A marathon is defined by its running distance of 42.195 kilometres. The ARTMARATHON, one of the most ambitious art projects in human history, will be defined by its duration of 42 years.
Starting on the 10th of December 2008 and ending in 2050, the ARTMARATHON project will allow a different artist to travel the world every year, creating art on the go. What will ultimately result is a unique collection of artworks, which, as a whole, will inevitably reflect the events, issues and people of our time – an artistic mirror image of the world in the first half of the 21st century.
The artists who make this journey will not be chosen based on previous fame, artistic style, country of residence or nationality, but simply by virtue of their artistic ability and willingness to essentially become a modern nomad – a travelling observer of humanity and our world. Many of the artists will be young, largely undiscovered talents – artists who are not stuck in the set ways of the existing art scene of today.
The ARTMARATHON is not about creating art that is comprehensible only to art critics or notable mainly for its price tag. The ARTMARATHON is about art with real substance, art that speaks to people and connects with them at an instinctive or emotional level.
A core message of the project is that art is a human right, and should be so anywhere in the world – that art does not stop at borders. In our global age, the time has come for global art: Art which tries to show the big picture, rather than limiting its observations to its own little corner of the world. Art which is up-to-date with the technological possibilities and everyday realities of today.
And no character is better suited for observing our world than the modern nomad, continually roaming, seeing it all, but without base. At the same time, he can afford not to care about the world of yesterday, because he is too busy observing the world of today – and it is this observation which gives him a chance of improving the world of tomorrow.
Thus, the artists participating in the ARTMARATHON must become modern nomads for a year – so that they may observe sharply and speak honestly.
The subject of nomadism is all the more relevant in a time when climate change, political instability and economic insecurity are predicted to force countless hundreds of thousands of people into becoming refugees – and thus modern nomads in their own right – within the near future.
In its 42 years, the ARTMARATHON wants to connect people and cultures – with art and with each other, across borders, all over the world.