“Presenting my work in another culture put to the test the assumptions and expectations of my efforts. Overall, the experience allowed me to gain insights into various aspects of my work. Also, I think I was able to hone in on what actually is the initial appeal of using smoke. Professionally speaking, the experience has allowed me to sharpen my focus; I want to further develop the fundamental primordial aspects of the visual work I produce.”
A Collaboration between the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies Program and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Five artists representing five different voices and tribes were selected to create new works, honoring the diversity of Native American traditions. Art in Embassies is proud to share the rich and diverse work in this collection, […]
Art in Embassies is pleased to present Contemporary Conversations, a speaking series created in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Ottawa and the National Gallery of Canada. In a public, moderated discussion, this new series will feature four American contemporary artists whose work is part of the Art in Embassy exhibition at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence.
Commissioned by the State Department’s office of Art in Embassies (AIE), artist Marie Watt has created an artwork for the new U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan with public submissions.
On Friday July 24, 2015, Art in Embassies Director Ellen Susman happily accepted 40 Days Around the World Quilt, a unique work of textile are donated by former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith. The quilt project, initiated by VSA Tennessee (a State affiliate of the VSA International Organization on Arts and Disability) patches […]
“Working with Art in Embassies makes us proud to say that this is the first time the organization has had the opportunity to display them internationally.” – Jonas Stigh, Director of Marketing and Public Relations Studio in a School, New York The artworks currently on display at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Japan […]
After Mickalene Thomas was commissioned to create the mural, she had the opportunity to visit Dakar, and was struck by the beauty of both the urban and natural landscape of the area. She was especially struck by its markets, the beach, the buildings, native trees and plants, and boats, which she photographed and used as […]
The Art in Embassies: Morocco course is a partnership between RISD and the U.S. Department of State’s office of ART in Embassies (AIE). This collaborative project has been designed to promote cross-cultural exchange, and to recognize and nurture the talents of the next generation of professional artists. Renowned artist Jim Drain is working cooperatively on […]
In 2012, The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense recognized the 50th anniversary of the Office of Art in Embassies, through Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes, a collaborative photography project.
Palas por Pistolas initiated in the city of Culiacán, a city in western Mexico with a high rate of deaths by gunshot. The botanical garden of Culiacán has been comissioning artist to do interventions in the park and my proposal was to work in the larger scale of the city and organize a campaign for […]
“There are things you can do better in a mobile environment than you can with really big SLR’s” Stephen Alvarez
In many ways, it seems vital that art helps to house global diplomacy, because the practice of making and transferring cultural communication through design and craft has played a very large historic role in creating global networks and cultural exchange. Art is generous and can help us to communicate complex notions.
This kind of cultural diplomacy is important,…some of the best education is traveling to a new place and meeting new people. Working with artists across Botswana, I learned so much about the local people and culture….I can’t speak for the people, but they seemed excited to meet with us and talk about the issues we share and seeing our differences as well as the things we have in common.
Participating in an Art in Embassies exchange simultaneously heightened my awareness of myself as an American artist and also as a global artist. Seeing myself through the eyes of my Batswana contemporaries as a representative of America awoke a desire to more directly engage American art forms including Amish quilting and New York School painting […]
“I had never been to Africa before and part of me believed that I might never travel to Africa. Seeing different cities in Botswana and traveling outside of the capital city gave me a rich and varied view of the culture and how people live in different parts of the country. Experiencing and absorbing another […]
“I do not know what impact this exchange may have on my art career, but I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to experience this rich Pacific culture. I am certain images and influences from this exchange will be appearing in my work”
Our work is the creation of an interpretation of the daily environment. On Wednesday, May 13, American artist and 2013 TED Fellow Ryan Holladay presented a lecture at the Pump House Gallery , a public contemporary exhibition space housed in a distinctive four story Victorian tower in the center of Battersea Park in London. Pump […]
“I’m a Rwandan-American artist and I spent my formative years living between Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. Having a transnational identity has completely shaped my life as an artist… the flip side of that is that I’ve felt alienated because of my identity. Not everyone has the patience or interest in hearing a complicated […]
“What my work is about, is that it hides gender, race and class, so you’re forced to be confronted with something that is unfamiliar. It can’t be categorized.” Nick Cave – On May 28, 2015, American artist Nick Cave presented the second Contemporary Conversations lecture, an exciting new artist exchange program for Art in Embassies(AIE) […]
Art brings order to chaos. It gives it voice; it gives it a language.” – Eric Fischl In September 2015, artist Eric Fischl travelled to Ottawa to participate in the third installment of Contemporary Conversations, a series of public events organized by Art in Embassies (AIE), the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa, and […]