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Visual Collaborative
Status    Active    
Genre    Conference, exhibitions and digital properties    
Frequency    Seasonal    
Venue    Various locations, Online    
Headquarters    Minneapolis Minnesota, New York City, United States    
Years active19
Inaugurated2007    
Founder    Olufeko    
Organized by    Visual Collaborative, LLC,
Partnerships    
Filing statusPrivate    
PeopleTola Ogunleye
Electronic Publishing
CategoriesLifestyle
Innovation  
First issueApril 5, 2019  
LanguageEnglish (Some articles in French)  
ISSN  2642-9780  
OCLC1096432925  
Websitevisualcollaborative.com

Visual Collaborative is a U.S based festival and publishing platform that highlights the intersections of people, commerce and innovation. Receiving acclaim internationally, it was featured by The Guardian which described the work as constantly redefining the concept of popups by its gatherings. The platform organizes exhibitions that feature talks, digital art, technology and live music performances. Over the years the initiative has grown in scope and size, aligning with global sustainable goals.[1][2][3]

History

In 2006, Visual Collaborative was founded by designer and technologist Ade Abayomi Olufeko, to bridge the gap between creative professionals and their commercial value.[1][4] Since originating in Minneapolis, Visual Collaborative has showcased collections and talks in Minneapolis, Miami, New York City, The Mission San Francisco California,[5] Columbia Maryland, and Washington D.C.[6]

In 2007, the group's inaugural event featured international artists Miko Simmons and Linda Zacks, took place at the original Center for Independent Artists, inside Instituto de Cultura y Educacion located in a community of South Minneapolis. In 2011, in Washington D.C., Visual Collaborative produced an exhibition featuring emerging and established artists with a collection described as vibrant new art.[6]  In 2015, the platform collaborated with the Arts District Hyattsville Master Association in Hyattsville, utilizing the Lustine Center to host a group exhibition themed Vanity.[7]

Operating model

Up until 2015, the platform's exhibitions occurred as disruptive innovation in a traveling formatted pattern.[8] They have been held in reputable galleries, lofts or donated spaces  by private owners who include art enthusiasts and lifelong patrons of the arts.[7] They are executed through joint ventures with other arts and humanities organisations[4]  which have in the past included Arts District Hyattsville Master Association in Prince George’s County and Voices for Children Miami.[9] In April 2019, Visual Collaborative launched an open access online collective called Polaris, also documented as North Star by the Library of Congress, ISSN 2642-9780.[10]

Ethiopian American Actress, Singer-Songwriter Selam Worku, performing live at ENCORE exhibition in Columbia, 2013

Visual Collaborative is a platform that represents artists and works of diverse backgrounds. Its past emerging and notable features include: Aniekan Udofia, Tiphanie Brooke, Dawn Okoro, Danielle Eckhardt, Eugene Ankomah and music recording artist TolumiDE.[11]

In 2008, Visual Collaborative adopted an outreach model, partnering with Voices for Children Miami-Dade, a Children Foundation that raises funds for abused and neglected children in Miami-Dade County—The organisation gave their proceeds to charity to help build the bridge between the community and the arts.[12][13]

Exhibitions

Events held in U.S Cities before publishing expansion:

10 Year anniversary

In spring 2017, Visual Collaborative's founder Olufeko attended and spoke at the Blavatnik School of Government's Breaking the Frame[works] conference at Oxford University, discussing media, technology and socioeconomics.[15] Prior to the conference, Visual Collaborative partnered with the conference team at Oxford issuing a painting titled the Philosophers Legacy. The concept was actively developed in stealth mode simultaneously with the conference's activities. The high-profiled charity artwork was inscribed with numerous signatures from art patrons and celebrities, the art piece was completed in October 2017, making its debut inside Sungbo's Eredo marking the platform's 10th year anniversary.[15]

Publishing

In April 2019, Visual Collaborative launched an open access online collective called Polaris, also documented as North Star by the Library of Congress, ISSN 2642-9780.[16] The project commenced in the winter of 2019 for a period of three months. The interdisciplinary collective featured 26 practitioners from various disciplines from the United States, Europe and African metropolitan cites such as Lagos and Cairo. Articles from the catalog received coverage from various news media for highlighting the intersections of people, commerce and innovation.[17][18][19] The Polaris catalogue explores creative disciplines, perspectives and intrinsic value of the featured practitioners and how they interact with society.[20][21]

Bahia Shehab, Egyptian artist and faculty at The American University in Cairo, featured in inaugural issue.

