back to top
Friday, August 29, 2025
Home Blog Page 128

7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival

7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival
7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival

7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival

7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival

Power Access announces the full line-up for the 7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival (SBJF), January 5-8, 2023. Sixteen (16) performances by world-renowned Jazz greats and local Jazz favorites will take place at venues throughout Miami Beach. From an exclusive night with Grammy-nominated legendary Jazz pianist Monty Alexander to Mambo Night with the Big 3 Palladium Orchestra’s first-ever appearance in Miami, the 2023 South Beach Jazz Festival brings a weekend full of fabulous music to our shores. To purchase tickets and view the complete schedule, please visit sobejazzfestival.com/tickets.

  • OPENING NIGHT: Monty Alexander with Luke Sellick & Jason Brown. 

Thursday, January 5 at Faena Theater. 
Grammy-nominated, legendary pianist Monty Alexander headlines Opening Night at the sumptuous, jewel box Faena Theater.  Monty’s style includes a range of Jazz and Jamaican musical experiences — the Great American Songbook, the blues, gospel and bebop, calypso and reggae. His endless melody-making, effervescent grooves and sophisticated voicing always delight a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message, making him an American Jazz classic.  His recently released album, Love Notes, couples his passion for music with his extraordinary piano playing and the intimacy of his wonderful vocals.

  • SOCIETY JAZZ NIGHT: South Florida Jazz Orchestra directed by Chuck Bergeron with special guest star Grammy-nominated Nicole Henry.

Friday, January 6 at The Bass.

Enjoy cocktails, mingle and stroll the museum galleries — all while delighting in the sensational big band music of the South Florida Jazz Orchestra led by bassist Dr. Chuck Bergeron. Featuring our own region’s top jazz musicians, the band swings with pulsating energy propelled by outstanding charts and arrangements that showcase brassy instrumentals and scintillating big band Jazz including a guest appearance by Power Access Scholarship winner, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Eva Carizza. Powerhouse Grammy-nominated Jazz vocalist Nicole Henry joins as the special guest star for the evening. Among the Jazz world’s most acclaimed performers, Nicole possesses a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance. 

  • MAMBO NIGHT IN MIAMI BEACH: Big 3 Palladium Orchestra, featuring Tito Puente Jr., Tito Rodriguez Jr., and Machito Jr.

Saturday, January 7 at the Miami Beach Bandshell.
In a rare opportunity, The legendary music of Tito Puente, Machito and Tito Rodriguez comes to the historic Miami Beach Bandshell for the Big 3 Palladium Orchestra’s South Florida premier.  Embodying the spirit of the original and performing the electrifying music of these three celebrated bandleaders, composers, and the fathers of Latin Jazz, their sons, second generation, world- class artists, Tito Rodriguez Jr., Machito Jr., and Tito Puente Jr., alternating as band leaders in an exciting and competitive format, with a 17-piece orchestra, including original band members,  take you back to the great, renowned Palladium Ballroom in New York City, in a concert infused with the energy of modern day Miami. The Big 3 Palladium Orchestra brings you the best Latin Jazz this side of Havana!

Many of the South Beach Jazz Festival  performances are free and held outdoors. The festival is proud to offer two full days of exciting free concerts on Lincoln Road from international Jazz greats to a showcase for the next generation of Jazz talent.

  • POWER ACCESS MAIN STAGE: Sammy Figueroa, Mike LeDonne’s Groover Quartet, Wendy Pedersen Quintet, Gafieira Rio Miami and More.

Sunday, January 8 on Lincoln Road.

Seven performances jazz up 1100 Lincoln Plaza all day with a series of free performances from Latin Jazz great Sammy Figueroa presenting A Tribute to Cal Trader, world-renowned Jazz pianist, and Hammond organist Mike LeDonne, to South Florida favorite Wendy Pedersen, inspirational locals, to a fabulous festival finale by Gafieira Rio Miami, an authentic Brazilian Big Band that fuses samba, jazz and funk with a powerful 5-piece horn section, plus bass, guitar, drums, percussion, and vocals. The full line-up includes: The Spirit of Goodwill Band, Power Access Scholarship winner Marnel Jean, Inspirational vocalist Aristide Reinoso, Wendy Pedersen Quintet, Sammy Figueroa presents A tribute to Cal Tjader, Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet, and Gafieira Rio Miami.

  • JAZZ FOR TOMORROW STUDENT STAGE: The Next Generation of Jazz. Talent. Saturday, January 7 at Lincoln Road.

Six of South Florida’s top student Jazz organizations perform all afternoon with free performances in addition to Talk and Q&A and a Kiddos Master Class in the morning for a day of Jazz curated by renowned musician and educator Nicole Yarling. The full lineup includes Bill Pettaway Jr., South Florida Center for Percussive Arts, JECC Jazz Bootcamp Ensemble, Broward College Jazz Combo, Frost Alternative String Ensemble, Miami Beach Senior High School Hi Tide Jazz Band, and Young Musicians Unite Jazz Collective.

In addition to the exceptional musical talent performing, the SBJF is excited to introduce a virtual panel discussion on disability and the arts.

  • DISABILITY PRIDE IN THE ARTS PANEL DISCUSSION.

Friday, January 6. Virtual Event.

Featuring Mike LeDonne, founder of NYC Disability Pride Parade and R. David New, founder of Power Access and the South Beach Jazz Festival. Moderated by Leticia Latino, host, Back 2 Basics Podcast. Advocates from disability and arts organizations will join Mike, David and Leticia for a fascinating conversation.

David New, Founder & Artistic Director of the South Beach Jazz Festival and

President of the Power Access Board of Directors:

“Unforgettable and internationally renowned talent combined with highly acclaimed local artists will create a diverse musical lineup that features local, regional and global talent. I am excited to see our festival grow and reach new audiences every year.” 

Please visit SobeJazzFestival.com/tickets to purchase tickets and more information.

2023 South Beach Jazz Festival Program Schedule:

Thursday January 5, 2023, 9 p.m. -11 p.m. (doors open at 8pm) 

“Opening Night” 

Monty Alexander with Luke Sellick (bass) and Jason Brown (drums) 

Location/Address: Faena Theater, 3201 Collins Avenue  

Friday January 6, 2023, 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. 

“Disability Pride in the Arts Panel Discussion”

Mike LeDonne, founder of NYC Disability Pride Parade, R. David New, founder of Power Access and the South Beach Jazz Festival, and advocates from disability and arts organizations. Moderated by Leticia Latino, host, Back 2 Basics Podcast.

Location/Address:  Virtual 

Friday January 6, 2023, 8 p.m  – 10 p.m. (doors open at 7pm) 

“Society Jazz Night “ 

South Florida Jazz Orchestra directed by Dr. Chuck Bergeron with guest Power Access Scholarship winner, Eva Carizza, and special guest star Nicole Henry. 

Location/Address:   The Bass, 2100 Collins Avenue 

Saturday January 7, 2023, 10 a.m.  – 5 p.m. 

“Jazz For Tomorrow Student Stage ” 

  • Coffee, Talk, and Q&A with veteran composer, producer and performer, Bill Pettaway Jr. moderated by Zach Larmer, Young Musicians Unite.
  • Kiddos Master Class – South Florida Center for Percussive Arts with Brandon Cruz  
  • Broward College Jazz Combo
  • JECC Jazz Bootcamp Ensemble (Jazz Education Community Coalition) 
  • FASE – Frost Alternative String Ensemble with special guest Power Access Scholarship winner Eva Carizza.
  • Young Musicians Unite Jazz Collective with special guest Power Access Scholarship winner, Jeremiah Martial 

Location/Address: Lincoln Road Oval, 700 Lincoln Road at Euclid Avenue 

Saturday January 7, 2023, 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. (doors open at 7pm) 

“Mambo Night in Miami Beach” 

Big 3 Palladium Orchestra, South Florida premier, featuring Tito Puente Jr., Tito Rodriguez Jr.,and Machito Jr. 

Location/Address:   Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Avenue 

Sunday, January 8, 2023, 11am – 8 p.m.

“Jazz Hits the Road – Power Access Main Stage”

  • Ari Reinoso
  • The Spirit of Goodwill Band 
  • Power Access Scholarship winner Marnel Jean
  • Wendy Pedersen Quintet
  • Sammy Figueroa presents A Tribute to Cal Tjader
  • Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet
  • Gafieira Rio Miami

Location/Address: 1100 Lincoln Plaza. 1100 Lincoln Road at Alton Road

About The South Beach Jazz Festival 
The South Beach Jazz Festivalis produced by Power Access, a 501(c)3 non-profit humanitarian organization. The festival takes place in multiple venues throughout Miami Beach over four days in January. The mission of disability awareness, access, and inclusion is celebrated through a festival that takes pride in presenting world-renowned artists from the entire spectrum of jazz including traditional, contemporary and Latin as well as cutting edge acts. Many of the performances are free and outdoors. All are open to the public. The sounds of jazz enliven the city all weekend long providing residents and guests to Miami Beach a time to enjoy, listen and learn. “From Disability to Serendipity.”

The South Beach Jazz Festival is made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, Board of County Commissioners, City of Miami Beach, the Cultural Affairs Program and the Cultural Arts Council. This project is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture (Section 286.25, Florida Statutes).

The 48 Laws of Power

Robert Greene - Photo: © Susan Anderson
Robert Greene - Photo: © Susan Anderson

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature.

The 48 Laws of Power
By Robert Greene



In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum.
 
Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.

ABOUT ROBERT GREENE

Robert Greene has a degree in classical studies and is the author of several bestselling books, including The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War, The Art of Seduction, Mastery, and The 50th Law (with rapper 50 Cent). He lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Machiavelli has a new rival. And Sun Tzu had better watch his back. Greene . . . has put together a checklist of ambitious behavior. Just reading the table of contents is enough to stir a little corner-office lust.”New York magazine
 
“Beguiling . . . literate . . . fascinating. A wry primer for people who desperately want to be on top.”People magazine

“An heir to Machiavelli’s Prince . . . gentler souls will find this book frightening, those whose moral compass is oriented solely to power will have a perfect vade mecum.” Publishers Weekly
 
“Satisfyingly dense and . . . literary, with fantastic examples of genius power-game players. It’s The Rules meets In Pursuit of Wow! with a degree in comparative literature.”—Allure

From the Back Cover

THE BESTSELLING BOOK FOR THOSE WHO WANT POWER, WATCH POWER, OR WANT TO ARM THEMSELVES AGAINST POWER . . .

A moral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power into forty-eight well-explicated laws. As attention-grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. Some laws require prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), some stealth (“Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions”), and some the total absence of mercy (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”) but like it or not, all have applications in real-life situations. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P. T. Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded — or been victimized by — power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

Joost Elffers is the packaging genius behind Viking Studio’s Secret Language series, Play with Your Food, and How Are You Peeling?. He lives in New York City.

Your Dark Side and Control Over Your Life @RobertGreene @JordanBPeterson

Summary Notes

Law 1: Never outshine the master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite—inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power

When it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

Never take your position for granted and never let any favors you receive go to your head.

Law 2: Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies

They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

  • Friends often conceal things in order to avoid conflict; this can be dangerous.
  • Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.
  • Whenever you can, bury the hatchet with an enemy, and make a point of putting him in your service.
  • Use enemies to define your cause more clearly to the public, even framing it as a struggle of good against evil.
  • It is better off to know who and where your opponents are than to not know where your real enemies lie.

To have a good enemy, choose a friend: He knows where to strike.

Be wary of friends—they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrranical.

But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them

Since honesty rarely strengthens friendship, you may never know how a friend truly feels. Friends will say that they love your poetry, adore your music, envy your taste in clothes— maybe they mean it, often they do not.

The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.

Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions

Use decoyed objects and desires and red herrings to throw people off the scent

Hide your intentions not by closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals— just not your real ones. You will kill three birds with one stone: You appear friendly, open, and trusting; you conceal your intentions; and you send your rivals on time-consuming wild-goose chases.

Use smoke screens to disguise your actions. This derives from a simple truth: people can only focus on one thing at a time. It is really too difficult for them to imagine that the bland and harmless person they are dealing with is simultaneously setting up something else

As Kierkegaard wrote, “The world wants to be deceived.”

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

I: Use decoyed objects of desire and red herrings to throw people off the scent:

  • If at any point in the deception you practice people have the slightest suspicions to your intentions, all is lost. Do not give them the chance to sense what you are up to: Throw them off the scent by dragging red herrings across the path. Use false sincerity, send ambiguous signals, set up misleading objects of desire. Unable to distinguish the genuine from the false, they cannot pick out your real goal.
  • Hide your intentions not by closing up, but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals – just false ones.

II: Use smoke screens to disguise your actions:

  • Deception is always the best strategy, but the best deceptions require a screen of smoke to distract people attention from your real purpose. The bland exterior—like the unreadable poker face—is often the perfect smoke screen, hiding your intentions behind the comfortable and familiar. If you lead the sucker down a familiar path, he won’t catch on when you lead him into a trap.
  • A helpful or honest gesture can divert from a deception.
  • Patterns will also help mask a deception.
  • Often the key to deception is being bland and acting with humility.

