Artists Are the New Institutions

A panel discussion at the TransCultural Exchange in March, plus other announcements.

Manang Valley, Annapurna, Nepal (source)

On Saturday, March 8 I will lead a roundtable discussion at the 2025 TransCultural Exchange conference in Cambridge, MA titled “Artists Are the New Institutions.” The conference schedule was just posted. The topic is how anarchism and decentralization inform my work with Dissident Muse, the tools I’ve used to implement it, and how they might be applied to other creative projects.

The calendar for the Asynchronous Studio Book Club has been updated. By request, I’ll wrap up Working Space by Frank Stella next week, then launch into Art in America 1945-1970: Writings from the Age of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Minimalism edited by Jed Perl, through which we will make a pleasant amble, two weeks at a time, forty pages or so per week, interspersed with other books. Said books so far are What Is Art? by Leo Tolstoy, Strange Tools: Art and Human Nature by Alva Noë, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (which will be our summer fiction selection), and Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars by Camille Paglia.

You’ll notice a six-week break in March and April. This is to accommodate my forthcoming sojourn to the Manang Artist Residency in the Annapurna Sanctuary in Nepal. Posting will continue, but the ASBC will take a rest.

Lastly, I’ve scheduled a paid subscriber chat test run for next Wednesday, January 22, at 6 PM East Coast US time. Mark your calendar, jump in when you get the invitation, and let’s see how this works. The topic is open, just bring your fine self.

Content at DMJ is free but paid subscribers keep it coming. They also have access to Dissident Muse Salons, print shop discounts, and Friend on the Road consultations. Please consider becoming one yourself and thank you for reading.

Our current title in the Asynchronous Studio Book Club is Working Space by Frank Stella. For more information, see the ASBC homepage.

The current exhibition in the Dissident Museum is David Curcio: The Point of the Needle.