Adobe x Museums: How Adobe is Empowering Creators Worldwide
In June 2023, a transformative collaboration took place in the art world, bringing together digital art and education in a novel way: the Adobe x Museums program, a collaboration involving Adobe and iconic art institutions like the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
At the heart of Adobe x Museums lies the goal of empowering young creators and students worldwide. By providing emerging creators with vital resources, mentorship, and opportunities to exhibit their work, Adobe x Museums aims to contribute to the future development of digital art education and practice — all while promoting diversity and inclusivity in the creative fields, taking particular note of underrepresented communities.
In the following article, we explore the details of this initiative, unfolding the layers of Adobe x Museums’ impact on the art world, its participants, and its contributions to the ever-evolving landscape of digital creativity and education.
Adobe x Museums Program Overview: Empowering the Next Generation
The Adobe x Museums program, launched in collaboration with world-renowned art institutions like MoMA and the V&A, has several key components that underline its commitment to empowering the next generation of creators:
Creative Residency Program: This offers emerging artists unprecedented access to resources, mentorship, and exhibition opportunities at these world-class institutions. Artists early in their careers can access a museum’s resources, including staff expertise, mentorship, and a platform to display their work during a 12-to-18-month residency period.
Global Engagement: The program aims to engage over 10 million young creators and students globally in the next five years, through both online and in-person creative programming and resources. This includes serving diverse student groups such as English language learners, students with learning disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students, particularly in areas where creative programs are limited.
Educational Expansion: Both MoMA and the V&A plan to significantly expand their educational programming. MoMA, for example, aims to triple its school and youth programming capacity from 15,000 to 50,000, focusing on integrating arts education into school curriculums and supporting programming for diverse student bodies.
Financial Investment: The Adobe Foundation has committed $4.1 million in grants to fund the first year of programming for Adobe x Museums, providing emerging creators with unparalleled opportunities to develop their skills and showcase their work.
Creative Residents’ Community Engagement: The Creative Residents will partner with their local communities to produce socially engaged artwork, enhancing the impact of the creative programming.
Mentorship and Support: Adobe provides mentorship, product support, and free access to the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan to Creative Residents. This support is tailored to help them effectively communicate, solve new problems, and thrive in various vocations.
Long-term Collaboration Plans: The collaboration between Adobe and these museums is planned to last three to five years, with the potential to extend collaborations with additional art institutions globally in the future.
Essentially, the Adobe x Museums program exemplifies a holistic approach to nurturing emerging talent in the digital art world, combining resources, expertise, and global outreach to create a rich environment for artistic growth and expression.
Adobe x Museums Residency Program: A New Era in Art Education and Accessibility
The Adobe x Museums program stands as a groundbreaking fusion of technology and culture, forging a path that not only nurtures artistic talent but also revolutionizes access to art education, heralding a more inclusive and diversified art community. Pioneering in its approach, brings a significant shift from solitary artistic pursuits to a collaborative, integrated methodology, marrying Adobe’s technological prowess with the rich cultural and artistic insights of esteemed institutions like MoMA and the V&A.
By providing resources, mentorship, and platforms for exposure, Adobe x Museums invites artists from diverse backgrounds to engage with realms previously viewed as out of reach.
More than offering opportunities, this commitment to inclusivity nurtures an environment where diverse stories and expressions are integral to the artistic dialogue. Reflecting the complexity of modern art enthusiasts and creators, the program fosters a community that mirrors the world’s rich diversity, crucial for shaping a comprehensive and representative art world.
Setting a blueprint for future collaborations, the Adobe x Museums initiative illustrates how partnerships between technology companies and cultural institutions can adapt to the evolving needs of the art community.
Cultivating Tomorrow: Adobe’s Leap into Artistic Futures
Adobe x Museums Program represents a means of transformative change in the realm of art education and accessibility, where inclusivity and diversity are not mere ideals but the foundational pillars of operation.
It represents a future where technology and cultural heritage coalesce, paving the way for a world where art transcends traditional boundaries, becoming a unifying and inclusive force.
The Adobe x Museums Residency Program is a catalyst for a future where art is accessible, diverse, and reflective of our global community — a world where art is truly for everyone.
Adobe x Museums: Current Residents
Discover the 2024 Residents at the Victoria and Albert Museum and The Museum of Modern Art.
Luca Bosani – Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Specialization: Costume Design and Multimedia Art
Luca Bosani is an innovative artist who pushes the boundaries of wearable and performance art with their creation of Unidentified Performing Objects (UPOs). These wearable artworks defy traditional categorization, transforming both the wearer and the viewer by challenging conventional labels and perceptions. Bosani’s residency at the V&A focuses on exploring the museum’s theater and performance collections. They are actively engaging with young audiences through a series of workshops and performances, aimed at reimagining identity and challenging binary views of everyday life.
Jacqui Ramrayka – Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Specialization: Ceramics
British-Guyanese ceramicist Jacqui Ramrayka works primarily with porcelain to explore themes of memory, grief, and Indo-Caribbean diasporic identity. Her practice investigates the historical context of indentured labor in the Caribbean and the layered experience of migration—first to the Caribbean and then to the UK. Jacqui views her ceramic vessels as metaphors for the body and self, each piece reflecting personal and collective narratives. During her residency, she collaborates with the V&A Schools program to delve into themes such as diasporas, home, and belonging.
Rachel Sale – Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Specialization: Illustration
Rachel Sale, founder of F.A.T. Studio CIC—a not-for-profit creative studio—brings her illustration skills to engage communities in art-making. Her residency focuses on the art of mapmaking as a tool for relationship building and emphasizes community participation, especially among families. By fostering local, community-led art projects, Rachel keeps the arts accessible and cultivates a space for collective joy and creativity.
DonChristian Jones – The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Specialization: Multimedia Art
Based in Brooklyn, New York, DonChristian Jones is a versatile artist whose practice spans a diverse array of mediums, including music, performance, video, and public murals. Known for blending painting and performance installation, DonChristian’s work is profoundly influenced by his engagement with various communities and his commitment to socially engaged art. In 2020, he founded Public Assistants, a community arts workshop and mutual aid resistance hub in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, reinforcing his dedication to community-centric artistic endeavors.
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