Law 4: Always say less than necessary

One oft-told tale about Kissinger… involved a report that Winston Lord had worked on for days. After giving it to Kissinger, he got it back with the notation, “Is this the best you can do?” Lord rewrote and polished and finally resubmitted it; back it came with the same curt question. After redrafting it one more time— and once again getting the same question from Kissinger-Lord snapped, “Damn it, yes, it’s the best I can do. ” To which Kissinger replied: “Fine, then I guess I’ll read it this time. ”

Persons who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect. But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief. Power cannot accrue to those who squander their treasure of words.

Power is in many ways a game of appearances, and when you say less than necessary, you inevitably appear greater and more powerful than you are.

Learn the lesson: Once the words are out, you cannot take them back. Keep them under control. Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay.

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

  • Silence generally makes people uncomfortable – they will jump in and nervously fill the silence.
  • Generally saying less makes you appear more profound and mysterious.
  • Be particularly careful with sarcasm – rarely is it valuable.
  • Be careful with arousing suspicion or insecurity by being silent.  At times it is easier to blend by playing the jester.

Law 5: So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life

Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

Doubt is a powerful weapon: Once you let it out of the bag with insidious rumors, your opponents are in a horrible dilemma.

Once you have a solid base of respect, ridiculing your opponent both puts him on the defensive and draws more attention to you, enhancing your own reputation.

Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

  • Work to establish a reputation of outstanding quality, whether generosity or honesty or cunning.
  • A good reputation can save you much – a lot of work is done in advance by your reputation.
  • Once established, always take the high road when attacked.

Law 6: Court attention at all costs

Surround your name with the sensational and the scandalous.

Better to be slandered and attacked than ignored.

Every crowd has a silver lining.

At the start of your career, you must attach your name and reputation to a quality, an image, that sets you apart from other people.

Create an air of mystery.

Remember: Most people are upfront, can be read like an open book, take little care to control their words or image, and are hopelessly predictable. By simply holding back, keeping silent, occasionally uttering ambiguous phrases, deliberately appearing inconsistent, and acting odd in the subtlest of ways, you will emanate an aura of mystery. The people around you will then magnify that aura by constantly trying to interpret you

Do something that cannot be easily explained or interpreted.

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses.

I: Surround your name with the sensational and scandalous

  • Draw attention to yourself by creating an unforgettable, even controversial image. Court scandal. Do anything to make yourself seem larger than life and shine more brightly than those around you. Make no distinction between kinds of attention—notoriety of any sort will bring you power. Better to be slandered and attacked than ignored.
  • At the beginning of your rise, spend all your energy on attracting attention.  The quality of attention is irrelevant.

II: Create an air of mystery

  • In a world growing increasingly banal and familiar, what seems enigmatic instantly draws attention. Never make it too clear what you are doing or about to do. Do not show all your cards. An air of mystery heightens your presence; it also creates anticipation—everyone will be watching you to see what happens next. Use mystery to beguile, seduce, even frighten.
  • Remember: Most people are upfront, can be read like an open book, take little care to control their words or image, and are hopelessly predictable. By simply holding back, keeping silent, occasionally uttering ambiguous phrases, deliberately appearing inconsistent, and acting odd in the subtlest of ways, you will emanate an aura of mystery.
  • Do not let mystery turn to an air of deceit; it must always seem a game, playful, unthreatening.

Law 7: Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

  • You must secure the credit for yourself.
  • Learn to take advantage of others work to further your own cause.
  • Use the past, a vast storehouse of knowledge and wisdom.  Learn this and you will look like a genius.
  • Note: be sure to know when letting other people share the credit furthers your cause.

Law 8: Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary

For negotiations or meetings, it is always wise to lure others into your territory, or the territory of your choice. You have your bearings, while they see nothing familiar and are subtly placed on the defensive.

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains—then attack. You hold the cards.

  • The essence of power is keeping the initiative and forcing others to react, keeping them on the defensive.
  • Master your anger yet play on people’s natural tendency to react angrily when pushed and baited.

Law 9: Win through your actions, never through argument

Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

  • When aiming for power, always look for the indirect route.
  • Verbal argument has one use: deception when covering tracks or caught in a lie.

Law 10: Infection: Avoid the unhappy or the unlucky

When you suspect you are in the presence of an infector, don’t argue, don’t try to help, don’t pass the person on to your friends, or you will become enmeshed. Flee the infector’s presence or suffer the consequences.

You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

  • The most important person to avoid: the sufferer of chronic dissatisfaction.
  • Examine someone’s history to recognize these people: turbulence, a long line of broken relationships, etc.
  • The other side of infection is equally valid: there are those who attract happiness by their good cheer, natural buoyancy, and intelligence.
  • Use this rule to counteract your own undesirable or weak qualities.

Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you

To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

  • Do not mistake independence for power; power requires a relationship.
  • To cultivate this: possess a talent and creative skill that simply cannot be replaced.

Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim

One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift—a Trojan horse—will serve the same purpose.

  • Learn to give before you take – an actual gift, a generous act, a kind favour, an “honest” admission – whatever it takes.
  • Selective honesty is best employed on your first encounter with someone.
  • A history of deceit will cause any act of generosity to be viewed with suspicion.  Counter by embracing your reputation for dishonesty openly.

Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people’s self interest, never their mercy or gratitude

If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.

  • Do not be subtle: you have valuable knowledge to share, you can make him rich, you can make him live longer and happier.
  • Train yourself to see inside other’s needs and interests and desires.
  • Distinguish differences among powerful people and figure out what makes them tick.  When they ooze greed, do not appeal to charity; when they want to look charitable and noble, do not appeal to their greed.

Law 14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy

Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.

  • During social gatherings and innocuous encounters, pay attention.  This is when people’s guards are down, and they will reveal things.
  • Give a false confession, and someone else will give you a real one.
  • Contradict others to stir them to emotion and lose control of their words.

Law 15: Crush your enemy totally

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

  • Recognize that you will accumulate enemies who you cannot bring over to your side, and that to leave them any escape will mean you are never secure.  Crush them completely.

Law 16: Use absence to increase strength and honor

The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.

At the start of an affair, you need to heighten your presence in the eyes of the other. If you absent yourself too early, you may be forgotten. But once your lover’s emotions are engaged, and the feeling of love has crystallized, absence inflames and excites. Giving no reason for your absence excites even more.

Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.

  • The truth of this law can most easily be appreciated in matters of love and seduction.
  • Another example of this law exists in economics – scarcity increases value.
  • Note: this law only applies once a certain level of power has been attained.  Leave too early and you do not increase respect, you are simply forgotten. Similarly, absence is only effective in love and seduction once you have surrounded the other with your image.
  • In the beginning, make yourself not scarce but omnipresent.

Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror, cultivate an air of unpredictability

Too much unpredictability will be seen as a sign of indecisiveness, or even of some more serious psychic problem. Patterns are powerful, and you can terrify people by disrupting them. Such power should only be used judiciously.

Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

  • Unsettle those around you and keep the initiative by being unpredictable.
  • Predictability and patterns can be used as a tool when deceiving.

Law 18: Do not build a fortress to protect yourself, isolation is dangerous

The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere—everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it Protects you from—it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people, find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.

  • Retreat to a fortress and you lose contact with your sources of power, and your knowledge of what is going on.
  • If you need time to think, then choose isolation as a last resort, and only in small doses.

Law 19: Know who you’re dealing with, do not offend the wrong person

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then—never offend or deceive the wrong person.

Being able to recognize the type of person you’re dealing with is critical.  Here are the five most dangerous:

  • The Arrogant and Proud Man: any perceived slight will invite vengeance.  Flee these people.
  • The Hopelessly Insecure Man: similar to the proud man, but will take revenge in smaller bites over time.  Do not stay around him if you have harmed or deceived him.
  • Mr. Suspicion: sees the worst in others and imagines that everyone is after him.  Easy to deceive – get him to turn on others.
  • The Serpent with a Long Memory: if hurt, he will show no anger, but will calculate and wait. Recognize by his calculation and cunning in other areas of life – he is usually cold and unaffectionate.  Crush him completely or flee.
  • The Plain, Unassuming, and Often Unintelligent Man: this man will not take the bait because he does not recognize it. Do not waste your resources trying to deceive him.  Have a test ready for a mark – a joke, a story. If reaction is literal, this is the type you are dealing with.

Never rely on instincts when judging someone; instead gather concrete knowledge.  Also never trust appearances.

Law 20: Do not commit to anyone

Do not commit to anyone, but be courted by all.

When you hold yourself back, you incur not anger but a kind of respect. You instantly seem powerful because you make yourself ungraspable, rather than succumbing to the group, or to the relationship, as most people do.

People who rush to the support of others tend to gain little respect in the process, for their help is so easily obtained, while those who stand back find themselves besieged with supplicants.

Do not commit to anyone, stay above the fray.

Remember: You have only so much energy and so much time. Every moment wasted on the affairs of others subtracts from your strength.

It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others—playing people against one another, making them pursue you.

Part 1: Do not commit to anyone, but be courted by all.

  • Stay aloof and gain the power that comes from attention and frustrated desire.

Part 2: Do not commit to anyone – stay above the fray.

  • Do not let others drag you into their fights.  Seem interested and supportive, but neutral.
  • Staying neutral allows you to keep initiative, and take advantage of the situation when one side starts to lose.
  • You only have so much time and energy – every moment wasted on affairs of others subtracts from your strength.
  • Make sure to maintain emotional objectivity in the affairs of others.

Law 21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker, seem dumber than your mark

Given how important the idea of intelligence is to most people’s vanity, it is critical never inadvertently to insult or impugn a person’s brain power.

No one likes feeling stupider than the next person. The trick, then, is to make your victims feel smart—and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

  • Intelligence, taste and sophistication are all things you should downplay, or reassure others that they are more advanced than you.

Law 22: Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power

People trying to make a show of their authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic.

It is always our first instinct to react, to meet aggression with some other kind of aggression. But the next time someone pushes you and you find yourself starting to react, try this: Do not resist or fight back, but yield, turn the other cheek, bend.

When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you—surrender first. By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.

  • The essence of the surrender tactic: inwardly you stay firm, but outwardly you bend.  Your enemy will be bewildered when properly executed, as they will be expecting retaliation.

If you surrender instead, you have an opportunity to coil around your enemy and strike with your fangs from close up.

Law 23: Concentrate your forces

intensity defeats extensity every time.

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another—intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

  • Concentrate on a single goal, a single task, and beat it into submission.
  • Note: when fighting a stronger enemy, you must be prepared to dissolve your forces and be elusive.

Law 24: Play the perfect courtier

The laws of court politics:

Avoid ostentation Practice nonchalance Be frugal with flattery Arrange to be noticed Alter your style and language according to the person ou are dealing with Never be the bearer of bad news Never affect friendliness and intimacy with your master Never criticize those above you directly Be frugal in asking those above you for favors Never joke about appearances of tastes Do not be the court cynic Be self observant Master your emotions Fit the spirits of the times Be the source of pleasure.

The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

The Laws of Court Politics

  • Avoid Ostentation: modesty is always preferable.
  • Practice Nonchalance: never appear to be working too hard; your talent must appear to flow naturally, with ease.  Showing your blood and toil is a form of ostentation.
  • Be Frugal with Flattery: flatter indirectly by being modest.
  • Arrange to be Noticed: pay attention to your appearance, and find a way to create a subtly distinctive style and image.
  • Alter Your Style and Language According to the Person You’re Dealing With: acting the same with all will be seen as condescension by those below you, and offend those above you.
  • Never Be the Bearer of Bad News: the messenger is always killed.  Bring only glad news.
  • Never Affect Friendliness and Intimacy with Your Master: he does not want a friend for a subordinate.
  • Never Criticize Those Above You Directly: err on the side of subtlety and gentleness.
  • Be Frugal in Asking Those Above You for Favours: it is always better to earn your favours.  Do not ask for favours on another person’s behalf.
  • Never Joke About Appearances or Taste
  • Do Not Be the Court Cynic: express admiration for the good work of others.
  • Be Self-Observant: you must train yourself to evaluate your own actions.
  • Master Your Emotions
  • Fit the Spirit of the Times: your spirit and way of thinking must keep up with the times, even if the times offend your sensibilities.
  • Be a Source of Pleasure: if you cannot be the life of the party, at least obscure your less desirable qualities.

Law 25: Re-Create Yourself

Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you.

The world wants to assign you a role in life. And once you accept that role you are doomed.

Remake yourself into a character of power. Working on yourself like clay should be one of your greatest and most pleasurable life tasks.

The first step in the process of self-creation is self-consciousness— being aware of yourself as an actor and taking control of your appearance and emotions.

The second step in the process of self-creation is a variation on the George Sand strategy: the creation of a memorable character, one that compels attention, that stands out above the other players on the stage.

Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions—your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.

  • The first step in the process of self-creation is being aware of yourself and taking control of your appearances and emotions.
  • The second step is the creation of a memorable character that compels attention and stands above the others on the stage.
  • Rhythm, timing and tempo over time also contribute greatly to the creation of a character.
  • Appreciate the importance of stage entrances and exits.

