BUILT FOR ART: For the first time, Creator Labs, the arts incubator that nurtures artists with their personal work, will feature talents who are based outside of the U.S.
Among the new participants are Campbell Addy, Gabriel Moses, Justin French and Furmaan Ahmed — all of whom are U.K.-based.
Now in its eighth season, the program was formed through a partnership between Google and SN37. Creator Labs supports up-and-comers focused on new work about important cultural narratives, including motherhood, LGBTQIA+ issues, community, migration, civil unrest and diversity.
This season’s participants total 29, versus 25 last season. Over the course of the past three years, more than 35 artists have cycled through the program, contributing to 100-plus projects. The archive of that body of work is online.
The latest beneficiaries are: Lawrence Agyei, Furmaan Ahmed, Cruz Valdez, Campbell Addy, Kennedi Carter, June Canedo de Souza, Aidan Cullen, Pegah Farahmand, Myesha Evon Gardner, Chiara Gabellini, Lelanie Foster, Coyote Park, MaryV, Neva Wireko, Amber Grace Johnson, Andy Jackson, Andrew Thomas Huang, Justin French, Anthony Prince Leslie, Myles Loftin, Natalia Mantini, Gabriel Moses, Shikeith, Texas Isaiah, Glassface, Tim Kellner, Mayan Toledano, Dana Scruggs and Adrian Octavius Walker. Financial support is provided to create the work inspired by this year’s theme.
This time around the artists have been tasked with interpreting the idea of being one-of-one and were each given the Google Pixel 8 Pro to realize that theme. The device’s features include Pro controls to control shutter speed and Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to reposition and resize.
Some of the creatives have developed work over multiple seasons, such as Mayan Toledano, who first took part in the program during its inaugural season and has continued along throughout. She recently published her first monograph “No Mames,” which highlights the LGBTQIA+ creative community in Mexico City.
