WePresent launch Guest Curator Series with Marina Abramović

Left to right: Maurício Ianês, Marina Abramović and Yiannis Pappas for Marina Abramović’s Guest Curator Series exclusively for WePresent by WeTransfer

WePresent, the editorial platform of WeTransfer, reveals an exclusive collaboration with world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramović, beginning with its inaugural Guest Curator Series. Abramović’s guest curatorship marks the first of a number of moments in a year-long collaboration, through which Abramović compels all to consider the importance of performance art, and its application to our everyday lives.

To launch WePresent’s Guest Curator Series, Marina Abramović will spotlight five rising performance artists from around the world: Ana Prvački, Maurício Ianês, Yiannis Pappas, Terence Koh and Regina José Galindo, who are proving that performance art is a constantly shifting and evolving artform, always moving in unique and thought-provoking directions. This series begins a new chapter for WePresent, as they hand over their reins to today’s leading visionaries to champion the artists of tomorrow and share with the world their favourite emerging talents. To date, WePresent has worked with over 1000 artists from more than 100 countries. 

This summer, following Abramović’s guest curatorship, WePresent will unveil a unique digital manifestation of ‘The Abramović Method’ on WeTransfer, available to everyone - all day, every day - reaching 70 million people worldwide. In September, the artist will share her ‘Time Capsule’, an everlasting body of references, ideas and objects, which will continue to inspire us and future generations, giving us a glimpse into her artistic universe.

Through WePresent’s digital realm, Abramović shares her legacy in an intimate and interactive form, while passing on her rich learnings for future generations to preserve.

Marina Abramović said: “I’m delighted to be working with WeTransfer this year, beginning with suggesting 5 artists that I believe are taking performance art in unique directions, who will be featured on the WePresent platform for millions of people around the world to enjoy and understand their work - giving artists the chance to show and perform their art is crucial, especially now. And later in the year, WeTransfer will feature ‘The Abramović Method’, an exploration of being present in both time and space, in a year when reconnecting with ourselves has never been more important. I hope everyone participates and thank WeTransfer for giving me the opportunity to share my ‘Method’ with you all.”

Holly Fraser, Editor in Chief of WePresent, said: “Since the pandemic took hold this time last year, the digital realm has been invaluable in preserving the arts for tomorrow. Our new Guest Curator Series continues WePresent’s digital patronage, as we ask established artists in their field to spotlight emerging talent. As a platform that has featured over 1000 creatives from 100 countries, we believe this is vital in a world where the arts need support following an unprecedented, challenging period, especially emerging artists around the world. Part of our collaboration with our inaugural Guest Curator, Marina Abramović, will involve bringing the ‘Abramović Method’ to people at home through an immersive online format. We hope that many will feel inspired by Abramović’s legacy and appreciate the power of technology and digital design in creating new art experiences.”

Marina Abramović: Guest Curator Series is exclusively live on WePresent here.

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Image sheet available here, created via Paste by WeTransfer.

Images available for download here.

Marina Abramović

Since the beginning of her career in Belgrade during the early 1970s, Marina Abramović has pioneered performance art, creating some of the form’s most important early works. Exploring her physical and mental limits, she has withstood pain, exhaustion, and danger in her quest for emotional and spiritual transformation.

Abramović was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale. In 2010, Abramović had her first major U.S. retrospective and simultaneously performed for over 700 hours in “The Artist is Present” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Abramović founded Marina Abramović Institute (MAI), a platform for immaterial and long durational work to create new possibilities for collaboration among thinkers of all fields.

Her most recent publication is Walk Through Walls: A Memoir, Published by Crown Archetype on October 25, 2016. Her retrospective The Cleaner opened at Moderna Museet, Stockholm in February 2017 and has toured to seven additional European venues, ending at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia in 2019. In September 2020 the Bayerische Staatsoper presented the world premiere of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, which will continue to tour to other venues in 2021. And she will soon present her solo exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, and become the first female artist in the institution’s 250 year history to occupy the entire gallery space with her work.

WePresent

WePresent is WeTransfer’s editorial platform, acting as the company’s cultural torchbearer and curator of creativity to 4m monthly readers in 190 countries. WePresent showcases the best in art, photography, music, and more, offering readers a fresh take on the magic and mystery of creative ideas. Championing diversity in everything it does, WePresent scours the globe for unexpected stories about creativity, from emerging young talent to renowned artists like Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, John Legend, Tyler Mitchell, Björk, FKA twigs, and Bernardine Evaristo.

About WeTransfer

Having made its name in the game of quick and simple file-sharing, WeTransfer has grown into a collection of tools designed for and inspired by the creative process. Collect is the go-to app 4M people turn to for saving and sharing inspiration. Paste® is the collaborative presentation tool of choice for over 40,000 fast-moving teams. Paper® helps 30M minds sketch, paint, and draw on iOS. And of course there’s the original file-sharing platform, where 70 million people send around 2 billion files every month. Around 75% of WeTransfer users identify as creatives, and its this global community the company exists to celebrate and inspire on WePresent, WeTransfer’s editorial platform.

As a certified B Corporation WeTransfer strives to use business as a force for good. Since the beginning WeTransfer has donated up to 30% of advertising real estate to raise awareness for artists, creative work, and the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change and gun control. This amounts to more than $300 million to date and has led to partnerships with artists and organizations like Björk, FKA twigs, Ryan McGinley, Solange Knowles, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the UN Development Program.