Law 26: Keep your hands clean

Conceal your mistakes, have a scapegoat around to blame.

Make use of the cats paw.

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

Part 1: Conceal your mistakes – have a scapegoat to take the blame.

  • It is often wise to choose the most innocent victim possible as a sacrificial goat.  Be careful, however, not to create a martyr.
  • A close associate is often the best choice – the “fall of the favourite”.

Part 2: Make use of the cat’s-paw.

  • Use those around you to complete dirty tasks to hide your intentions and accomplish your goals while keeping your hands clean.
  • An essential element in this strategy is concealing your goal.
  • Devices like this are best for approaching those in power, or planting information.
  • You may also offer yourself as the cat’s-paw to gain power.
  • Note: you must be very careful in using this tactic, as being revealed would be disastrous.

Law 27: Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult like following

Five rules of cult making

Keep it vague, keep it simple Emphasize the visual and sensational over the intellectualBorrow the forms of organized religion to structure the group Disguise your source of income Set up an us vs them dynamic.

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise ; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

How to create a cult in 5 easy steps:

  • Keep It Vague, Keep it Simple: use words to attract attention, with great enthusiasm.  Fancy titles for simple things are helpful, as are the use of numbers and the creation of new words for vague concepts.  All of these create the impression of specialized knowledge. People want to hear there is a simple solution to their problems.
  • Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual: Boredom and skepticism are two dangers you must counter.  The best way to do this is through theatre, creating a spectacle.  Appeal to all the senses, and use the exotic.
  • Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the Group: create rituals, organize followers into hierarchy, rank them in grades of sanctity, give them names and titles, ask them for sacrifices that fill your coffers and increase your power.  Talk and act like a prophet.
  • Disguise Your Source of Income: make your wealth seem to come from the truth of your methods.
  • Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic: first make sure your followers believe they are part of an exclusive club, unified by common goals.  Then, manufacture the notion of a devious enemy out to ruin you.
  • People are not interested in the truth about change – that it requires hard work – but rather they are dying to believe something romantic, otherworldly.
  • The most effective cults mix religion with science.

Law 28: Enter action with boldness

The bolder lie the better.

Lions circle the hesitant prey.

Boldness strikes fear, fear creates authority.

Going halfway with half a heart digs a deeper grave.

Hesitation creates gaps, boldness obliterates them.

Audacity separates you from the herd.

When you are as small and obscure as David was, you must find a Goliath to attack. The larger the target, the more attention you gain.

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

Some of the most pronounced psychological effects of boldness and timidity:

  • The Bolder the Lie the Better: the sheer audacity of a bold lie makes the story more credible, distracting from its inconsistencies.  When entering a negotiation, ask for the moon and you’ll be surprised how often you get it.
  • Lions Circle the Hesitant Prey: everything depends on perception, and if on a first encounter you demonstrate a willingness to compromise, back down, and retreat, you will be pushed around without mercy.
  • Boldness Strikes Fear; Fear Creates Authority: the bold move makes you seem larger and more powerful than you are.  If it comes suddenly, with stealth and swiftness, it inspires much more than fear – you will be intimidating, and people will be on the defensive in future.
  • Going Halfway with Half a Heart Digs the Deeper Grave: if you enter action with less than total confidence, problems will cause you to grow confused rather than pushing through.
  • Hesitation Creates Gaps, Boldness Obliterates Them: when you take time to think, you create a gap that allows others time to think as well.  Boldness leaves others no space to doubt and worry.
  • Audacity Separates You from the Herd: the bold draw attention, and seem larger than life.  We cannot keep our eyes off the audacious.
  • Most of us are timid.  We want to avoid tension and conflict and be liked by all.  We are terrified of consequences, what others might think of us, and the hostility we will stir up if we dare go beyond our usual place.
  • You must practice and develop your boldness. The place to begin is in negotiations.  How often we ask too little.
  • Remember: the problems created by an audacious move can be disguised, even remedied, by more and greater audacity.

Law 29: Plan all the way to the end

The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.

  • The ending is everything – it is the end of action that determines who gets the glory, the money, the prize.  Your conclusion must be crystal clear, and you must keep it constantly in mind.

Law 30: Make your accomplishments seem effortless

  • Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work—it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
  • Some think exposure to how hard they work and practice demonstrates diligence and honesty, but really it just shows weakness.
  • Sprezzatura: the capacity to make the difficult seem easy.
  • What is understandable is not awe-inspiring.  The more mystery surrounds your actions, the more awesome your power seems.  
  • You appear to be the only one who can do what you do, and because you achieve accomplishments with grace and ease, people believe that you can always do more.

Law 31: Control the options, get others to play with the cards you deal

You give people a sense of how things will fall apart without you, and you offer them a “choice”: I stay away and you suffer the consequences, or I return under circumstances that I dictate.

Color the choices, propose three or four choices of action for each situation, and would present them in such a way that the one he preferred always seemed the best solution compared to the others.

Force the resister. Push them to “choose” what you want them to do by appearing to advocate the opposite.

Alter the playing field.

The shrinking options: A variation on this technique is to raise the price every time the buyer hesitates and another day goes by. This is an excellent negotiating ploy to use on the chronically indecisive, who will fall for the idea that they are getting a better deal today than if they wait till tomorrow.

The weak man on the precipice: This tactic is similar to “Color the Choices,” but with the weak you have to be more aggressive. Work on their emotions— use fear and terror to propel them into action. Try reason and they will always find a way to procrastinate.

Brothers in Crime: You attract your victims to some criminal scheme, creating a bond of blood and guilt between you.

The horns of a dilemma: The lawyer leads the witnesses to decide between two possible explanations of an event, both of which poke a hole in their story. They have to answer the lawyer’s questions, but whatever they say they hurt themselves. The key to this move is to strike quickly: Deny the victim the time to think of an escape. As they wriggle between the horns of the dilemma, they dig their own grave.

The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.

  • Withdrawal and disappearance are classic ways of controlling the options.  You give people a sense of how things will fall apart without you, and you offer them the choice: I stay away and you suffer, or I return under my conditions.
  • We actually find choices between a small number of alternatives more desirable than complete freedom of options.

Law 32: Play to people’s fantasies

People rarely believe that their problems arise from their own misdeeds and stupidity. Someone or something out there is to blame— the other, the world, the gods— and so salvation comes from the outside as well.

The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.

  • Never promise a gradual improvement through hard work; rather, promise the moon, the great and sudden transformation, the pot of gold.
  • The key to fantasy is distance – the distance has allure and promise, seems simple and problem free.  What you are offering, then, should be ungraspable. Never let it become oppressively familiar.

Law 33: Discover each man’s thumbscrew

Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.

Finding the thumbscrews

Pay attention to gestures and unconscious signalsFind the helpless child, look to their childhoodLook for contrasts, an overt trait often reveals its oppositeFind the weak link,Fill their emotional voidFeed on their uncontrollable emotion

Always look for passions and obsessions that cannot be controlled. What people cannot control, you can control for them.

Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.

How to find weaknesses:

  • Pay Attention to Gestures and Unconscious Signals: everyday conversation is a great place to look.  Start by always seeming interested. Offer a revelation of your own if needed. Probe for suspected weaknesses indirectly.  Train your eyes for details.
  • Find the Helpless Child: knowing about a childhood can often reveal weaknesses, or when they revert to acting like a child.
  • Look for Contrasts: an overt trait often conceals its opposite. The shy crave attention, the uptight want adventure, etc.
  • Find the Weak Link: find the person who will bend under pressure, or the one who pulls strings behind the scenes.
  • Fill the Void: the two main emotional voids are insecurity and unhappiness.
  • Feed on Uncontrollable Emotions: the uncontrollable emotion can be a paranoid fear or any base motive such as lust, greed, vanity or hatred.
  • Always look for passions and obsessions that cannot be controlled.  The stronger the passion, the more vulnerable the person.
  • People’s need for validation and recognition, their need to feel important, is the best kind of weakness to exploit.  To do so, all you need to do is find ways to make people feel better about their taste, their social standing, their intelligence.
  • Timidity can be exploited by pushing them into bold actions that serve your needs while also making them dependent on you.

Law 34: Be royal in your own fashion. Act like a king to be treated like one

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.

  • How you carry yourself reflects what you think of yourself.
  • Use The Strategy of the Crown – if we believe we are destined for great things, our belief will radiate outward, just as a crown creates an aura around a king.
  • The trick is simple: be overcome by your self-belief.
  • This may separate you from people, but that’s the point.  You must always act with dignity, though this should not be confused with arrogance.
  • Dignity is the mask you assume that makes it as if nothing can affect you, and you have all the time in the world to respond.

There are other strategies to help:

  • The Columbus Strategy: always make a bold demand.  Set your price high and do not waver.
  • The David and Goliath Strategy: go after the highest person in the building.  This immediately puts you on the same plane as the chief executive you are attacking.
  • The Patron Strategy: give a gift of some sort to those above you.

Law 35: Master the art of timing

Never seem to be in a hurry-hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.

Three types of time and how to deal with them:

  • Long Time: be patient, control your emotions, and take advantage of opportunities when they arise.  You will gain long-term perspective and see further in the future.
  • Forced Time: the trick in forcing time is to upset the timing of others – to make them hurry, make them wait, make them abandon their own pace.  Use the deadline, apply sudden pressure, change pace to use this.
  • End Time: patience is useless unless combined with a willingness to act decisively at the right moment. Use speed to paralyze your opponents, cover any mistakes, and impress people with your aura of authority and finality.

Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have, ignoring them is the best revenge

Remember: You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. That is the powerful move.

Desire often creates paradoxical effects: The more you want something, the more you chase after it, the more it eludes you. The more interest you show, the more you repel the object of your desire. This is because your interest is too strong— it makes people awkward, even fearful. Uncontrollable desire makes you seem weak, unworthy, pathetic.

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

  • Desire creates paradoxical effects: the more you want something, the more you chase after it, the more it eludes you.  You need to do the reverse: turn your back on what you want, show your contempt and disdain to create desire.
  • Instead of focusing attention on a problem, it is often better not to acknowledge it’s existence:
  • Sour-grapes approach: act as if something never really interested you in the first place.
  • When attacked, look away, answer sweetly, and show how little the attack concerns you.  
  • Treat it lightly if you have committed a blunder.
  • Note: make sure to show the above publicly, but to monitor the problem privately, making sure it is remedied.

Law 37: Create compelling spectacles

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power—everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

  • Words often go astray, but symbols and the visual strike with emotional power and immediacy.
  • Find an associate yourself with powerful images and symbols to gain power.
  • Most effective of all is a new combination – a fusion of images and symbols that have not been seen together before, but that clearly demonstrate your new idea, message, religion.

Law 38: Think as you like but behave like others

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.

If Machiavelli had had a prince for disciple, the first thing he would have recommended him to do would have been to write a book against Machiavellism.

  • If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
  • Flaunting your pleasure in alien ways of thinking and acting will reveal a different motive – to demonstrate your superiority over your fellows.
  • Wise and clever people learn early on that they can display conventional behavior and mouth conventional ideas without having to believe in them. The power these people gain from blending in is that of being left alone to have the thoughts they want to have, and to express them to the people they want to express them to, without suffering isolation or ostracism.
  • The only time it is worth standing out is when you already stand out—when you have achieved an unshakable position of power, and can display your difference from others as a sign of the distance between you.

Law 39: Stir up waters to catch fish

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

  • This is the essence of the Law: When the waters are still, your opponents have the time and space to plot actions that they will initiate and control. So stir the waters, force the fish to the surface, get them to act before they are ready, steal the initiative. The best way to do this is to play on uncontrollable emotions—pride, vanity, love, hate.
  • Angry people end up looking ridiculous.  It is comical how much they take personally, and more comical how they belief that outbursts signify power.
  • We should not repress our angry or emotional responses, but rather that realize in the social realm, and the game of power, nothing is personal.
  • Reveal an apparent weakness to lure your opponent into action.
  • In the face of someone angry, nothing is more infuriating than someone who keeps his cool while others are losing theirs.
  • Note: do not provoke those who are too powerful.
  • There are times when a burst of anger can do good, but it must be manufactured and under your control.

Law 40: Despise the free lunch

The worth of money is not in its possession, but in its use.

What is offered for free is dangerous-it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price—there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

  • What is offered for free often has a psychological price tag – complicated feelings of obligation, compromises with quality, the insecurity those compromises bring, on and on.  By paying the full price, you keep your independence and room to maneuver.
  • Being open and flexible with money also teaches the value of strategic generosity.
  • Avoid these people who fail to use money creatively and strategically, or turn their inflexibility to your advantage:
  • The Greedy Fish. The greedy fish take the human side out of money. Cold and ruthless, they see only the lifeless balance sheet; viewing others solely as either pawns or obstructions in their pursuit of wealth, they trample on people’s sentiments and alienate valuable allies. No one wants to work with the greedy fish, and over the years they end up isolated, which often proves their undoing. Easy to deceive with promise of money.
  • The Bargain Demon. Powerful people judge everything by what it costs, not just in money but in time, dignity, and peace of mind. And this is exactly what Bargain Demons cannot do. Wasting valuable time digging for bargains, they worry endlessly about what they could have gotten elsewhere for a little less. Just avoid these types.
  • The Sadist. Financial sadists play vicious power games with money as a way of asserting their power. They believe the money they give you allows them to abuse your time.  Accept a financial loss instead of getting entangled.
  • The Indiscriminate Giver. These people give to everyone, and as a result no one feels special.  Appealing as a mark, but you will often feel burdened by their emotional need.
  • Never let lust for money lure you from true power.  Make power your goal and money will find it’s way to you.
  • Note: bait your deceptions with the possibility of easy money, and many will fall for it.

