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Activism through Art: Ai Weiwei’s “Sunflower Seeds”
Sunflower seeds: small, unique, and fragile; we consider them cheap edibles. Sunflower Seeds was a 2010 Tate Modern Installation by the Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, an exhibit for which he was arrested.
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Corie Mattie: Hope Dealer
Corie Mattie moved to Los Angeles to use art as a form of self-exploration. Her murals now jump off LA’s walls to share messages of hope and positivity even in the times of the most hopelessness and desperation.
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Wood You March: Plywood as Canvas
Renowned NYC graffiti artist Optimo NYC curated an exhibition of plywood boards painted on retail storefronts in 2020 in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at Sun Art NYC gallery in Brooklyn. In addition to plywood boards from 2020, the show displayed other works of art on wood at the opening reception on 3/8/2023. Check out Kurt Boone’s photo recap of the event!
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UP5 PREVIEW – Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya: The Neuroscientist-Artist Fighting Anti-Asian Racism
After experiencing anti-Asian racism during the early days of the pandemic, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya took her emotions and channeled it into a series of illustrations, portraying perseverance in the face of discrimination, with her being featured on the cover of TIME Magazine and across Times Square.
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Belfast, A Mural Lover’s Paradise With a Dark Edge
Belfast, Northern Ireland isn’t necessarily on the map as a street art destination, but it’s home to a vibrant artistic culture that has much to teach the rest of the world. Emma speaks to Belfast artist Judith Guiney and reflects on how to capture a changing city.
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Reclaiming Spaces to Spark Imaginations: An Encounter with Radical Playground
Noah examines how one European art collective is bringing a whimsical revolution to the streets of Lisbon, Genova, Bruxelles, and more: Meet Antoine Caramalli’s Radical Playground.
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Early Riser’s New York
Early Riser has cemented herself as a dynamic multimedia artist whose wide oeuvre spans from impassioned politics to heartfelt pet portraits. Emma, a fellow native New Yorker, spoke to her about her origins as a printmaker and how a mural of Prince led her into street art.
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The History of Western Art As An Ideological Endeavor
Western Art has always been driven by the dominant ideology and philosophy of the time, which has always been changing. With the coming of globalization and more inclusive and cosmopolitan, global perspectives, are we at the point of the end of Western Art? What were the merits and the flaws of Western Art and its ideology?
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Mr. Myl: Inspiring Havana
In May 2020 a large intervention by Mr. Myl appeared high above the streets of Havana. The image of a young boy with his face covered by a bandana and the word Coraje in large bold letters. Two months into the Covid-19 pandemic this was a message for all Cubans, for all people. A year later, when Cubans took to the streets in a historical demonstration of discontent, Coraje was demonstrated in a manner that has not been seen in decades.
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Press Release: UP MAGAZINE ISSUE 4 RELEASE PARTY
Join us on Saturday 7/31 at One Art Space to celebrate the release of our fourth issue. The release party is an opportunity to toast to street art, pick our contributors’ brains about their writing, and celebrate.