Contemporary art facts for kids
Contemporary art is art made right now, in our time. It can also mean art created since World War II. Many museums that show contemporary art often focus on works made after World War II.
Contents
Where Can You See Contemporary Art?
Who Shows Contemporary Art?
You can find contemporary art in many places. These include private art galleries that sell art, and special contemporary art museums. Artists also show their work in places they run themselves, called artist-run spaces.
Artists get help from grants, awards, and prizes. They also earn money by selling their artwork directly to people.
How Art Institutions Work Together
Publicly funded art groups and private art businesses often work closely. For example, in Britain, a few art dealers represent the artists shown in big public museums.
Some individual art collectors are very powerful. Charles Saatchi greatly influenced the art market in Britain since the 1980s. A book even called a whole decade of art "The Saatchi Decade" because of him!
Big companies also get involved in the art world. They show contemporary art in their buildings. They also create and support art awards. Many companies build up large art collections.
What Counts as Contemporary Art?
Some people criticize art institutions for deciding what counts as "contemporary art." For example, "Outsider art" is made today. But it's often not seen as contemporary art. This is because the artists teach themselves. They are thought to work outside the usual art world.
Crafts like textile design are also often left out. This happens even though many people enjoy seeing craft exhibitions. Sometimes, a craft object needs to have a special meaning to be accepted. For instance, a ceramic piece that questions beauty might be called contemporary art. A piece that is just beautiful might not be.
At times, artists from a certain place can influence art around the world. For example, artists in New York had a big impact in the 1980s.
What Do People Think About Contemporary Art?
Sometimes, contemporary art can seem strange to people. They might feel that art and its museums don't share their values. In Britain in the 1990s, contemporary art became very popular. Artists even became famous stars. But this didn't create a perfect "cultural utopia" as some had hoped.
What Makes Art, Art?
Since the early 1900s, people have wondered: What exactly is art? This question has been important through the "modern" and "postmodern" art periods. The idea of avant-garde (new and experimental art) can help decide what art gets noticed. It can be hard to tell the difference between serious art and other art.
Cool Contemporary Art Prizes
Here are some awards and prizes for contemporary art:
- Emerging Artist Award from The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
- Hugo Boss Prize from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Factor Prize in Southern Art
- Turner Prize for British artists under 50
- Jindrich Chalupecky prize for Czech artists under 35
- Being chosen for the Whitney Biennial
- Vincent Award for European contemporary art, hosted by Stedelijk Museum
- Marcel Duchamp Prize from ADIAF and Centre Pompidou
- The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramists, from the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery
- Ricard Prize for a French artist under 40
- Deste Prize for young Greek artists, every two years
- John Moore’s Painting Prize
A Look at Art History by Decade
This table shows different art movements by decade. It's not a complete list, but it gives you an idea!
1950s
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1960s
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1970s
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1980s
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1990s
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2000s
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Images for kids
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Irbid, Jordan, "We are Arabs. We are Humans". Inside Out is a global participatory art project, initiated by the French photographer JR, an example of Street art
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The Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art (France), is a private institution based in a Renaissance castle.
See also
In Spanish: Arte contemporáneo para niños