Law 41: Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes

What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.

  • If you cannot start materially from ground zero – it would be foolish to renounce an inheritance- you can at least begin from ground zero psychologically.
  • Never let yourself be seen as following your predecessor’s path.  You must physically demonstrate your difference, by establishing a style and symbolism that set you apart.
  • Repeating actions will not re-create success, because circumstances never repeat themselves exactly.
  • Success and power make us lazy – you must reset psychologically to counter this laziness.

Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter

Within any group, trouble can most often be traced to a single source, the unhappy, chronically dissatisfied one who will always stir up dissension and infect the group with his or her ill ease. Before you know what hit you the dissatisfaction spreads. Act before it becomes impossible to disentangle

Once you recognize who the stirrer is, pointing it out to other people will accomplish a great deal.

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual —the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them—they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

  • In every group, power is concentrated in the hands of one or two people.
  • When troubles arise, find the source, and isolate them – physically, politically or psychologically.  Separate them from their power base.

43: Work on the hearts and minds of others

Remember: The key to persuasion is softening people up and breaking them down, gently. Seduce them with a two-pronged approach: Work on their emotions and play on their intellectual weaknesses.

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

  • Remember: The key to persuasion is softening people up and breaking them down, gently. Seduce them with a two-pronged approach: Work on their emotions and play on their intellectual weaknesses. Be alert to both what separates them from everyone else (their individual psychology) and what they share with everyone else (their basic emotional responses). Aim at the primary emotions—love, hate, jealousy. Once you move their emotions you have reduced their control, making them more vulnerable to persuasion.
  • Play on contrasts: push people to despair, then give them relief. If they expect pain and you give them pleasure, you win their hearts.
  • Symbolic gestures of self-sacrifice can win sympathy and goodwill.
  • The quickest way to secure people’s minds is by demonstrating, as simply as possible, how an action will benefit them.

44: Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect

When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson.

The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of the Mirror Effect.

  • Mirror Effects can disturb or entrance others, giving you power to manipulate or seduce them.

There are four main Mirror effects:

  • The Neutralizing Effect: do what your enemies do, following their actions as best you can, and they are blinded.  A reverse version is the Shadow – shadow your opponents every move without them seeing you.
  • The Narcissus Effect: look into the desires, values, tastes, spirit of others, and reflect it back to them.
  • The Moral Effect: teach others by giving them a taste of their own medicine. They must realize you are doing to them the same thing they did to you.
  • The Hallucinatory Effect: create a perfect copy of an object, a place, a person, that people take for the real thing, because it has the physical appearance of the real thing.
  • Understand: Everyone is wrapped up in their own narcissistic shell. When you try to impose your own ego on them, a wall goes up, resistance is increased. By mirroring them, however, you seduce them into a kind of narcissistic rapture: They are gazing at a double of their own soul. This double is actually manufactured in its entirety by you. Once you have used the mirror to seduce them, you have great power over them.
  • One way to create a mirror for someone is to teach them a lesson through an analogy, avoiding the reactionary increase in resistance you’d encounter if brought up directly.
  • Note: avoid mirrored situations you don’t understand, as those involved will quickly see through it, and the mirrored situation will not live up to the original.

45: Preach the need to change, but never reform too much at once

If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

Even while people understand the need for change, knowing how important it is for institutions and individuals to be occasionally renewed, they are also irritated and upset by changes that affect them personally.

Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

  • Borrow the weight and legitimacy from the past, however remote, to create a comforting and familiar presence.
  • Humans desire change in the abstract, or superficial change, but a change that upsets core habits and routines is deeply disturbing to them.
  • Understand: The fact that the past is dead and buried gives you the freedom to reinterpret it. To support your cause, tinker with the facts. The past is a text in which you can safely insert your own lines.
  • A simple gesture like using an old title, or keeping the same number for a group, will tie you to the past and support you with the authority of history.

46: Never appear too perfect

Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable.

Do not try to help or do favors for those who envy you; they will think you are condescending to them.

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

  • Either dampen your brilliance occasionally, purposefully revealing a defect, weakness, or anxiety, or attributing your success to luck; or simply find yourself new friends. Never underestimate the power of envy.
  • The envy of the masses can be deflected quite easily – appear as one of them in style and values.  Never flaunt your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence. Make a display of deferring to others, as if they were more powerful than you.
  • Use envy to motivate you to greater heights.
  • Keep a wary eye for envy in those below you as you grow more successful.
  • Expect that those envious of you will work against you.
  • Emphasize luck, and do not adopt a false modesty that will be seen through.
  • Deflect envy of political power by not seeming ambitious.  
  • Disguise your power as a kind of self-sacrifice rather than a source of happiness for you.  Emphasize your troubles and you turn potential envy into a source of moral support (pity).
  • Beware signs of envy: excessive praise, hypercritical people, public slandering.
  • Note: once envy is present, it is sometimes best to display the utmost disdain for those who envy you.

47: Do not go past the mark you aimed for. In victory, know when to stop

The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.

  • Understand: In the realm of power, you must be guided by reason. To let a momentary thrill or an emotional victory influence or guide your moves will prove fatal. When you attain success, step back. Be cautious. When you gain victory, understand the part played by the particular circumstances of a situation, and never simply repeat the same actions again and again. History is littered with the ruins of victorious empires and the corpses of leaders who could not learn to stop and consolidate their gains.
  • The powerful vary their rhythms and patterns, change course, adapt to circumstance, and learn to improvise.  They control their emotions, and step back and come to a mental halt when they have attained success.
  • Good luck is more dangerous than bad luck, because it deludes you into thinking your own brilliance is the reason for your success.
  • Note: There are some who become more cautious than ever after a victory, which they see as just giving them more possessions to worry about and protect. Your caution after victory should never make you hesitate, or lose momentum, but rather act as a safeguard against rash action. On the other hand, momentum as a phenomenon is greatly overrated. You create your own successes, and if they follow one upon the other, it is your own doing. Belief in momentum will only make you emotional, less prone to act strategically, and more apt to repeat the same methods. Leave momentum for those who have nothing better to rely upon.

48: Assume formlessness

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

  • The powerful are constantly creating form, and their power comes from the rapidity with which they can change.
  • The first psychological requirement of formlessness is to train yourself to take nothing personally.  Never show any defensiveness.
  • When you find yourself in conflict with someone stronger and more rigid, allow them a momentary victory.  Seem to bow to their superiority. Then, by being formless, slowly insinuate yourself.
  • The need for formlessness becomes greater as we age, as we become more likely to become set in our ways and assume too rigid a form.  As you get older, you must rely even less on the past.
  • Remember: Formlessness is a tool. Never confuse it with a go-with-the-flow style, or with a religious resignation to the twists of fortune. You use formlessness, not because it creates inner harmony and peace, but because it will increase your power.
  • Finally, learning to adapt to each new circumstance means seeing events through your own eyes, and often ignoring the advice that people constantly peddle your way. It means that ultimately you must throw out the laws that others preach, and the books they write to tell you what to do, and the sage advice of the elder.
  • Note: when you do finally engage an enemy, hit them with a powerful, concentrated blow.
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 452 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140280197
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140280197
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.64 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #79 in Books 
Robert Greene - Photo: © Susan Anderson
Robert Greene – Photo: © Susan Anderson

Source:

www.nateliason.com/notes/48-laws-power-robert-greene

www.grahammann.net/book-notes/48-laws-of-power-robert-greene

www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197

Art Basel Appoints Bridget Finn Director of its Miami Beach Fair

Bridget Finn
Bridget Finn

Art Basel Names Rising Dealer Bridget Finn as Director of Miami Beach Fair

Art Basel names new director for Miami Beach fair December 8 – 10, 2023
Art Basel is delighted to announce today that Bridget Finn has been appointed Director of its
Miami Beach show. In this role, Finn will steer the direction of the Miami Beach edition as it
continues to innovate, overseeing the team staging the fair, cultivating and expanding Art Basel’s
network of galleries, collectors, and artists in the Americas, and working in concert with Miami and
South Florida’s world-class museums, institutions, and cultural partners. Finn will focus on
strengthening Art Basel’s position as the premier Modern and contemporary art fair in the
Americas and global platform for the dialogue and discovery of new artistic practices and
perspectives from the region. Finn will begin her directorship in September 2023 and will be based
in New York. She will report to Vincenzo de Bellis, Director, Fairs and Exhibition Platforms, and
work closely alongside Maureen Bruckmayr, Head of Business and Management Americas.
Finn brings to the role a deep knowledge of the gallery ecosystem. Before joining the eponymous, Detroit based gallery Reyes | Finn, she directed the contemporary art program at Mitchell-Innes & Nash (2013-2017) and held several roles at Anton Kern Gallery (2007-2010) in New York. As part of a gallerist
collective, she established the collaborative curatorial project space Cleopatra’s (2008-2018) in New York, which later operated a Berlin location, working collaboratively with hundreds of artists and cultural
producers for a decade. Previously, Finn served as the Director of Strategic Planning & Projects at
Independent Curators International (ICI) (2010-2013), where she developed unique projects and formats in partnership with leading galleries, museums, auctions houses, corporations, and philanthropic
organizations to deliver contemporary art programs to broad public audiences.
Finn comes to the position with an intimate understanding of the North and South American art markets
and an extensive, established network of galleries, collectors, artists, curators, and institutional leaders
across the region, within and outside of the traditional hotspots in the U.S. A Detroit native, Finn cofounded the city-wide exhibition platform Art Mile Detroit in 2020, serving dozens of local galleries,
institutional non-profits, museums, and artist-run spaces. In 2022, she established FLOURISH, a platform that employs art to drive advancements and positive transformations for children affected by rare disease.
She currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Independent Curators International (ICI) and is active on the Advisory Committee of the Progressive Art Studio Collective (PASC).
“We are thrilled with Bridget’s appointment and could not have found a better fit to lead our Miami
Beach fair,” says Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel. “She is deeply committed to Art Basel’s mission and
strategic direction, and to our contributions in shaping and promoting the health and vibrancy of the
artworld ecosystem and local art scenes in Miami Beach and beyond. She has vision, ambition, and the
requisite skillset in spades to drive forward our team and our many new and longtime partners in Miami
Beach. I am immensely proud to welcome her to the Art Basel family.”
Vincenzo de Bellis, Director, Fairs and Exhibition Platforms, says: “Our Miami Beach show is
absolutely singular – in its history and topography, in its character and spirit, and in the
extraordinary community of Miami Beach that continues to shape this landmark fair and cultural
experience of unparalleled quality. Bridget is a lifelong partner to and champion of galleries and
artists. She brings invaluable leadership experience, a wide network of collectors, galleries, artists, and
cultural partners, and unfettered enthusiasm for and conviction in Art Basel’s purpose and vision. I am
confident that she will take our show and all that makes it unique into an even stronger, brighter future.”
Of being named the Director of the stalwart Americas edition, which in 2022 celebrated its
milestone twentieth anniversary, Finn says, “I am deeply honored to assume this role, and to join
in the transformative journey of Art Basel Miami Beach since it was launched more than 20 years
ago – the global anchor for the North and South American creative community and industry, in the
heart of the incredible city of Miami Beach. I look forward to the many collaborations and contributions
that lie ahead with our galleries, patrons, and partners, as we look towards the next 20 years with limitless possibilities. We will continue to propel the show to new heights of artistic excellence and profound impact.”
Finn will lead the Miami Beach show in 2024. She will attend the 2023 edition in December, which is
spearheaded by de Bellis. She joins Art Basel alongside the recently appointed Maike Cruse, Director, Art Basel Basel; Clément Delépine, Director, Paris+ par Art Basel; and Angelle Siyang-Le, Director, Art Basel Hong Kong.

