We recently connected with Mary Sherman and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project that I recently worked on, was a project I conceived and produced as the director of the nonprofit I founded, TransCultural Exchange. The project’s title is Hello World. https://transculturalexchange.org/activities/hello-world/ Hello World, An Art Affair Around the Globe

Faced with the COVID-19 crisis, the need for social distancing, travel restrictions and reduced contact with others, Igrew concerned about the isolation, loss and fear resulting from the pandemic’s decrease in our usual sources of solace – connecting with others, the arts and exchanges of all kinds. Thus, Hello World was born. Hello World extends the reach of local gestures of kindness – such as the Italian balcony singers – to a global level in the hope of offering an antidote to the rising nationalism, discrimination and other extremist tendencies that often occur when people feel scared, stressed and alone.

For this project nearly 250 artists, working in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia came together to offer the world examples of their work to create a virtual travelogue through the world of art.

In addition, Hello World gathered venues (galleries, concert halls, theaters, residencies, cultural centers in more than 70 locations, approximately a third of world’s countries) who agreed to link Hello World‘s website to theirs. In this way, the venues helped share and exchange the project’s content with each other and were provided with ready-made cross-cultural programming for their patrons. Also, their participation addressed these venues’ current need for increased website visibility for what is, for most during this crisis, their most viable programming platform.

With the mere click of a mouse, stay-at-home voyagers can now collaborate with art projects around the globe, listen to sound works from a mix of cultures, browse galleries of contemporary artists’ works and take in movies and dance pieces from around the world. An archive of TransCultural Exchange’s Hello World is available at https://archive.transculturalexchange.org/activities/hw/projects.htm .

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My artistic practice explores the intersection of technology, fine arts, scientific inquiry and aesthetic research. (www.marysherman.org).

My art work takes the form of multi-modal installations, performances and writings, including engaging artists around the world in large-scale international projects, produced under the guise of TransCultural Exchange, which I founded in Chicago in 1988. Later, Incorporated in 2002 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, TransCultural Exchange’s mission is to foster a greater understanding of world cultures. We do this through large-scale, global art projects, cultural exchanges and educational programming – most notably, an International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts. And, best of all, our programs work.

Historical Overview
Since the organization’s grassroots inception in 1988, TransCultural Exchange has worked directly with hundreds of artists, arts organizations, foundations, galleries, museums, and cultural centers in 60 countries to produce over 350 art projects, listed [here]. All of these have involved artists from different cultures, working across disciplines and, typically, include artist exchanges and collaborations as key components. We also provide professional development resources, new markets, and career opportunities for artists around the world through our social media, Resource web portal, talks and International Conferences on Opportunities in the Arts. In addition to serving artists, the Conferences also facilitate new partnerships and exchanges between international organizations and educational institutions, leading to increased visibility, cultural understanding and economic activity.

Hailed as one of the best things in the art world today, by the renowned, lateartist and founder of the London Biennale David Medella, TransCultural Exchange s Conferences are the only of their kind. These Conferences bring together hundreds of international artists, residency directors, teachers, administrators, biennale organizers, cultural attachees, high level critics, curators and grant makers to network, share best practices and learn of new trends and developments. They include artist showcases, panels, round table discussions, receptions, workshops and portfolio reviews. For many young artists, the Conferences are the missing link between academia and a real world art practice. For more established artists, they are an essential forum for networking with their peers around the globe.

ACCLAIM
TransCultural Exchange’s nearly three-decades of service in the field of cultural exchange, across various disciplines has resulted in a large and loyal global network, ensuring the success of its projects. These efforts have earned the organization considerable acclaim, support and awards from institutions such as the Northeast Chapter of the International Art Critics Association (AICA), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Massachusetts Cultural Council, Asian Cultural Council, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Boston Foundation, Swedish Embassy, the Netherland-American Foundation and numerous consulates, among others.

As for my personal art works, I have received numerous grants and awardsk, including a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant, four Creative Capital’s On our Radar recognitions and four Fulbright Specialist Grants, among others. I also have served an artist-in-residence at such institutions as MIT, the Taipei Artist Village and the Cité Internationale des arts. My works have been shown at numerous institutions, including Taipei’s Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing’s Central Conservatory, Vienna’s WUK Kunsthalle, Trondheim’s Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Science and Technology, Montreal’s International Digital Art Biennial (BIAN)/Oboro, Seoul’s Kwanghoon Gallery and New York’s Trans Hudson Gallery. Additionally, I teach at Boston College and, in 2010, served as the interim Associate Director of MIT’s Program in Art, Culture and Technology.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish that I knew more about artist-in-residency programs and other opportunities as a young artists that I could have participated in with my international peers. I also wish someone had encouraged me to purse my graduate degree overseas, where it was less expensive and I could’ve earlier on expanded my networks. One of the reasons I founded TransCultural Exchange was to provide artists with the resources that I did not have when I was starting out, to put artists face-to-face with people who run programs for them and create opportunities for artists to engage with their international peers. For this reason, roughly every 2 years, TransCultural Exchange produces an International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts. https://transculturalexchange.org/conference-2022/

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the people I have met and worked with. Through one project I produced I was able to go to Sarajevo and attend a Sufi ceremony – something I will never forget, nor will I forget performing in a concert hall in Beijing, climbing the Great Wall, learning about glass at MIT’s glass lab or how to machine metal in the most fantastic of machine shops At Nexus Machine Shop and Gallery, a ramshackle place, a kind mechanical engineer, the late Peter Lindenmuth patiently taught me to how to build whatever I could dream up. What could be more marvelous then seeings one’s dreams come true.

Contact Info:

• Website: marysherman.org; transculturalexchange.org

Image Credits
Benoit Granier