Polaris features both established or emerging people in the creative industry, intersecting with anthropology and humanities. Its subtopics may include health and wellness, architecture, fashion, entertainment news and non-partisan political themes. In addition to covering professionals from regions around the globe, the content aims to boost literacy in various socioeconomic circles.[22]

In June 2019 bringing in the summer equinox, the second volume of the Polaris series featuring 25 people was released under the title Voyager. Exploring life journeys of the invited participants in long form interview format, topics and subjects related to influence, economic disparities, pragmatism, self awareness and youth leadership among others were covered.[23] Grammy nominated music artist and performer Seun Kuti, the youngest son of legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti appeared as one of the main features.[22] Other features included Pan-African activist Aya Chebbi, the first ever African Union Youth Envoy, Marcie Rendon an Award-winning playwright, poet and writer of native American Ojibwe ancestry and Minneapolis Civil Rights Commissioner, Anika Robbins.

In the Voyager collective, some of the interviews are presented in both the french and english language, accommodating featured influencers from french speaking regions.[24] In the same month, during pre-coverage of Voyager's release, forthcoming issues were announced.[25]

"It’s refreshing to see younger people interested in creating, contextualizing, re-defining, preserving, and chronicling art, culture, and history." said Kaia Black, of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, who appeared in volume II of the collective.[26]

Polaris interviews

Selected features from over 100 guests from the Polaris catalogue Volumes 1-4. Credits from The Punch, This Day, Vanguard, The Guardian and Business Day news.[21][18][27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Visual Collaborative treats arts enthusiasts to an evening of performances". The Guardian. December 21, 2015.
  2. ^ Onyekwelu, Stephen (4 December 2019). "LIFE & ARTS Nse Ikpe-Etim, William Coupon, others drive creative sector SDG". Business Day. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Nse Ikpe-Etim, William Coupon and Nere Teriba in latest Visual Collaborative SDG publication". Guardian Arts. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b Makori, Vincent (host) (18 December 2015). "A technologist, Visual Collaborative". Africa 54. Voice Of America (VOA). {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ "Black White Monochrome and Color  ". FSD Academy  . Oct 21, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |publisher= at position 13 (help); no-break space character in |title= at position 34 (help)
  6. ^ a b c "Visual Grandeur, A Visual Collaborative Exhibition". African Digital Art. December 18, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Visual Collaborative Redefining the essence of arts". The Guardian Nigeria. October 8, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  8. ^ "About Visual Collaborative". visualcollaborative.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  9. ^ "R&B Singer TolumiDE Serenades Guests at Visual Collaborative 'VANITY' Event!". Ladybrille.com. December 17, 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Visual Collaborative in Periodicals database | OCLC WorldCat". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  11. ^ "Artists & Speakers". visualcollaborative.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  12. ^ Visual Collaborative Miami Florida HFA
  13. ^ a b "Visual Collaborative Art Exhibition, Miami 2008!". Ladybrille. April 15, 2008. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "Diaspora Initiative continues its platform to push emerging artists". Entertaining Africa. December 19, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Ibiwoye Dotun. "African leaders endorse Philosophers'Legacy". Vanguard Nigeria. Retrieved Dec 8, 2017.
  16. ^ "Visual Collaborative in Periodicals database | OCLC WorldCat". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  17. ^ "Ade Olufeko speaks at Yale University, collaborates with Bahia Shehab, others in new collective". New Telegraph. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Bahia Shehab, Bobby Yan, others feature on Visual Collaborative". The Punch. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  19. ^ Agbana, Rotimi (2 April 2019). "Shehab, Bobby, Tosin Oshinowo, others featured on Visual Collaborative". Vanguard (Nigeria). Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  20. ^ Oreoluwa, Mayowa (2 April 2019). "Ade Olufeko speaks at Yale University, collaborates with Bahia Shehab, others in new collective". News Direct. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Tosin Oshinowo, Remi Vaughan-Richards, and other Nigerians featured in online catalogue". This Day. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  22. ^ a b "U.S based Festival Platform Visual Collaborative features Seun Kuti & Other Africans". Bella Naija. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  23. ^ Ganiu, Olaitan (17 June 2019). "Seun Kuti, Seun Kentebe, others featured on international platform". The Nation. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Elozi Lomponda Interview by Visual Collaborative". Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Seun Kuti, Chris Uwaje, Others to be featured on Visual Collaborative". No. Life & Style. This Day. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Kaia Black Interview on Visual Collaborative". Visual Collaborative. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  27. ^ Bankole, Idowu (17 June 2019). "Seun Kuti, Chris Uwaje, others to feature on American platform, 'Visual Collaborative". Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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