Press Contacts
Art Basel, May Mansour
[email protected]

PR Representatives for North and South America, the Middle East and Africa
FITZ & CO., Yun Lee
Tel. +1 646 589 0920, [email protected]

PR Representatives for Europe
SUTTON, Joseph Lamb
Tel. +44 7715 666 041, [email protected]

PR Representatives for Asia
SUTTON, Carol Lo
Tel. +852 2528 0792, [email protected]

Hrag Vartanian

Hrag Vartanian
Hrag Vartanian

Hrag Vartanian

Critic, Curator, Editor-in-chief & Co-founder of Hyperallergic

The editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic, Hrag Vartanian is an editor, art critic, curator, and lecturer on contemporary art with an expertise in the intersection of art and politics.
Hrag co-founded the publication Hyperallergic in 2009 in response to changes in the art world, the publishing industry, and the distribution of information. Breaking news, award-winning reporting, informed opinions, and quality conversations about art have helped Hyperallergic reach over a million readers and listeners a month.
In 2016, Hrag launched the Hyperallergic Podcast, which tells stories from around the world (iTunes). Some notable episodes have delved into the history of Surrealism in Egypt, the story of the largely unknown female Abstract Expressionists, the history of Blackface in Canada, and front-line coverage of the artists taking part in the #StopDAPL action at the Standing Rock reservation in the state of North Dakota. He has also done in-depth interviews with leaders in the contemporary art field, including innovative feminist art historian Linda Nochlin, artist Audrey Flack, key players in the Decolonize This Place activist movement, poet and critic John Yau, artist Michael Rakowitz, and pioneering meme theorist An Xiao Mina.
He champions a type of straight-forward online art criticism that believes in the power of journalism, while retaining a sensitivity to the cultural and economic realities that inform the world of art, culture, and politics. In May 2018, art critic Mary-Louise Schumacher wrote about the rise of Hyperallergic for Neiman Reports at Harvard University.
His curatorial interests are focused on a constellation of theories and practices clustered around ideas of decolonization. His work is informed by his own experience of being part of a post-genocide diaspora.
In 2010, he moved Hyperallergic into a gallery at Outpost in Ridgewood, Queens, to stage #theSocialGraph, the world’s first multi-disciplinary exhibition of social media-related art. In 2015, he orchestrated Jade Townsend’s Crazy Amazing Garage Sale exhibition at Auxiliary Projects, Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The three-day liquidation sale of unsold art was an attempt to release the capital trapped in one artist’s storage unit — it liberated over $3,000. In 2017, he kicked off a 10-year project exploring the contemporary legacy of Ottoman studio photography with an exhibition at Minerva Projects in Denver, Colorado. The opening was covered by the Denver Post newspaper.
His original blog, simply named “Hrag Vartanian,” was very active between 2006 and 2010 and focused on politics, writing, and mostly art. The art blog had thousands of daily readers and included guest contributors. It was part of the Culture Pundits network. He also wrote the Re:Public column about street art and politics for ArtCat Zine (2007–2009).
You can also subscribe to Hyperallergic’s newsletter and he also has a person newsletter, and he promises to send more regular missives at some point but right now it’s pretty infrequent. You can always find him on Twitter.
He’s prepared a “30 Things of Mine You Might Want to Read” list of some favorite essays, interviews, articles, reviews, and opinion pieces for those who may have only recently discovered his writing.

Some of his notable essays from the past few years include the forward to The Artist as Culture Producer, which is titled “Imagining the Future Before Us,” his keynote at the American Craft Council’s 2019 national conference, and his criticism of “Tribute in Light.”

He started podcasting regularly in 2016, and in 2018 he launched the Hyperallergic podcast. Notable episodes include: his audio essay on why the female Abstract Expressionists were long overlooked; a three-part series (1, 2, 3) from the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, North Dakota, which explores the role of artists as water protectors and supporters; an audio essay about the Whitney Museum’s David Wojnarowicz retrospective; and an in-depth interview with artist Michael Rakowitz about his withdrawal from the 2019 Whitney Biennial.

In the summer of 2019, he created a four-part podcast series, in conjunction with the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, that explores the use of clay and ceramic in contemporary art and the role of museums in this revival. For the first podcast he spoke to artist Kent Monkman about the role of museums, while the second featured Shary Boyle discussing feminism and class-consciousness in clay, and the third episode explored blackface in Canada through the lens of an 18th-century harlequin figure in the museum’s collection. The final episode talked to four experts about an ancient Maya plate and how it’s connected to the summer’s news headlines.

He has curated exhibitions and published in alternative venues and formats for two decades, and in 2017, he launched his Fixed Point Perspective project as the debut exhibition at Minerva Projects in Denver, Colorado. The 10-year project examines the legacy of Ottoman studio photography in contemporary art and visual culture.

In April 2018, he created a collaborative installation with artist Sharon Louden at the Mary Sharpe and Walentas Studio Program in Brooklyn, New York. Titled Origins, it explored the five-year professional and personal friendship between the pair as a starting point for a bigger conversation about beginnings and ends. The video from the installation is also available on his YouTube channel. A new iteration of the collaboration was on view at Signs and Signals on Manhattan’s Lower East Side (September 4–October 11, 2019). 

Keynotes and Public Lectures
Keynote at the American Craft Council’s Present Tense: 2019 conference, Philadelphia, PA (October 2019) (audio, concise summary)
“What the hell do art critics do?” lecture at the Chautauqua VACI lecture series, Chautauqua, NY (July 8, 2019)
“The New Territories of Contemporary Art: Disturbing the Status-quo” lecture presented by East++ Institute for New Artistic Inquiry and Neuberger Museum of Art at SUNY Purchase, NY (October 25, 2018)
McKnight Visual Artist Discussion Series at the Minneaspolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Friday, June 1, 2018) with Hrag Vartanian in conversation with Erik Benson and Julie Buffalohead
Alaska lecture tour with Sharon Louden and Matthew Deleget (April 7–22, 2018), including Anchorage (April 12), Fairbanks (April 20), Juneau (April 10), and Ketchikan (April 8)
“Contemporary Armenian Art of the Diaspora” lecture at Hovnanian School’s 9th Annual Art in Fall weekend in New Milford, NJ (November 12, 2017)
“We Know What We Like” event for Triangle Arts Workshop with Karen Wilkin and Christina Kee at Yares Gallery in Manhattan, NY (November 9, 2017)
“The Artist as Culture Producer” conversation with Sharon Louden at 21c Museum Hotel Oklahoma City, OK (November 6, 2017)
Review panel on the 2017 Whitney Biennial with Jessica Bell Brown, Walter Robinson, and David Cohen at the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, NY (May 5, 2017)
Public Discussion on The Artist as Culture Producer at the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa (March 23, 2017)
The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life book launch at Strand Bookstore, New York, NY (March 2, 2017)
Visiting Artist Lecture Series in Fall 2016 at Health and Social Science Auditorium, Department of Art, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico (November 1, 2016, 6–7pm)
Studio VU: The Department of Art Lecture Series 2016-2017 at Wilson Hall, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (September 21, 2016, 6pm)
Hopper Visiting Artist at CSU, Chico, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Art and Art History department (September 22, 2016, 5:30pm)
Visiting Artist Lecture, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine (June 27, 2016, 5:30–7pm)
Hrag Vartanian at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (March 21, 2016, 6:30-7:30pm)
Visiting Artist Lecture, Cleveland Institute of Art (February 5, 2016)
Visiting Artist Lecture at UC Davis, Davis, California (January 14, 2016, 4:30–6pm)
Visiting Artist Lecture Series, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada (September 10, 2015, 7–8:30pm)
“Living and Sustaining a Creative Life” conversation with Sharon Louden at Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN (May 26, 2015, 6–8pm)
“Humor and Art Criticism” lecture at Florida International University (FIU) Art + Art History department, Miami, Florida (February 26, 2015, 7–8:30pm)
In Conversation with Sharon Louden at Burnet Art Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota (February 4, 2015, 5:30–7pm)
Nashville Fine Arts Student Workshop at the Curb Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (January 6, 2015, 5pm)
Insight? Outta Site! talk at the Nashville Public Library Main Branch, Nashville, Tennessee (January 5, 2015, 12pm)
CCS Visitor Talks: Similarly Different or More of the Same (with Hyperallergic and Triple Canopy) at Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, New York (October 6, 2014, 4:45pm)
“Webinar: CONVERSATIONS INSIDE – An Interview with Hrag Vartanian & Matthew Deleget” for Creative Capital, Dumbo, Brooklyn (April 28, 2014, 7pm)
“What’s So Funny About Art? Art Criticism and Humor” at New York Studio School, Greenwich Village, Manhattan (October 16, 2013, 6:30pm)
“Copyrights, Copywrongs, and Going Viral” at Pratt Department of Digital Arts, Myrtle Hall, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn (October 2, 2013, 12:45pm)


Symposia
“Unsettling Narratives” roundtable with Jolene Rickard at Indigenous New York colloquium, Vera List Center, New School, New York City, NY (March 11, 2017)
AICAD Symposium roundtable, Sarasota, Florida (March 1–2, 2015)
“Who Can Write About Performance Art?” with panelists Claire Bishop, RoseLee Goldberg, Adrian Heathfield, John Rockwell, Hrag Vartanian, and David Velasco, for Performa Performance Art Biennial and Nonprofit Organization (April 24, 2014, 6:30pm)
“I Am for an Art Criticism That … ” at the Witte de With in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (November 28–29, 2012)


Panels
“Racial Capitalism: Who Benefits from Cultural Appropriation? A Conversation” with Jeff Chang, Wendy Red Star, DJ Rekha, moderated by Hrag Vartanian organized by the Asian American Art Alliance and The Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation (New York) (December 10, 2020) (Facebook video archive)
“Conversation between Tania Katan and Hrag Vartanian on Creative Trespassing: How to Flourish in Uncertain Times” as part of the Artists Thrive Virtual Summit (October 1, 2020)
American Craft Forum: The Second Series, Three-part series focused on Craft Thinking (May 15, June 12, and June 26 2020
“Things Change: Artists in Society” panel with Sharon Louden and Alexander Tamahn, moderated by Scott Stulen at the Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK (November 3, 2019)
“Telling Queer Stories: The Challenges of Unearthing a History” with moderator Hrag Vartanian in conversation with Cathy Renna & Eduardo Ayala Fuentes at Swann Galleries, New York (June 17, 2019)
Daylong roundtable about aesthetics and art at the Columbia University Department of Philosophy (March 23, 2018)
“Art Criticism and Publishing with Bice Curiger, Hal Foster, Michelle Kuo, and Hrag Vartanian, Moderated by Nikki Columbus” panel, organized by Parkette magazine, Swiss Institute, New York, NY (April 7, 2017)
“The #MeToo Age: Power & Gender Equity in the Art World” panel at LACE, Los Angeles, CA (February 21, 2018)
“The Artist and the Institution: Contemporary and Future Practices” panel with Sharon Louden and moderated by Steven Evans at CAMH in Houston, TX (January 24, 2018)
“The Artist as Culture Producer Tour” event at PAMM in Miami, FL (January 11, 2018)
“Living and Sustaining a Creative Life” panel with Wendy Red Star and Sharon Louden at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, OK (November 3, 2017)
Art / Protest/ ValueDissolve Inequality: Visual Arts Summit sponsored by the Global Studies and Languages and MIT List Visual Arts Center, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts (March 7, 2017)
“Sustaining Creative Energy: A Panel Discussion with Writer Hrag Vartanian, Artist Sharon Louden, and Curator Deana Haggag” panel, which is part of the Seeing Stories: Visualizing Sustainable Citizenship Series, Temple University (March 3, 2017)
“CAA 2017 Key Conversation: Hrag Vartanian, Nitasha Dhillon & Amin Husain on Decolonize this Place” at College Art Association 2017 conference in New York City (February 18, 2017)
“Queer Conflicts” moderated panel with Alexis De Veaux, James Downs, Sarah Schulman, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, and Timothy Stewart-Winter at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn, New York (September 17, 2016 1:30–3pm)
“Beyond Paper: New Media Art,” moderated panel with artists Scorpion Dagger (James Kerr), Dominique Pétrin, and Skawennati, Papier 16 art fair, Montréal, Canada (April 22, 2016, 2pm)
“Art and Memory: Looking Back and Moving Forward on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide,” moderator, with Nancy Kricorian, Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Diana Markosian, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Film Center at NYU, Manhattan, New York (Monday, November 9, 2015, 6–7:30pm)
“What Does Activism in the Arts Means Today? The Middle East as a Case Study” panel discussion at the here, without: art, otherness & Israel – Palestine conference at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (January 17, 2015, 11am–12:30pm)
Moderator of the Crossing Brooklyn #ArtTalk series with the Brooklyn Museum:
November 4, 2014: Alternative Economies with artists Linda Goode Bryant, McKendree Key, William Powhida, and Caroline Woolard at Kickstarter (58 Kent Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
November 18, 2014: Performance and Activism with artists Nobutaka Aozaki, Christen Clifford, Amin Husain, Matthew Jensen, and Dread Scott at Livestream Public (195 Morgan Avenue, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
December 11, 2014: Memory and Place with artists Youmna Chlala, Jennifer Dalton, Andrew Ohanesian, and Bryan Zanisnik at BRIC House (647 Fulton St, Downtown Brooklyn)
Sharon Louden’s panel discussion between Julie Heffernan, Hrag Vartanian, Tony Ingrisano and Nathan Skiles at Montclair State University in the Finely Seminar Room of the Department of Art, Montclair, New Jersey (April 30, 2014, 5pm)
Moderator of “Walking in the Air: Art Criticism in Europe panel discussion about the current state of art criticism in Europe,” organized by AICA-International and EUNIC New York members at Cervantes Institute, Upper East Side, Manhattan (April 27, 2014, 3pm)
Christie’s Art Market Online panel at Christie’s Education New York (April 22, 2014, 6pm)
Art Review Panel — “January 2014: Christina Kee, Hrag Vartanian and Christian Viveros-Faune,” moderated by David Cohen at the National Academy Museum, Upper East Side, Manhattan (January 24, 2014)
“Banksy NYC — Is it Art or Vandalism?” at National Arts Club, with Carlo McCormack (moderator), Michael Holman, Chris Jehly, and Lois Stavsky (National Arts Club, Gramercy, Manhattan, November 1, 2013, 6pm)
“Critical Language: A forum on International Art English” at Triple Canopy, with Nathalie Anglès, Wenzel Bilger, Lauren Cornell, Mariam Ghani, Mostafa Heddaya, David Levine, Alexander Provan, Yael Reinharz, Alix Rule, Lumi Tan, and Hrag Vartanian (Triple Canopy, 155 Freeman Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, April 6, 2013) PODCAST
“Size Matters,” panel moderator with Gavin Brown, Peter Halley, KAWS, and Roberta Smith (FIT, Chelsea, Manhattan, February 26, 2013)
“Street Art,” panel participant with Angelo Madrigale (moderator), Buff Monster, Adam Cost (aka COST), and David Meade (Doyle Auction House, Upper East Side, Manhattan, September 19, 2012)
“Flux Death Match: Art & OWS” at Flux Factory, with Paddy Johnson, John Powers, and William Powhida and moderated by Douglas Paulson & Christina Vassallo (Flux Factory, 39–31 29th Street, Long Island City, Queens, March 21, 2012, 8pm)


