“There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” –Octavia Butler
New Suns: Listening with Artists is an online publication of commissions, experiences, and stories from artists responding to life and the world around them. Each issue centers the curious-minded ways artists challenge and reconfigure established frameworks through play, conversation, reflection, and speculation. New Suns hopes to encourage learning from and listening with the individuals behind the art.
Communications Coordinator
She // Her // Hers
[ID: A porcelain cat figurine and burning candle nub are framed in a reflective metal surface.]
Kate is a jotter and daydreamer who enjoys coffee, books, houseplants, and bits and bobs. She lives with her wife, dog, and cat and a growing collection of journals.
Program Manager
She // Her // Hers
[ID: An image of a spider plant resting on a windowsill in a greenish-blue pot. It is made up of three different photographs of the spider plant at different angles, layered one on top of the other to create a ghostly, aura-like effect. The plant’s long, thin leaves are a little scraggly and burnt at the tips, and some are punctured with cat bite marks.]
Jessica is an artist who explores forms of tacit knowledge through weaving, text, video, and sound. She is a former figure skater, current Formula 1 fan, and future fossil.
Initiatives Manager
They // Them // Theirs
[Image ID: On a beige wall in a minimal dentist office hangs a cup dispenser holding a stack of disposable lavender cups.]
Allie is a curator and artist exploring collaborative institution-building, site-responsive practices, and crowd-sourced archives. They enjoy reading groups and alternative education, bread baking, and handbuilding.
Designer-in-Residence
She // Her // Hers
[ID: Animated loop of a photocopy of a person’s side face, eyes shut, pressed to the copier glass. A gradient from black to ochre and a change in picture resolution move the contours into focus or make them undecipherable.]
Nadine’s favorite medium for making graphic work is screen printing because so many ideas flow through, even if they are flat! She’s currently very interested in the holographic principle, apropos flatness.
Program Assistant
They // Them // Theirs
[ID: A datura flower is ready to bloom, their petals are curled into a spiral. The flower is being held up by a hand with light brown skin against a background of green foliage.]
Luz is an artist, plant enthusiast, and has an Aquarius stellium. You can find them in their backyard cleaning seeds and creating fermented natural dye baths.
Program Assistant
They // Them // Theirs
[ID: An image of a blooming cherry blossom tree against a sunny but cloudy blue sky.]
Sól is a writer, artist and a lover of cake. They love walking by their duck pond identifying bird calls, staying up way too late reading fantasy books, or waking up from vivid prophetic dreams.
Advancement Assistant
She // Her // Hers
[ID: A photo of the inside of a magazine store. From floor to ceiling the store is adorned, row by row, shelf by shelf, with magazines of every genre.]
Shivani is a writer, photographer, and globe trotter who yearns to change the world in as many small and big ways as she can. She enjoys bread and butter with a sprinkle of salt, a warming cup of Jasmine tea, and memoirs!
United States Artists is a national arts funding organization headquartered in Chicago, IL. We raise money and redistribute resources to the country’s most compelling artists and cultural practitioners. We focus on supporting and centering individual artists through unrestricted awards, professional services, and content development. For more information, visit unitedstatesartists.org.
United States Artists
200 West Madison Street, Fl 3
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 470-6325
info@unitedstatesartists.org
A publication of commissions, experiences, and stories from artists responding to life and the world around them.
Editor-in-Chief: Jessica Ferrer | Issue Editors: Allie Linn, Kate Blair, Luz Maria Orozco, Nadine Nakanishi, Shivani Somaiya, Sól Casique
Designer: Nadine Nakanishi
Web Development: Matt Arbogast, Leadtooth Inc.
Typefaces: Karla, Sporting Grotesque, New Suns
United States Artists, 200 West Madison Street, Fl 3, Chicago, IL, 60606
unitedstatesartists.org