Art competition in support of fellow artists during the COVID-19 crisis. ALL proceeds will be donated to art relief funds.
In loving memory of Agora Gallery's Executive Director Eleni Cocordas, who has passed away on May 1st, 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.
Spring 2020. Galleries were closed. Artists were in lockdown. Exhibition calendars had gone blank overnight.
Art United was NYAC's direct response. In partnership with Agora Gallery, Japan Society New York, and the New York Foundation for the Arts, we launched a juried competition to channel what artists were already doing — making work — into something that also helped. Entry fees were donated in full to art relief funds supporting artists facing financial hardship.
The jury was assembled specifically for this moment: Meryl Cohen, Chief Registrar of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Yukie Kamiya, Gallery Director of Japan Society New York; and Michael Royce, Executive Director of NYFA — three institutions that had themselves shuttered their doors, whose leaders gave their time to support working artists.
Awards
Prizes
1st Place
Exhibition Space at Agora Gallery Booth @ Artexpo NY
Minimum 10 linear ft of wall space at the Artexpo New York Agora Gallery booth — the largest international gathering of qualified trade buyers.
2nd Place
Agora Gallery Digital Representation Package
Work displayed on a high-resolution monitor at the entrance of Agora Gallery and promoted on websites and social platforms throughout the year.
3rd Place · 3 Artists
Personal Artist Website by EasyArtWebsites.com
A professionally designed personal artist website, maintained and updated for one year.
4th Place · 10 Artists
Free Entry Coupons for an Art Competition
A free entry into one of NYAC's annual competitions — an opportunity to present work to the New York art market.
Jury
Competition Jurors
Meryl Cohen
Chief Registrar
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Meryl Cohen has been the Chief Registrar at The Metropolitan Museum of Art since July 2019. Prior to that, Meryl was the Exhibitions Registrar at The Met for ten years, managing more than seventy exhibitions including Armenia! (2018–19), Visitors to Versailles (2018), and Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven (2016–17). She previously served as Director of Registrar at the Guggenheim and held posts at MoMA, The Drawing Center, and The Neuberger Museum.
Yukie Kamiya
Gallery Director
Japan Society, New York
Yukie Kamiya is Director of Gallery at Japan Society, New York. Formerly Chief Curator of Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art and Associate Curator of New Museum, New York. She has curated internationally and co-curated ProRegress, the 12th Shanghai Biennial (2018–19), and served cultural institutions including the Japan Foundation and Goethe Institute.
Michael Royce
Executive Director
New York Foundation for the Arts
Michael Royce is the Executive Director of NYFA, a national arts service organization. In 2020, both The New York Times and Forbes cited NYFA for its response to artists' needs during COVID-19. Recipient of the Alan Cooper Leadership in the Arts Award.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing away of our friend and colleague, Executive Director Eleni Cocordas, on May 1, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19.
Prior to joining Agora Gallery, Eleni worked for prominent New York museums such as MoMA and the American Museum of Natural History, and cultural organizations including Japan Society. For more than twenty-five years she specialized in collaborations with artists on site-specific installations and traveling exhibitions.
Since joining Agora Gallery in 2017, Eleni applied her experience and in-depth knowledge of art to oversee and manage the gallery, network with artists, and supervise our fine art competitions.
She will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences to the family. Leave a comment on Facebook →
The Results
View the selected artists
See the 14 artists selected across four prize tiers by our distinguished jury.
View Results →