Artists-In-Presidents: Transmissions to Power

Series produced by Fraser McCallum

Series image

Artists-in-Presidents: Transmissions to Power is a polyvocal art project initiated by Constance Hockaday that takes up and subverts the model of the Presidential Address. The Blackwood has commissioned 21 artists, thinkers, performers, and writers to create audio addresses that perform power in new and different ways, and together compose a rousing collection of imaginative proposals for the leadership we need in this moment of global crisis and possibility.

Initiated by Hockaday in 2020, a previous iteration of Artists-in-Presidents was presented alongside the 2020 US presidential election campaign, produced in partnership with UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance and Stanford Live Arts. Artists-In-Presidents: Fireside Chats for 2020 brought together fifty artists to assume authority over our collective future and to address the nation over radio, podcast, social media, and in a virtual gallery. Now, commissioned in 2021 with the support of the Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, Artists-in-Presidents: Transmissions to Power continues to expand and reimagine vernaculars and aesthetics of power with the bodies and voices of brilliant thinkers, artists, writers, performers, and musicians—calling on them to assume authority over our collective future. This iteration brings together artists from across Turtle Island, England, Bahrain, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, Indonesia, Afghanistan, India, and Lebanon, envisioning new local and global propositions for leadership.

With the support of the Blackwood, Hockaday offers all Artists-In-Presidents access to professional speechwriters and technical support in creating their unique presidential addresses and portraits. For Artists-in-Presidents: Transmissions to Power, 21 audio addresses and presidential portraits from artists as leaders will be released every Friday from August 6 to December 17, 2021 at www.blackwoodgallery.ca and www.artistsinpresidents.com. Hide full description

Initiated by Hockaday in 2020, a previous iteration of Artists-in-Presidents was presented alongside the 2020 US presidential election campaign, produced in partnership with UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance and Stanford Live Arts. Artists-In-Presidents: Fireside Chats for 2020 brought together fifty artists to assume authority over our collective future and to address the nation over radio, podcast, social media, and in a virtual gallery. Now, commissioned in 2021 with the support of the Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, Artists-in-Presidents: Transmissions to Power continues to expand and reimagine vernaculars and aesthetics of power with the bodies and voices of brilliant thinkers, artists, writers, performers, and musicians—calling on them to assume... Show full description


26 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Piece image
“A healthy ecosystem is a multitude of life forces. So love yourself. Be fulfilled in your meadow flower-ness, your mossiness, your grassiness, you...

  • Added: Nov 11, 2021
  • Length: 06:31
Piece image
“There is an urgency to save our time from becoming the cost of business.” Raqs Media Collective’s trio-logue binds economics to climate change, e...

  • Added: Dec 02, 2021
  • Length: 11:10
Piece image
“Resistance, and the fight for freedom are still sacred for us. We must not lose our last hope or abandon our dreams. And we want you not to lose y...

  • Added: Nov 25, 2021
  • Length: 04:31
Piece image
“We can’t lose sight of the fact that we need each other, especially because we don’t have precisely the same experiences, feelings, or words.” As...

  • Added: Dec 09, 2021
  • Length: 06:47
Piece image
“Resistance, and the fight for freedom are still sacred for us. We must not lose our last hope or abandon our dreams. And we want you not to lose y...

  • Added: Nov 25, 2021
  • Length: 04:51
Piece image
The Outro Message to “Artists-In-Presidents: Transmissions to Power” is a soundscape bringing together messages from across the 21 episodes, and ne...

  • Added: Dec 16, 2021
  • Length: 07:20