Art21

Did You Know?

• Art21 provides a year-long professional development program called Art21 Educators.
• The organization offers free teacher workshops throughout the year.
• Art21 produces free materials and programs for educators and students.

Film Series

Art in the Twenty-First Century premiered in 2001 on PBS and is the only U.S. television series focused exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists; it received a Peabody Award in 2007. Extended Play, originally called Exclusive, debuted in 2008 as a digital series offering behind-the-scenes access to leading artists. New York Close Up, launched in 2011, is a digital series about artists in their first decade of professional careers in New York City.

Art in the Twenty-First Century

Each season of Art in the Twenty-First Century is organized into thematic episodes. Season 1 (2001) included episodes Place, Spirituality, Identity, and Consumption, with introductions by figures such as Laurie Anderson, Steve Martin, and Barbara Kruger, and featured artists including Richard Serra, James Turrell, and Louise Bourgeois. Season 2 (2003), directed by Charles Atlas, covered Stories, Loss and Desire, Humor, and Time, with introductions by John Waters, Margaret Cho, and Merce Cunningham, and artists such as Kara Walker, Gabriel Orozco, and Tim Hawkinson.

Season 3 (2005) presented Power, Memory, Play, and Structures, introduced by David Alan Grier, Isabella Rossellini, Grant Hill, and Sam Waterston, featuring artists including Cai Guo-Qiang, Mike Kelley, and Fred Wilson. Season 4 (2007) comprised Romance, Protest, and Ecology, with artists such as Laurie Simmons, Nancy Spero, and Mark Dion.