Jonas Mekas: The Camera Was Always Running will be the first survey in the United States of the poet, filmmaker, and tireless promoter of avant-garde cinema. The exhibition will focus on the intersection of art and exile in the Lithuanian artist’s work, arguing that Mekas’ embrace of art and New York’s creative community was deeply informed by his experience as a refugee. At the museum, the filmmaker’s status as an émigré of the post–World War II generation will be presented as a paradigm for the Jewish experience, as well as a contemporary point of connection to the record numbers of people worldwide now experiencing forced migration.
“We strive to support institutions that share our artist-centered values. The small grassroots arts organizations as well as the museums that comprise our grantees provide invaluable opportunities for artists to express their unique perspectives on the pressing urgencies of the day. We hope that our grants help to amplify artists’ voices within their communities, in national discussions and debates, and across platforms in the international contemporary art world.”
Joel Wachs, President