past exhibition
Open World: Video Games & Contemporary Art
August 20, 2020 through Winter 2021
Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art is a dynamic exhibition that explores how contemporary artists have been influenced by the culture of video games pervasive in popular culture since the 1970s. The exhibition will feature painting, sculpture, textiles, prints, drawings, animation, video games, video game modifications, and game-based performances and interventions.
The artworks in Open World reference a broad cross-section of games, ranging from early text adventure and arcade games to modern multi-player online roleplaying games and first-person shooters. Participating artists are influenced by some of the most popular video game franchises including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, The Sims, and Final Fantasy.
Open World: Video Games & Contemporary Art is organized by the Akron Art Museum and supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, The Tom and Marilyn Merryweather Fund, and National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue (hardcover, full-color, 96 pages) featuring contributions by video game historian Andrew Williams and feminist game scholar Samantha Blackmon.
The Currier Museum of Art’s presentation of Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art is sponsored by Bellwether Community Credit Union.
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.