For most visual artists, the bulk of time they spend creating work is alone in the studio. A studio can be a sanctuary, a second home, a vessel of inspiration. But a studio practice can also be very isolating. How can an artist know if what they are creating is communicating what's intended? How does the work resonate with the viewer? Artists are charged with not only the difficult work of transforming inspiration into expression, but also providing context for that expression. It can be challenging for some artists to explain their practice.

transcender was created in 2017 in Bushwick to help artists fill this void. Feeling support from a community of like-minded creators have helped move a practice forward, inspire new thinking, and open doors to new methods of presentation. transcender presentations have assisted presenters polish their descriptive skills for the benefit of viewers/collectors/curators, and are inspirational for the audience as well. transcender sessions fostered a nurturing environment, sorely missed since the sessions went dark in 2020.

Participating in transcender, presenting or attending, is free of charge. Every session will include roughly a half-dozen artists, each of whom will have 9 minutes to present (up to)10 images. The presenter can decide what kind of feedback they'd like to receive from attendees. Digital images will be projected for the audience. Sharilyn Neidhardt, a co-founder of transcender, will return to facilitate the first two sessions at Equity Gallery.

Wed. Oct. 18th and Wed. Nov. 15th, 7 :00 - 8:30 PM

Post-holiday sessions will be announced at a later date

How to apply:

Interested participants need to send an email with a single paragraph artist statement and five to seven images to info@nyartistsequity.org with the subject line “transcender application”. At this time we are not supporting video or musical accompaniment.

Oct. 18th Session applications are due EOD Mon. Oct 9th.

One application per artist. There are no fees and all are invited to participate, however Artist Equity Members will receive priority consideration.