience.
To initiate this next stage, we engage with the architects, designers and contractors to dig deep and better understand the functioning of a space. Studying the environment first-hand from a tangible, in-person perspective – called a site walk – provides a tremendous amount of inspiration for our team. Our site walks are comprised of our curators and art administrators, of course our clients, sometimes a photographer or videographer and, in some cases, our partner artists.
Site walks are imperative in establishing a connection from the space to our client’s ultimate vision, effecting how the final product comes to life. Site walks also give our clients confidence we understand the location and its nuances (take, for example, speaker systems, outlets, lights, or fire alarms that impact how the art is created and installed) and can deliver a meaningful art experience.
From there, we translate what is largely an exchange of ideas into a visual representation of the vision, finding and proposing artworks that move the project forward in a distinctive, relevant and experiential way. Curating is what we know best, but we also know that the best curation happens when we continually collaborate with our clients. Whether we’re curating art for a one-room install or a multi-facility project, we ensure that our clients have a voice throughout the entire creative process. Because that’s when strong themes really emerge.
In fact, we recently presented an art collection to a major real estate investment company that culminated in an installation of recommended artworks that are diverse and eclectic while remaining cohesive and concentrated. From an “Urban West” theme that brings the western spirit to a city landscape to an “Open Skies” package that challenges residents to raise their expectations, our presentations of collections are designed to create dialogue and engage audiences. Taken together, however, we can convey the ways that these concepts, although starkly different from one another, function in harmony with the client’s brand, vision and space.
Creating a memorable experience can’t be accomplished without first assembling each piece of the curatorial puzzle. From the vision and road map to the site walk and art proposal, NINE dot ARTS knows exactly what it takes to give your space the makeover it’s been waiting for.
Next time, we’ll explore how we bring it all together. Stay tuned!