Visiting Critic
Visiting Critic, Graduate Seminar, American University, Washington, DC (March 22, 2016)
Visiting critic, Sculpture Class, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, Rhode Island (December 16, 2015)
3 Critics, October visiting critic, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, Rhode Island (October 8, 15, 22, November 7, 2015)
Visiting Critic, round-table discussion with graduate students, Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), Minneapolis, MN (February 6, 2015)
Experimental live-art class (Professors Angela Dufresne and Jane South) at Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island (December 8–9, 2014)
Senior sculpture BFA exhibitions (Professors Curtis Mitchell and … ) at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York (May 6, 2014, 5pm)


Juries
2018 Wassaic Project jury
Little Syria Percent for Art Public Art Project in lower Manhattan
National Art Jurors for the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
2016 Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics
2016 New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition, with Phong Bui, Paul Laster, and Paddy Johnson
2016 New York Pulse Prize jury, with Anthony Haden-Guest, Matthew Israel, and Larry Ossei-Mensah
58th Chautauqua Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art, 2015
National Art Jurors for the 2015 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
ArtPrize 2014: Time-based Art category
2014 American Alliance of Museum MUSE “Video, Film, & Computer Animation” category jury
2013 Smack Mellon Studio Program selection committee
2011 American Alliance of Museum MUSE “Video, Film, & Computer Animation” category jury
2010 Dumbo Arts Festival jury

RICHARD ORLINSKI #OnLincoln

Richard Orlinski Exhibition

RICHARD ORLINSKI #OnLincoln

The Sculpture of Richard Orlinski

Galleries Orlinski; 801 Lincoln Road

November 2022 – March 2023

Throughout Lincoln Road from Alton Road to Washington Avenue. Pop-Up: Galleries Orlinski exhibits his work, often of spectacular dimensions, in the great outdoors. Elements in nature became his signature and forte. Using industrial materials to develop large geometric sculptures that symbolize freedom, power, and passion. 

Renowned Artist Richard Orlinski’s Famed, Monumental Sculptures Will Take Over Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road District This Winter.

The Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (BID) presents an exhibit of 12 monumental Orlinski sculptures along the eight-block pedestrian promenade from November 2022 to March 2023.

Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road District, one of the country’s most beloved destinations for al fresco shopping, dining, and entertainment, will further enhance its arts and culture experience by showcasing 12 giant, electrifying sculptures by renowned French artist Richard Orlinski. The open-air activation coming to Lincoln Road this winter will feature iconic pieces from Orlinski’s recent Avenue des Champs Elysée exhibition in Paris. Timed with the premier art show of the Americas, Art Basel Miami Beach, the exhibit will run from November 2022 to March 2023.

Driven by the desire to make art accessible to the masses, Orlinski exhibits his work, often of spectacular dimensions, in the great outdoors. As he redefined contemporary art codes, elements in nature became his signature and forte. Known for his iconic bright red resin crocodile, Orlinski’s work is inspired by pop culture artists such as Jeff Koons and Robert Indiana, and uses industrial materials to develop large geometric sculptures that symbolize freedom, power, and passion.

“Dedicated to bringing one-of-a-kind artistic experiences to the Lincoln Road District, we are thrilled to bring Orlinski’s esteemed outdoor exhibit of colorful, eye-popping sculptures from Paris to Lincoln Road,” said Mindy Mcllroy, Vice President of the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (BID), and President of Terranova Corporation. “We are continuously investing in public art installations and cultural programming to ensure Lincoln Road remains a place where locals and visitors can enjoy enriching cultural experiences.”

From the majestic pink lion that will be showcased across the Apple Store to the red crocodile near the Nike Store and the standing white bear on Washington Avenue, the community will encounter bright, life-size animal statues while strolling the pedestrian promenade. Wild Kong, a signature piece from the Champs Elysée exhibition, will be located on Michigan Ave across from Finnegan’s Road. The sculptures are crossing the seas and coming from France.

As the cultural and civic hub for the community, the Lincoln Road District has also partnered with AEA Consulting, a global firm setting the standard in strategy and planning for the cultural and creative industries, to further activate the district with collaborations that advance and promote arts and culture. With activations from Abu Dhabi to New York and London, AEA has engaged with the American Symphony Orchestra, Perez Art Museum, and Brooklyn Bridge Park, among others, delivering more than 1,200 assignments in 42 countries.

“Partnering with AEA Consulting to realize vital arts and culture projects will help further enhance our offerings in the Lincoln Road District, providing residents and visitors with year-round programming that bolsters their quality of life,” said Lyle Stern, President of the Lincoln Road BID and President of Koniver Stern Group. “From activating Lincoln Road with spectacular sculptures by famed artist Orlinksi to ushering in the South Beach Jazz Festival and a series of memorable musical performances by Nu Deco Ensemble, we are expanding the district’s cultural programming that will keep residents and visitors returning to Lincoln Road.”

The Lincoln Road District is a premier retail, lifestyle and cultural destination that is home to more than 250 restaurants and shops, entertainment, arts and cultural offerings. Lincoln Road ranks as the most-visited open-air destination in South Florida with over 8 million visits in 2021, according to Placer.ai data and featured in AFAR as one of the 10 best pedestrian streets around the world.

For more details on upcoming cultural activations and events, please visit lincolnrd.com or @lincolnrd on Instagram. To learn more about Richard Orlinski  and Galeries Orlinski visit www.galeries-orlinski.com and https://richardorlinski.fr.

About the Lincoln Road District

Situated in the heart of Miami Beach, the Lincoln Road District is a premier retail, lifestyle and cultural destination that is home to about 250 restaurants and shops, entertainment, arts and cultural offerings. Lincoln Road ranks as the most-visited open-air destination in South Florida with over 8 million visits in 2021, according to Placer.ai data. From quirky hipsters and swanky fashionistas to laid-back surfer-skater types and all that lies between, the crowd drawn to Lincoln Road may be visiting for different reasons, but the underlying factor bringing this group together is the same – it’s still is the coolest place to be and be scene in Miami Beach. Affectionately referred to by some as Miami’s living room, there is nothing as quintessentially Miami Beach as Lincoln Road. It’s the street where models walk their dogs after runway shows, where stylish boulevardiers stroll past window shoppers, and where café culture overrules standard business meetings. Music and entertainment lovers will find refuge in the Lincoln Road District – home to the New World Symphony, Colony Theatre, and Regal South Beach movie theater. Steps away is the newly remodeled Miami Beach Convention Center, which welcomes world-renowned Art Basel Miami Beach every December.

About Richard Orlinski

Richard Orlinski has been the biggest selling contemporary French artist in the world since 2015. He began his artistic career in 2004 and created his first work, a bright red resin crocodile, which soon became an iconic piece in the sculptor’s bestiary. The artist took inspiration from pop culture, everyday objects, popular things. Richard Orlinski soon developed new sculptures, often of animals, all symbols of freedom, power and passion. The result: electrifying works of art, in pop colours and a faceted style, that would be seen all around the world.

Exhibiting his works, often of spectacular dimensions, in unusual places and the great outdoors soon became his signature. Driven by the desire to democratise art by making it accessible to the masses, Richard Orlinski takes an interest in all means of expression and his art knows no boundaries. He was made an Officer for the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin in 2021.

With several million followers on social networks, Richard Orlinski has brought together a very engaged community of art-lovers and enthusiasts. This is undeniably a great source of inspiration for the artist, who gives 100% to every one of his projects. “I deeply believe in the power of art (…) Often people do not dare to push the door of a gallery or a museum, so I make sure that the museum comes to them! »

” I WANT TO BE WHERE PEOPLE LEAST EXPECT ME “

As time passed and he met new people, Richard Orlinski developed many projects. Some put him centre stage, behind the decks, on the big screen… His artistic sensibility is expressed in many areas: sculpture, design, music, publishing, fashion, live performance… The artist loves to build bridges between worlds, beyond boundaries. A success story marked by an ability to reinvent himself endlessly, propelling him onto the international scene.

ORLINSKI GALERIES

In 2017, he decided to develop an innovative concept. He would create the first Galerie Orlinski, exclusively dedicated to his art. He naturally chose the city of Paris to open his first gallery. Covering an area of 200m2, this prestigious space stands at 68 rue du Faubourg Saint- Honoré in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. This opening marked the beginning of his international expansion. By 2021, there were 5 Orlinski galleries in the world: Paris, London, Courchevel, Saint-Tropez and Miami, plus one coming soon to New York. These dedicated galleries make it possible to centralise the majority of his work in one place, so it’s more accessible. This concept is intended to be deployed in all the great art capitals. Imbued with his art, these galleries are a reflection of the artist and offer an immersion in his universe. They all reflect his own image: poppy and colourful. During the course of 2022, the first Galerie Orlinski on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré will be given a complete overhaul in order to breathe new life into an unusual venue, encompassing several fields such as art, fashion and music.

Richard Orlinski Exhibition

Artista Luis Gómez Rincón expone en Miami

Artista Luis Gómez Rincón expone en Miami

El artista venezolano Luis Gómez Rincón expone su obra en Miami

Una exposición titulada “ALIEN”, del artista venezolano Luis Gómez Rincón, será inaugurada en Miami el 09 de diciembre de 2022 a las 6 pm, en los espacios de Darmah, donde el artista reflexiona sobre su experiencia migratoria, sumergido bajo la forma de artista en residencia en el espacio expositivo.

Artista Luis Gómez Rincón expone en Miami
Artista Luis Gómez Rincón

Con la guía curatorial de Félix Suazo, la muestra exhibe una serie de obras que involucran técnicas contemporáneas como el collage, el muralismo, el archival art print, el ensamblaje y la gráfica sobre papel, que interactúan junto a una propuesta tecnológica y audiovisual customizada, generando una experiencia que intenta capturar al espectador en este recorrido intimista y multiexperiencial.

“Pienso que, al expresar mi historia, ilustro mi combate, me hace más dispuesto a valorar los cambios culturales que se dejan sentir en diferentes niveles, en lo cotidiano, lo social, y las relaciones; transformando hábitos, concepciones, gustos y aspiraciones, y experimentando a diario un nuevo tipo de convivencia y de tolerancia intercultural”, afirma Luis Gómez Rincón.

“Este desplazamiento no es sólo espacial, es una mutación provocada por las nuevas vivencias, ha sido un tránsito–existencial, que intento recrear en esta investigación artística. Resultado de una inmersión en el espacio bajo la dinámica de ‘artista en residencia’, donde por 40 días ininterrumpidos intento mostrar a través de este cuerpo de obras, ese recorrido íntimo, optimista, positivo, de nuevos aprendizajes y oportunidades”, expresa el artista.

