Outline:

Artwork Local_404, a speculative union, is meant to achieve a collaborative envisioning of what a thriving union could look like for artists. In this project we will explore how we can transform artists’ ability to take collective action so that artists are more successful and have productive inter-community relationships and knowledge sharing.

These speculations create an open way for us to collectively brainstorm what a different kind of Union could be. We want to make sure our freak flag flies, it’s a safe space for a diversity of thought experiments. We’re making space to explore what a union could be outside the confines of the type of union we could build today.

Team:

Izzie Colpitts-Campbell, Lee Jones, Emmanuel Madan, Tim Maughan

01 – Reference

Unionization in the creative sector is not a new idea. In New York in the aftermath of the Great Depression the Artists’ Union formed (founding members included  Phil Bard, Boris Gorelick, Max Spivak, and Mark Rothko and Getrude Greene later joined). Initially a lobby for unemployment support, the union’s advocacy expanded to picketing the Whitney Museum and the municipal art projects office for economic relief and fair compensation.

02 – Preview

In our conversations we’ve discussed the idea of a union as a notion of transparency, a set of values, an automated entity, a dataset, an artist’s statement, and an overarching politics; these are early concepts for our speculative union’s logo and branding.

03 – Collaboration

Like everyone, the Artwork Local_404 team collaborated through Zoom in 2020. Here Emmanuel, Tim, and Lee mug for their webcams while Izzie plays director.