Art in One Form or Another

Happy to be the 25th fan of 1stfans

My last post expressed a frustration with the art world's foray (or lack thereof) into the digital/social media space. Then a glimmer of hope when I learned about Brooklyn Museum's 1stfans initiative. A membership program that is tagged as "a socially networked museum membership, 1stfans is designed to give art hungry fiends (like me!) access. Members have the chance to interact with other likeminded members, Museum staff, and contemporary artists.

From behind-the-scenes insight from Museum staff links to other cool stuff going on in the art world the Museum team will be sending updates via Facebook, Flickr and Twitter. Their Twitter feed has 24 followers so far and it looks like the program officially kicks off on Jan. 3 when artist Swoon will do a live printing event for 1stfans members at the Museum.

Museum and gallery directors note: Follow what the Brooklyn team is doing to create community, dialogue and value. It's well worth the $20 to see what happens next!

Art World: Get on Twitter!

I was stunned when prepping for this year's Art Basel trip and organizing our survival guide (a compilation of VIP passes, maps, party tickets and other resources in preparation for culture overload). I was trying to find the event organizer's Twitter account so I could follow their updates when I got to Miami. No dice. I then looked for galleries, then artists, then art lover's Twitter feeds. Dead ends on every front.

If you don't know, Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging  service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. People don't want their news daily, but by the minute (even the second). That's where Twitter comes in.  
When I go to Twitter Search, I see what's happening (or not) on this front. The right and left coasts are starting to get in the game, and that's about it. The MoMA, Brooklyn Museum, Getty, and PS1 are among the  pioneers to create communities and make connections with their fans.  As for artists, Jenny Holzer's Twitter feed has nearly 4,000 followers! I live for the days she posts one of her epic insights.

I'm the guy walking down the street with a Blackberry in one hand and my iTouch in the other. And if I had to bet, there's a world of people who live digitally that are hungry for valuable content (and access) just like me.

This platform is legit and will continue to become a valuable tool to learn about emerging artists, shows and a resource to get my finger on the pulse of the art landscape. For a group of people who consider themselves progressive and on the cutting edge, I feel like the art community is still playing cassettes in their cars...Let's go, smart people!