Artista Luis Gómez Rincón expone en Miami
Luis Gómez Rincón

Nacido en Maracaibo, Luis Gómez Rincón es un artista visual, arquitecto, urbanista y profesor en la Facultad de Arte de la Universidad del Zulia, con una importante trayectoria artística durante la cual ha exhibido su obra en diferentes salones y Centros de Arte de Venezuela y otros países como Bélgica, Holanda, Italia, Francia, República Checa, Corea del Sur, Malasia, Argentina, Brasil y Alemania, entre otros. A lo largo de su carrera ha obtenido diversos reconocimientos como: 1er Lugar en el I Salón de Jóvenes Artistas en el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia, en el año 2000; selección en el Salón Prix Mediatine Bélgica 2002; 1er lugar en la VIII Bienal San José de la Matilla en Maracaibo; 1er lugar Bienal de Arte Chiara Lubich y medalla de bronce en los III Delphic games of Art celebrados en Korea del Sur (2009) y algunos otros de carácter regional y nacional. Ha consolidado varios proyectos de intercambio internacional a través de proyectos artísticos con diferentes instituciones como la Facultad de Cs Aplicadas de Ottersberg, (Alemania) y la Briqueterie (Amiens Francia). Participante como artista y colaborador del proyecto N-incidentes. 10 exposiciones en 10 años. Miembro fundador de la Fundación El Semillero, espacio de Arte plural y La Junta Espacio (2018)

En el año 2013 participa como curador y artista en el Artweek de Hamburgo (Velada Remix) y en la Residencia artística Disciplinas Errantes en diferentes ciudades de Francia. Invitado como speaker en el 1er World Art Congress realizado en la ciudad de Kuching en Noviembre 2014, Malasia con la Ponencia Art that transforms to transform con la realización de tres dos proyectos artísticos en el espacio público. Director de Cultura de la Universidad del Zulia 2017/2021. Curador principal del Aruba Art Fair realizado en el mes de septiembre de 2016 y Miembro fundador de La Junta Espacio de arte. Desde el 2018 trabaja el equipo de Dirección de Arte en Darmah, empresa encargada del abordaje creativo de diferentes shows y premios tales como Latin Billboards, Kids Choice Awards México y Abu Dhabi, La Voz y Latin american Music Awards.

La exposición “ALIEN” de Luis Gómez Rincón se estará presentando hasta el 18 de diciembre de 2022 en los espacios de Darmah, ubicados en la 64 NW 54th St, Trendy Spaces, Miami – Fl, 33127. Para asistir se debe reservar a través del correo [email protected] .

COMMUNITY ART & FOOD

COMMUNITY ART & FOOD SHARE PROVIDES ALTERNATIVE TO MIAMI ART WEEK

Buddy System MIA and Overtown Optimist Club host Community Art & Food Share on December 4th to highlight up-and-coming and under-represented Miami-based artists.

Community Art & Food Share 2022

Buddy System MIA and Overtown Optimist Club host Community Art & Food Share on December 4th to highlight up-and-coming and under-represented Miami-based artists.

Local nonprofit Buddy System MIA is thrilled to host a Community Art & Food Share on December 4th, alongside partners at Overtown Optimist Club. This community event will provide an alternative to Miami Art Week, highlighting local artists who are often overlooked by the international art festival that descends upon Miami every December.

“We believe that art is for everyone. At this free event, we’ll be featuring some incredible local artists who are houseless, up-and-coming, under-represented or overlooked by Miami Art Week.”

This community event will also include a free food distribution from Farm Share and Good Samaritan Meals, free yoga and dance classes, a workout class, a kids cooking class, live music and a DJ as well as a local art fair! This event will take place in Gibson Park at Buddy System’s Overtown Community Fridge on Sunday December 4th from 11 AM – 3 PM.

Buddy System MIA’s Overtown Community Fridge is a free public refrigerator that allows free, healthy food to be shared amongst the community; anyone is welcome to take or leave donated food. It is located outside the Overtown Optimist Club in Gibson Park, 350 Northwest 12th St, Miami, FL 33136 and is open 24/7.

Community Art & Food Share 2022 – Press Release.docx

To volunteer or donate, please reach out to [email protected].
For more information, visit www.buddysystemmia.com or connect with us on Instagram:

www.instagram.com/BuddySystemMIA and www.instagram.com/MiamiCommunityFridge

About Buddy System MIA

Buddy System is a young, local nonprofit fighting food insecurity by creating innovative ways to engage our community, empowering neighbors to support neighbors, beginning with access to free, healthy food. Through our Miami Community Fridge initiative, we host 10 community fridges across the city, serving thousands of people across Miami and combating food waste. For more information, visit www.buddysystemmia.com or connect with us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/BuddySystemMIA and www.instagram.com/MiamiCommunityFridge

About Overtown Optimist Club

The Overtown Optimist Club’s mission is to position youth in Overtown and surrounding communities for positive outcomes through sports, academic enrichment, and mentoring.

Community Fridges.

Buddy System has established ten Community Fridges in Miami-Dade County. These fridges are changing the landscape of food insecurity in Miami, existing in food deserts with a simple message:

gabe - take what you need.png

This initiative has supported thousands of people in under-represented Miami communities with free, healthy food. Each fridge is painted by a local Miami artist, changing the look and feel of a traditional social service. Simultaneously, these fridges help to combat excess food waste, collecting food that would otherwise go bad via our partnerships with Food Rescue US, Farm Share, and Good Samaritan Meals

Who We Are.

Buddy System was founded in March of 2020 in response to the unprecedented needs of our Miami community due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the increasing numbers of food-insecure households and homebound individuals, we took innovative action to help feed the most vulnerable amongst us.

With our Homebound Food Access program, Buddy System has placed thousands of homebound individuals with volunteer neighbors who can provide them with free, healthy food. As of April 1st, 2021 we have established ten Community Fridges in Miami-Dade County. These fridges are changing the landscape of food injustice, existing in food deserts with a simple message: take what you need, leave what you can.

Founded by a group of Miami artists and community organizers, we hope to use our unique viewpoints to continue to use art to destigmatize the shame of receiving help. At Buddy System, we believe that food is a right, not a privilege.

AORIST RETURNS TO MIAMI ART WEEK

AORIST RETURNS TO MIAMI ART WEEK
AORIST RETURNS TO MIAMI ART WEEK

AORIST RETURNS TO MIAMI ART WEEK WITH A NEWLY COMMISSIONED LARGE-SCALE IMMERSIVE INSTALLATION LIVING ROOM BY RANDOM INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAENA ART

Building upon the success of their iconic Rain Room, Random International’s new immersive light-based installation Living Room marks a shift in how blockchain technology can revolutionize how visitors experience and collect art 

Aorist and Faena Art also co-present Quayola’s Effets de Soir in the Faena Art Project Room. The video series continues the artist’s ongoing focus on nature, pictorial traditions, and new technology-centered artistic practices

Aorist, the cultural institution supporting artists creating at the edge of art and technology, returned to Miami Beach with a new commission titled Living Room by globally acclaimed art group Random International, pioneers of immersive art. Following the success of last year’s launch in Miami Beach with Refik Anadol’s Machine Hallucinations: Coral and the first-ever indoor drone performance by DRIFT during the Venice Biennale 2022, Aorist premiered Random International’s Living Room on November 29, on the occasion of Miami Art Week 2022. Held in a purpose built pavilion at Faena Beach, the installation is on view until December 4. Aorist and Faena Art also co-presented Effets de Soir by multimedia artist Quayola for the first time in the United States. The video series debuted November 29 and is on view until January 8 in the Faena Art Project Room, Faena Art’s dedicated space in Miami Beach for artistic experimentation and the development of innovative ideas.

Random International’s never-before-seen installation continues their exploration of the impact of technological development on the human condition, utilizing Web3 to expand the boundaries of immersive and experiential art. Living Room explores the idea of space as a living entity. Visitors are invited to enter a fluctuating architectural domain, in which shifting lights, fog, and sound respond to the audience’s movements in unpredictable ways. The first variation of Living Room is scored by Max Richter. As visitors navigate through the installation, their movement inside Living Room is tracked and recorded by an array of motion sensors. Every individual’s unique data can be visualized and compressed as a looped video, which visitors can collect as an NFT on Aorist’s marketplace by utilizing their entry ticket’s unique ID. The data that Living Room is gathering will accumulate throughout the lifespan of the artwork, creating a visual archive of the installation’s ‘life’ that will be minted as an NFT, making it the first archive of an immersive artwork to be stored on the blockchain. 

Hannes Koch, Co-Founder of Random International, describes, “In Living Room, we explore the artwork as a spatial life form that uses its materials and components to express itself and to interact with those who inhabit it. We get to enter it and capture our experience within. Such captured data can be minted as individual artworks in their own right, thus bridging immersive art and blockchain technology for the first time through a process of physical co-creation.”

Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile, Founder and Chairman of Aorist, comments, “This body of work sets a new precedent in how the digital and the physical can come together to redefine how visitors experience and collect art. A true evolution in Random International’s work and experiential practice as a genre, this piece marks the first time that data from a participative experience will be used to co-create a generative work of personalized art.”

Ximena Caminos, Co-founder and Chief Cultural Strategist of Aorist, continues, “I have always been drawn to new forms of art that blur the boundaries of a wide spectrum of disciplines. Living Room is just that, an exercise of artistic co-creation with the machine, where the input is the interaction with the physical installation and the output is the unique data on the blockchain. By creating this type of cross-disciplinary experience, Aorist champions artists to explore new territories while building new models to experience art and ignite imagination.

Following its premiere during Miami Art Week 2022, Living Room will embark on a world tour with museums and institutions worldwide. General entry and VIP tickets with NFT are available now at tickets.aorist.art.

Aorist and Faena Art co-present Quayola’s Effets de Soir for Miami Art Week. The title references the natural phenomena visible at dusk and dawn, when lights and shadows, warm and cold tones, fade into one another – an impression many artists, from Monet to Van Gogh, have attempted to transpose on canvas. Quayola engages with this heritage by combining natural and artificial stimuli, presenting his own effets de soir. At the core of Effets de Soir are ultra-high-resolution photographs of flowers from the lush gardens of Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, a 10th-century French Castle, shot at night under artificial spotlights. The captured botanical compositions become raw data for Quayola’s computational paintings, audio-visual scores that experiment with different evolving compositions and rhythms. The artist offers hybrid visions of the natural world, through software specially programmed to analyze and re-synthesize its components, approaching a new form of algorithmic Impressionism.

A percentage of the proceeds from both projects will be donated to The ReefLine, a 7-mile underwater public sculpture park and artificial reef which will provide a critical habitat for endangered reef organisms, promoting biodiversity and enhancing coastal resilience.

Additionally, artist Nancy Baker Cahill and Sophia the Robot – the world’s first robot citizen and robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – have collaborated on a monumental new Augmented Reality artwork, titled Stone Speaks, the NFT of which is available on the Aorist’s marketplace. 

Aorist commissioned Cahill’s monumental AR work Mushroom Cloud, during Miami Art Week 2021 – Stone Speaks continues that exploration. In a reverse Big Bang, viewers witness a massive particle field over both oceans that swells into a vibrant planet, textured with digital paintings created by Sophia. Tackling themes of climate crisis and the potential for human-machine collaboration, the work is geolocated simultaneously over the beach at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai during the Decipher Conference and Miami Beach in Florida. Stone Speaks is currently accessible on Cahill’s free AR app, 4th Wall, and is presented by Borderless Capital in partnership with Aorist. 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Key Dates and Hours

Living Room by Random International 

Preview Night: Tuesday, November 29, 3-9pm 

Public Dates & Hours: Wednesday, November 30 to Sunday, December 4, 11am-6pm 

Location: Faena Beach (via Collins Avenue & 33rd Street)

*Capacity is limited. Please reach out to Antonio Scotto di Carlo ([email protected]) for press booking.

General entry and VIP tickets with NFT are available for pre-sale at tickets.aorist.art.   

Effets de Soir by Quayola 

Preview Night: Tuesday, November 29, 6-9pm 

Public Dates & Hours: Wednesday, November 30 to Sunday, January 8, 11am-6pm 

Location: Faena Art Project Room (3420 Collins Avenue)

Stone Speaks by Nancy Baker Cahill and Sophia the Robot

Preview Night: Tuesday, November 29, 6-11pm 

Public Dates: Wednesday, November 30 to Sunday, December 4

Location: Augmented Reality geolocated over Faena Beach via 4th Wall App

About Aorist
https://aorist.art/ 

Aorist is a next generation cultural institution commissioning artists creating at the edge of art and technology. Through a global program, with a climate-forward commitment, we build new models to experience art and ignite imagination.

Aorist offers a cross-disciplinary program of artist commissions, international exhibitions and partnerships that bridge the digital and physical domains, while supporting experimentation, co-creation and innovation.

Aorist leverages Web3 technology to offer advanced and revolutionary tools for artists to push the limits of their practice. Powered by Algorand, the first Proof of Stake blockchain and one of the world’s first carbon negative public blockchains.

Follow Aorist on Instagram and Twitter.

#Aorist #AoristArt

About Faena Art
https://www.faenaart.org/
Faena Art is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that commissions, produces, and houses cross-disciplinary artistic experiences. A catalyst for innovative, site-specific, and immersive practices, Faena Art bridges the popular and the experimental, making art accessible to all. Faena Art fosters new models for social interaction transcending the traditional boundaries of art, science, philosophy, and social practice.

Follow Faena Art on Instagram and Facebook.

#FaenaArt #FaenaArtProjectRoom

Faena Art Project Room
3420 Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL 33140

Faena Art’s dedicated space in Miami Beach for artistic experimentation and the development of innovative ideas.


Light On Water by Albi Serfaty

Albi Serfaty of Aqua Creations 2 - Image Courtesy by Lexus
Albi Serfaty of Aqua Creations 2 - Image Courtesy by Lexus

Albi Serfaty Marks His Design Miami/ Debut with Curio Installation and Contemporary Take on Freshwater Resources

Albi Serfaty of lighting design studio Aqua Creations unveils lighting installation designed
exclusively for Design Miami/ and is excited to present some of his most ambitious works to date.

