Art21 began sharing films with us in 2022, immediately enriching our annual collections. Their work has allowed us to bring fresh, insightful, and engaging stories to audiences across the U.S. and beyond. The first Art21 films we programmed - Guadalupe Maravilla & The Sound of Healing by Rafael Salazar and Ava Wiland, and Wangechi Mutu: Between Earth and Sky by Ian Forster and Jackie Lebo - set the tone for an inspiring partnership. Since then, TEFF has toured eleven Art21 films at libraries, universities, museums, artist collectives, and more.

Art21’s story begins with a simple but powerful idea: art is for everyone. In 1995, founder Susan Sollins began consulting with City Arts, a WNET/Thirteen PBS series. Two years later, she teamed up with longtime visual-arts producer Susan Dowling, and together they created Art in the 21st Century. Their vision was to inspire a more creative and inclusive world by inviting audiences into the lives, ideas, and processes of contemporary artists.

Four years later, Art21 was filming Richard Serra at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. By 2001, the inaugural season of Art in the 21st Century aired nationwide on PBS—earning an Emmy nomination and introducing millions to a new way of experiencing contemporary art.

Since then, Art21 has produced more than 250 films featuring artists from around the world, each offering an intimate, unfiltered look at major artworks, exhibitions, and creative practices.

Here’s how Art21 describes their mission:

“At Art21, we believe that ‘Art is for Everyone.’ Our mission is to inspire a more creative and tolerant world through the works and words of contemporary artists… As a digital-first organization, we are the always-open museum, offering free, unobstructed access to our complete film collection and educational library… The window into the artistic process that Art21 provides fosters innovation and creativity, builds empathy, and enriches the minds of future generations.” - Art21 Mission and Impact, May 18, 2022

To learn more about Art21’s essential work, and how they champion artists’ voices, visit their website at https://www.art21.org.