‘Franchise Freedom’ Flight and Donation at UNICEF Summer Gala

Additional Information

MindMaze
MindMaze is a pioneering brain technology company leading in neuroscience and analog artificial intelligence. The brain-machine interface platform has already launched FDA-approved products in hospitals and clinics globally. MindMaze has developed proprietary hardware and software for bio-sensing, motion capture, haptics and electrical stimulation that functions as a platform that replicates multimodal synchronisation of all sensory inputs the brain experiences; the company is used for its novel neuro-solutions in healthcare, gaming, transportation, and others.

Further information: mindmaze.com

Franchise Freedom
Franchise Freedom is a performative artwork by DRIFT artists, Lonneke Gordjin and Ralph Nauta, at the intersection of technology, science, and art. Mimicking the natural movement and flight patterns of starlings in massive flocks, an autonomous, luminous swarm of 200 drones, flies through the sky in patterns generated by an algorithm that reacts in ways similar to starling murmuration. Each drone has a light source prone to change in intensity and colour by its distance between the rest of the swarm. Franchise Freedom is the first-ever imitation of a natural phenomenon created by machines, working with decentralised algorithms at such a large scale. Studio Drift has worked in close partnership with Intel and used the Intel Drone Lightshow technology to create previous impressive performances.
Additional performances included the flights at Burning Man Festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada in 2018, in Al Ula region’s Winter at Tantora Festival in February 2020, and as a surprise show in Rotterdam in May 2020, to encourage citizens with a sign of hope during the pandemic. Additionally, the work has been exhibited at Art Basel in Miami in 2017 and as a solo show at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 2018.

Further information: studiodrift.com/franchise-freedom

DRIFT
DRIFT Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn (1980) and Ralph Nauta (1978) founded DRIFT in 2007. Through their work they manifest the phenomena and hidden properties of nature with the use of technology in order to learn from the Earth’s underlying mechanisms and to re-establish our connection to it. Since its inception, DRIFT has worked on experiential sculptures, installations and performances that examine our relationship and the influence of technology on the natural world. Their work has been exhibited at Victoria & Albert Museum (2009, 2015); Met Museum (2010); Stedelijk Museum (2018); UTA Artist Space (2019); Garage Museum (2019); Mint Museum (2019); Biennale di Venezia (2015); Pace Gallery (2017) amongst others. Their work is held in the permanent collections of the LACMA; Rijksmuseum; SFMOMA; Stedelijk Museum; and Victoria & Albert Museum. In 2014, Drift was awarded the Arte Laguna Prize, Venice

Further information: studiodrift.com

Pace
Pace is a leading international art gallery representing some of the most influential contemporary artists and estates from the past century, holding decades-long relationships with Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Barbara Hepworth, Agnes Martin, Louise Nevelson, and Mark Rothko. Pace enjoys a unique U.S. heritage spanning East and West coasts through its early support of artists central to the Abstract Expressionist and Light and Space movements.
Since its founding by Arne Glimcher in 1960, Pace has developed a distinguished legacy as an artist-first gallery that mounts seminal historical and contemporary exhibitions. Under the current leadership of President and CEO Marc Glimcher, Pace continues to support its artists and share their visionary work with audiences worldwide by remaining at the forefront of innovation. Now in its seventh decade, the gallery advances its mission through a robust global program—comprising exhibitions, artist projects, public installations, institutional collaborations, performances, and interdisciplinary projects. Pace has a legacy in art bookmaking and has published over five hundred titles in close collaboration with artists, with a focus on original scholarship and on introducing new voices to the art historical canon. The gallery has also spearheaded exploration into the intersection of art and technology through new business models, exhibition interpretation tools, and representation of artists engaging with technology.
Today, Pace has nine locations worldwide including London, Geneva, a strong foothold in Palo Alto, and two galleries in New York—its headquarters at 540 West 25th Street, which welcomed almost 120,000 visitors and programmed 20 shows in its first six months and an adjacent 8,000 sq. ft. exhibition space at 510 West 25th Street. Pace was one of the first international galleries to establish outposts in Asia, where it operates permanent gallery spaces in Hong Kong and Seoul, as well as an office and viewing room in Beijing. In 2020, Pace opened temporary exhibition spaces in East Hampton and Palm Beach, with continued programming on a seasonal basis. In fall 2021, Pace will continue to expand its European presence with the opening of a larger gallery space in London.

Further information: pacegallery.com

Superblue
Superblue is a ground-breaking new enterprise dedicated to supporting artists in realizing their most ambitious visions and engaging audiences with experiential art. Its network of artists encompasses the leading practitioners of experiential art, whose practices catalyse engagement with the most pressing issues of our time, to generate new perspectives on our world.
Through its experiential art centres, designed for the presentation of large-scale, immersive art installations, Superblue provides artists with expanded opportunities to transport audiences to the new worlds they create. Superblue provides these partners with unparalleled expertise and support for the production, installation, and presentation of large-scale experiental works, through collaborative presentations, public and private commissions and acquisitions. In the coming years, Superblue will open new centres across the U.S. and internationally, through its development of augmented and virtual reality platforms for artists who explore our rapidly evolving relationship with the digital realm.

Further information: superblue.com

UNICEF
UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere. Across more than 190 countries and territories, doing whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
The world’s largest provider of vaccines, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill building, HIV prevention and treatment for mothers and babies, and the protection of children and adolescents from violence and exploitation.
Before, during and after humanitarian emergencies, UNICEF is on the ground, bringing lifesaving help and hope to children and families. Non-political and impartial, we are never neutral when it comes to defending children’s rights and safeguarding their lives and futures.

Further information: unicef.org

Therme Art
Therme Art is the cultural incubator of Therme Group. Responsible for the outreach to the creative communities, it curates forums between culture, science and society and works with internationally renowned artists and architects, as well as emerging talents, to commission and develop site-specific artistic projects that challenge the limitations of conventional exhibition spaces and redefine contemporary art viewing. Therme Art provides the resources and means required to fulfil artists’ visions which cannot be realised in galleries or museums, regardless of their complexity, production, installation, and long-term maintenance.

Further information: therme.art

Therme Group
Therme Group is a leading global wellbeing provider designing, constructing and operating the world’s largest wellbeing facilities. Its contemporary approach to urban development incorporates environmental propositions to re-integrate nature into everyday life. Therme Group’s facilities combine its innovative sustainable technologies with human-oriented design. Drawing upon the tradition of ancient thermal baths, which were designed to be healing, social and egalitarian settings, Therme Group builds environments to nurture the mind and body, accessible to all visitors boundless of demographics, in means of creating healthy and resilient communities.

Further information: thermegroup.com