The “Why hasn’t anybody thought of that before” thing you’ll likely like.

When on April 18th 2020, amidst global lockdowns in place, critically acclaimed wetplate photographer Markus Hofstätter saw the live-streamed concert “One World: Together at Home” he was so impressed he stayed awake all night to watch it. This experience, however, left him thinking. While music can certainly be live-streamed, photography and other visual forms of art can´t, for quite obvious reasons.

But what if somehow the concept of a well-mixed, interesting and fascinating global live event could be translated into something applicable to more static forms of art? During the following days and nights, this thought steadily evolved into a practical idea: The United Art Gallery.

The United Art Gallery is a curated, digital exhibition space for visual artists from all around the globe to display their Covid-19 related artwork in order to show, inspire, and encourage each other in these very uncertain times. Simply put, the United Art Gallery is a project devised to show the world that while the pandemic may put a halt to public life, it can’t hurt our creativity.

Artworks displayed in the gallery range from paintings, to all kinds of photographic work from wet plate, to film over to digital photography and illustration. The gallery is not exclusive and everyone, from everywhere can submit their work. The only requirement is context to the pandemic and a certain baseline of quality. 

While the project has only come to life very recently, on the 29th April, it has gained substantial traction and countless artists, illustrators, photographers and ordinary people with an eye for aesthetic have participated. In fact, entries have become so frequent that carefully curating the submitted work has evolved into a real logistic challenge. Keeping track of everything, backing up the files and tagging them in spreadsheets so nothing gets lost is a formidable task, but judging by the result, the effort is worth the struggle.

What makes the United Art Gallery so unique is, in fact, the balanced mix of displayed work. At first sight, a colorful throw everything in the pot approach might sound counterintuitive, but thanks to careful selection and curation the presented images neither fall out of place or appear to hang in thin air. Though the overall selection is eclectic by default, the mix and variation is very balanced and the level of quality of the artworks presented is downright fantastic.

While at the moment every artist can submit a maximum of two images paired with a little written context, Hofstätter plans to add short videos where artists can record messages and deliver additional background to their work, too, in order to make the whole experience even more engaging.

Blue

by Nayana LaFond, USA. 16×20 acrylic on canvas.

nayanaarts.com

The Pandemic Thinker

by Shane Balkowitsch, USA. Collodion wet plate.

sharoncol.balkowitsch.com/wetplate.htm

Sleep Safe

by Olumide Alli, Nigeria.  

Instagram: made.by.umiidey

When all is said and done, a (digital) visit of the gallery is definitely worth the time spent there. The plain yet elegant layout invites to just pause for a moment and enjoy the view, just like one would do in a real gallery. When an image strikes your interest, clicking on it will reveal its backstory and creator.

For those around feeling they want to participate in the project, joining in is as easy as subscribing to a newsletter. Just fill in your credentials, upload your artwork and if selected, you will be notified.

By clicking on the logo below you´ll be taken to the gallery in a new tab.

All images shown here remain the intellectual properties of their respective authors and are shown here with the authors’ consent.

The “Why hasn´t anybody thought of that before” thing you´ll likely like.

When on April 18th 2020, amidst global lockdowns in place, critically acclaimed wetplate photographer Markus Hofstätter saw the live-streamed concert “One World: Together at Home” he was so impressed he stayed awake all night to watch it. This experience, however, left him thinking. While music can certainly be live-streamed, photography and other visual forms of art can´t, for quite obvious reasons.

But what if somehow the concept of a well-mixed, interesting and fascinating global live event could be translated into something applicable to more static forms of art? During the following days and nights, this thought steadily evolved into a practical idea: The United Art Gallery.

The United Art Gallery is a curated, digital exhibition space for visual artists from all around the globe to display their Covid-19 related artwork in order to show, inspire, and encourage each other in these very uncertain times. Simply put, the United Art Gallery is a project devised to show the world that while the pandemic may put a halt to public life, it can´t hurt our creativity.

The Pandemic Thinker

by Shane Balkowitsch, USA. Collodion wet plate. | sharoncol.balkowitsch.com/wetplate.htm

Artworks displayed in the gallery range from paintings, to all kinds of photographic work from wet plate, to film over to digital photography and illustration. The gallery is not exclusive and everyone, from everywhere can submit their work. The only requirement is context to the pandemic and a certain baseline of quality. 

While the project has only come to life very recently, on the 29th April, it has gained substantial traction and countless artists, illustrators, photographers and ordinary people with an eye for aesthetic have participated. In fact, entries have become so frequent that carefully curating the submitted work has evolved into a real logistic challenge. Keeping track of everything, backing up the files and tagging them in spreadsheets so nothing gets lost is a formidable task, but judging by the result, the effort is worth the struggle.

Blue

by Nayana LaFond, USA. 16×20 acrylic on canvas. | nayanaarts.com

What makes the United Art Gallery so unique is, in fact, the balanced mix of displayed work. At first sight, a colorful throw everything in the pot approach might sound counterintuitive, but thanks to careful selection and curation the presented images neither fall out of place or appear to hang in thin air. Though the overall selection is eclectic by default, the mix and variation is very balanced and the level of quality of the artworks presented is downright fantastic.

While at the moment every artist can submit a maximum of two images paired with a little written context, Hofstätter plans to add short videos where artists can record messages and deliver additional background to their work, too, in order to make the whole experience even more engaging.

Sleep Safe

by Olumide Alli, Nigeria.  | Instagram:  made.by.umiidey

When all is said and done, a (digital) visit of the gallery is definitely worth the time spent there. The plain yet elegant layout invites to just pause for a moment and enjoy the view, just like one would do in a real gallery. When an image strikes your interest, clicking on it will reveal its backstory and creator.

For those around feeling they want to participate in the project, joining in is as easy as subscribing to a newsletter. Just fill in your credentials, upload your artwork and if selected, you will be notified.

By clicking on the logo below you´ll be taken to the gallery in a new tab.

All images shown here remain the intellectual properties of their respective authors and are shown here with the authors` consent.