June 8, 2021: French luxury fashion house Chanel has partnered with the Tribeca Film Festival to commemorate 20 years of the Tribeca Festival Art Awards. This isn’t the first time the two companies have partnered together on a creative project. In 2019, they came together in support of women in film. The collaborative women’s filmmaker program was entitled “Through Her Lens” and promoted emerging and independent voices in the industry.
Now, the two forces are back in collaboration on an art project entitled “Art is New York / New York Is Art,” which explores the return of the City That Never Sleeps’ dynamic art and culture scene post-pandemic. To announce the news, the organization released a short film with local artists Julian Schnabel, Donna Ferrato, and Chuck D expressing the bond between New York and their work.
The “Art is New York / New York Is Art” project will enlist 60 past and present Tribeca Film Festival Art Award contributors to present the rebirth of New York through their individualized lens. The series includes works by Julian Schnabel, Kiki Smith, Dustin Yellin, Nate Lowman, Swoon, Chuck D, Matthew Modine, Christopher Walken, Donna Ferrato, Aurel Schmidt, Kalup Linzy, Don Gummer, Sophie Matisse, and more.
“Tribeca’s long-standing partnership with Chanel in supporting human expression through art is deeply rooted in the spirit of the festival,” said Jane Rosenthal, TFF chief executive officer and co-founder, in a statement shared with GRAZIA. “Their commitment to honoring the boldness and authenticity of artists is palpable. There’s no better way to see New York come alive and heal than through the creative lens of these wonderful artists. This project beautifully represents the city.”
Each artist’s work will occupy a vacant storefront across downtown Manhattan as well as in an online gallery at tribecafilm.com for the festival’s duration, which runs from June 9 to 20. The film festival will open with an IRL red carpet (it’s first since the pandemic) screening “In the Heights” in none other than Washington Heights. In addition, Chanel will host a screening of Schnabel’s remastered “Basquiat” at MoMA on June 17 in commemoration of its 25th Anniversary.