Titled: Light On Water, Aqua Creations’ Curio exhibition shines a light on the dire state of freshwater lakes around the world through art and design. The pieces from Light on Water draw inspiration from the shapes of Lake Doiran and Lake Chad, with mirrored stainless steel evoking the presence of water. The glow of the multicolored silk shades draws the viewer in by creating a sensory, emotional, and intellectual experience. 

Albi Serfaty, Founder and Creative Director of Israeli-based lighting design studio Aqua Creations, is pleased to announce the studio’s inaugural installation at Design Miami/ 2022. Titled Light On Water, Aqua Creations’ Curio exhibition shines a light on the dire state of freshwater lakes around the world. The pieces displayed will also be available for purchase exclusively through DM/BX.
Through his designs, Albi Serfaty instills a new way of understanding the relationship to our surroundings. Light On Water identifies Albi Serfaty’s ability to give a physical form to a well-spoken issue and demonstrates the potential of the studio to raise awareness for social matters such as poverty, violence, and the effect of the destruction of flora and fauna and local communities. About the installation, Albi Serfaty says: “The design process of Light On Water was about more than creating light; it is an opportunity to start a wider conversation about the imbalance in freshwater lakes around the world.”
The pieces from Light on Water draw inspiration from the shapes of Lake Doiran (located in Greece and North Macedonia) and Lake Chad (Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria), with mirrored stainless steel evoking the presence of water. The glow of the multicolored silk shades draws the viewer in by creating a sensory, emotional, and intellectual experience.
The centerpiece of the installation is Lotus Lake, inspired by the current state of freshwater Lake Doiran. Made entirely by hand, the Lotus Lake symbolizes a harmonious alternative future. The piece explores the play of light and color through its 17 silk shades which can move individually from each other, while the mirrored stainless steel structure evokes the presence of water.
Integrated with the latest technology, Albi Serfaty kept loyalty to the brand, working with the studio’s signature silk, maintaining the organic nature that is distinct to the studio.
Other products included in the booth include a floor lamp, table lamps, a wall light, a ceiling lamp, and mobile. Functioning as luminous artworks, each lamp contains the distinct characteristics of the yet-to-be-launched Lakes Collection; moving silk shades that use the wall as their backdrop for its various colors.
In 2022, Aqua Creations celebrates the 30-year anniversary of the studio, with its unique DNA of sumptuous organic shapes being envisioned in a new way. Within the booth, a limited edition iteration of the studio’s iconic product, the Morning Glory Floor Lamp, is presented alongside Aqua Creations’ most ambitious works to date. The lamp is made with unique, raw silk crafted particularly for this collection.

The pieces designed for Design Miami will be available to order exclusively through DM/BX. For more information on Aqua Creations visit www.aquagallery.com
Duration
Preview Day: November 29th
Public Fair: November 30th – December 4th
Venue
1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Booth number C08
For Media Requests
Elizabeth McNamara, [email protected]
Morgan Sumicek, [email protected]

About Albi Serfaty

Albi was born in Jerusalem, Israel, into a highly creative family. From an early age, he was drawn to the hypnotic nature of light. After receiving his first camera and a darkroom inside his family home at age 13, Albi became a self-taught photographer. He began his creative career as a photographer’s assistant at Bow Street in London. Soon after, he entered the advertising industry as a professional Still Life photographer in London and Tel Aviv.
Albi Serfaty co-founded Aqua Creations, in 1992, where he is currently the studio’s lead designer, ultimately driven by a desire to create lights that evoke emotion and views each design as an extension of himself as an artist. He is strongly influenced by his immediate surroundings and ever-evolving and in pursuit of new materials and technology. With his latest works Albi shines a light on cultural, environmental and social issues. Each lighting piece speaks to his vision for optimism, allowing for a distinct expression of identity of an organic nature that he maintains throughout each work.


About Aqua Creations
Aqua Creations is a friends & family light-making studio whose artistic approach to handmade lighting is made possible by a team of in-house artisans, working with the studio’s signature materials from 1992 onwards. Each piece is designed and created in the studio on a made to order basis. Taking its name from the sea, the unique handmade sculptural lights are inspired by organic forms found in nature. Through spellbinding designs combined with master craftsmanship and innovative technology, lighting fuses with function and becomes art.
For more information on Aqua Creations visit www.aquagallery.com

Lotus Lake Design Miami 2022 Light On Water By Albi Serfaty
Lotus Lake Design Miami 2022 Light On Water By Albi Serfaty
Lotus Lake Design Miami 2022 Light On Water By Albi Serfaty

How Do Visual Artists Market Themselves Effectively in 2023?

Joe Cool 96 NFT
Joe Cool 96 NFT

How Do Visual Artists Market Themselves Effectively in 2023?

(Here Is A Guide Of Things You Can Do Today)

We’ve all heard the term, ‘A picture says a thousand words’. Unfortunately, this rather passive saying will not help you get your work out into the world or help you gain any income. 

Much like other businesses, visual artists are now required to market themselves.

Whether as a freelance artist or to gain a showing at a gallery. Marketing is essential to ensure your success and continuous growth. 

Not sure how artists can market themselves effectively?

After all, the artwork should do most of the heavy lifting. We have a guide of things you can do today to get you started.

Whether it’s a few creative social media posts or posting an ad in the local newspaper, you can begin to market yourself effectively. 

Research Your Target Audience 

As an artist you are not only marketing yourself, you are marketing your products and services. This means marketing like any other business.

And other businesses need to know their target audiences to market their products effectively. 

You can begin to research your target audience by determining which audience you would like to market to.

This is often defined by age demographics. However, it can be segmented any way you like from gender to interests. 

Your target audience is going to be your market and you will need them to be interested in your creations. 

It will be simpler to connect with and market to the people who enjoy your creative work the more you understand about them. Consider your ideal client, their preferences, and the reasons they are drawn to your service.

Another element to researching your target audience is to know how to connect with them. Are they mainly online or offline.

This will allow you to know where to focus most of your efforts in order to engage with them. 

You don’t want to waste your time, resources and marketing materials on a platform that your target audience doesn’t even use. 

Learn where your target audience gathers. 

Knowing your target audience also includes researching where those particular people gather, both on and offline. Knowing where they gather means you can send your marketing materials to those places to reach out to them. The best marketing materials won’t do you any good if your ideal customers don’t see them. So put your marketing in places they’re likely to notice them the most.

Build A Website

In the age of technology and with most of the world having some form of social media, you are going to need a website. This will be the foundation of your marketing strategy. 

Your website should be used as a form of virtual portfolio for your work. Think of it as an online resume.

Potential customers can go to your website, view your work, connect and contact with you, and even purchase some of your products. 

In terms of the design of your website, you will want it to remain professional and highlight that you are in the industry of creating and selling your art.

You can easily showcase your personality through the design of your website without being too casual. A popular way to do this is through blogging on your website with different tabs to purchase products. 

It should be easy to navigate and use clear, simple language for people to follow and understand. You will want to include links to your work and interact with your audience to build a trusting relationship. 

Through your website, you may convey these ideas to your audience. Your audience will gain understanding of who you are and the motivations behind your work if you blog and post frequently.

Write to one person. 

Now that you know your ideal customer and where to reach them, you need to target them in your writing.

You are marketing to them in particular, because they’re the ones who are going to care the most about your work. When you’re writing your marketing materials, this is your chance to reach out to them directly. So don’t write like you’re writing to everyone, write to that person in particular, like I’m doing right now. I’m not writing to everyone, I’m writing to you and trying to help you with a particular challenge I know you have, which is marketing your creative work.

Use stories to engage. 

Stories are magical. Use them whenever you can in your marketing.

Stories are more engaging for your audience, which means they’ll be paying more attention. They’re also more emotional in nature and will connect on a deeper level with your audience. And they’re more memorable, which means you’re work will be more memorable and those people are going to be more likely to talk about your work to their friends, spreading word-of-mouth.

Stories can be about a particular piece you’ve created, why you chose your medium, how you became an artist, who inspires you, why you chose your subject matter, etc.

Write persuasively. 

Marketing is all about persuasion.

You’re writing or talking to people about your work to try and persuade them to buy it, share it, or utilize your services. In order to do that, you have to write persuasively. You can’t just list the facts or say, buy this. Instead, you need to pull on their emotions to connect them to the work and promise them they’ll gain something from their purchase as a benefit.

Focus on THEM. 

Your creative process is about you.

Your work is about you and how you see the world. But make no mistake, your marketing is all about your audience. Everything in your marketing needs to be focused on your potential customer and what’s in it for them. You’re only mentioned in your marketing materials because of their interest in you.

Talk about the benefits. 

Like I said above, your work can’t speak for itself.

But if you learn about your audience and can then talk to them about why they should buy your work, you’ll start making more sales. Connect it to their emotions and if a piece makes them happy, make them realize they can’t live without it and they’re going to want to see that piece every day in their own homes for it to continue to make them happy every day.

Or perhaps what you do has a more direct benefit, like a handmade quilt or scarf. In that case, you can talk about the emotions behind the design and colors, while also focusing on the benefit of staying warm in a quality-made product, high-end materials, unique design, etc.

Recommend, don’t sell. 

Still struggling with the thought you might come off as pushy or “salesy”?

Here’s a trick for you: instead of trying to sell something, pretend like you’re recommending it to a friend.

Ignore for a moment that you’re going to make money off of the transaction if they buy it and try to connect it with that customer or client. When you recommend a restaurant or book to a friend, you’re not doing it for money, you’re doing it to help them experience something you thought was great. Well, that’s exactly what you’re doing with your artwork too. So start recommending it instead of trying to sell it by focusing on why they might like it and why it would make their lives better.

Use a call-to-action.  

You’ve seen these at the end of every newsletter and infomercial and marketing that’s been directed at you. It’s the, “Call now”, or the “Shop our selection here” buttons and phrases.

The reason they’re used so much? Because they work.

Sometimes people need a little reminder as to what you want them to do. So give it to them with a quick call-to-action by saying things like, “See the new series here” as a clickable link, or “Visit my website for more”, etc. Let your audience know what next step you want them to take, and make it as easy as possible for them to take it.

Social Media Platforms

The days of posting ads in the local newspaper are quickly fading. Today you need to be present on a variety of social media platforms to market your business. 

While there are a whole range of social media platforms that can be used, the main ones are: 

Facebook

Facebook is often looked at as the Dad of social media platforms as its main demographic of users are 35 to 44 years old. However, it is incredibly useful in social media marketing strategies. 

With the ability to generate both organic and paid engagement, you can quickly grow your audience and promote your products. 

Promoting on Facebook will place you in the eye of an older generation who tend to have more disposable income which is perfect when you are selling creative artworks.

However, there are still those within the ages of 18-24 on the platform which, depending on your target audience, may be extremely useful. 

When promoting on Facebook it is important to have a slightly more casual tone, however, it should always remain professional and appropriate.

You are representing your business and building a reputation online for your brand. 

Instagram 

Instagram is majorly used by a younger generation of 18-24. It is a great way to market and sell your products through the Instagram marketplace.

You can also generate engagement through different forms of content. 

Your content should be fun and exciting for this platform. You will need to post more often than Facebook.

The recommended posting for Instagram is once a day on your main feed while posting 7-10 times on your Stories. This may seem extreme but your engagement will increase immensely. 

It is also a great platform for connecting with others in your industry. Use this to your advantage by working on collabs with other visual artists to sell or even charities to raise funds. 

Instagram is an incredible platform to build your brand and begin to sell your products. 

TikTok 

TikTok is a difficult platform to gain any engagement. However, done correctly it can be an effective resource to attract sales. 

As TikTok has a rather diverse audience you are going to want to create an assortment of content. You can also share your TikTok to other platforms making content planning slightly easier. 

TikTok is one of the best places to implement call to actions. This can be done through giveaways, challenges, and sales to ensure people know of your brand and the products you offer. 

Keep Your Audience Informed & Involved

Now that you have gotten to know your target audience and have begun interacting with them through various channels, it is important to keep them informed. 

Got a sale running? Or introducing some new pieces? It is important to keep them up to date with your latest project, products, and offers.

The more you inform your audience about your business the more loyal they will become. 

You can even invite them to any gallery displays you may have to interact with them in person. 

However, if you are solely promoting online then showing your night through videos and pictures will allow them to feel involved in your progress. 

The more you interact and engage with your audience, the more involved they will want to be. This is extremely important for small businesses who are looking to build trusting relationships and generate recurring revenue. 

Summary 

As an artist, you may believe that there is little you can do to showcase your art. This is simply not the case. 

As you can see above there are many methods for promoting your business. From creating a website to interacting with your audience on social media, you can really explore your creative side through marketing. 

Ensure to remain professional and appropriate  when presenting yourself online as you want the best image for your brand as possible. 

So, go explore the world of promoting and get creative! You never know just how much your business can grow. 

Source: https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/9-step-guide-to-marketing-your-art-without-being-salesy

Source: https://blog.artstorefronts.com/how-do-artists-market-themselves-effectively-here-is-a-our-guide-of-things-you-can-do-today

Page 128 of 203
1 126 127 128 129 130 203

Recent Posts