Accent Survivingclass x Mari Spirito | Survival Skills, Mutual Exchange and Fundraising

​Survival Skills, Mutual Exchange and Fundraising

​Survival Skills, Mutual Exchange and Fundraising is designed to demystify some of the processes involved in gaining support as an artist or curator amid major global shifts. Mari Spirito will share her experiences as Executive Director of Protocinema, a 15-year-old itinerant art organization that operates without a permanent physical space, working across different cities, primarily New York and Istanbul. Spirito, with experience moving between independent and institutional structures, created Protocinema which works hyperlocally and internationally on a grassroots scale. Her vision of supporting artists through commissions rather than only exhibiting completed works is a model that allows for greater risk-taking in terms of content, while also requiring a different approach to fundraising and navigating financial precariousness. This master class will move from sharing Spirito's experiences and lessons learned toward a deeper understanding of our own value. In this class we will practice making "asks", meaning asking others for support, and explore what this process brings up for each of us. This exercise will lead into a broader discussion of mutual exchange: what it means to approach every interaction, on some level, as an equal exchange, and how this can create the best possible outcome for everyone involved.

​About the Instructor

​Mari Spirito is Executive Director and Curator of Protocinema, the New York-based trans-regional nonprofit arts organization she founded in 2011. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit with no permanent physical space, Protocinema commissions and presents site-aware exhibitions and public programs across New York, Istanbul, and cities worldwide — supporting artists through new commissions rather than only exhibiting completed works, a model that allows greater risk-taking in content while demanding a different approach to fundraising and financial precariousness. Its programs include the Protocinema Emerging Curator Series (PECS) mentorship program (launched 2015), the monthly digital publication Protodispatch (launched 2022 with Laura Raicovich), and the Protozine publication of exhibition texts.

​Spirito was Director of 303 Gallery, New York (2000–2012), one of Chelsea's defining contemporary galleries. From 2013 to 2018 she programmed the Conversations series at Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach, the fairs' flagship program of talks with artists, curators, and cultural figures. From 2015 to 2017 she was Curator and Director of Alt Art Space in Bomonti, Istanbul — a major exhibition venue set in a former beer factory — where she presented the Turkish premiere of Rodney Graham among other exhibitions and public programs.

​She served on the International Advisory Committee for the inaugural High Line Plinth Commissions, New York (2017), was an advisor to the 2nd Mardin Biennial, Turkey (2012), guest-curated contemporary Turkish art for Artspace Sydney (2014), and was associate curator for the Onassis Cultural Center, where she curated Nature of Justice (2018), a visual arts response to Aristophanes' The Birds co-produced with St. Ann's Warehouse.

​She is currently co-curating the RISD Sculpture Triennial (2026) and has taught in RISD's Sculpture department since 2023; she taught at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2024) and was visiting curator for the MFA Visual Art program at Vermont College of Fine Arts (2023–24). Spirito serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Participant Inc., New York, on the Board of Directors of ArteEast, and on the Advisory Committee of the Goldfarb Gallery, York University, Toronto. She holds a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

​Selected Projects

• ​A Few in Many Places (2020–21) — a pioneering multi-city exhibition model: one exhibition unfolding simultaneously across Istanbul, Beirut, Berlin, Philadelphia, Bangkok, Seoul, and New York, sustained through local engagement and digital connection

• ​The Myth of Normal, A Celebration of Authentic Expression — group exhibition at MassArt Art Museum, Boston (2023–24)

• ​The Substance With Which the Future Is Made — inaugural video art program at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai (2024–25)

• ​I'm Glad You Exist — video screening at Ekrani i Artit Festival, Shkodër, Albania (2025)

• ​Art, Ancestors, Ghosts & the Dead — convening on attitudes toward death across cultures (2023)

• ​Nature of Justice — Onassis Cultural Center, co-produced with St. Ann's Warehouse (2018)

​生存技能、互助交换与筹款

​"生存技能、互助交换与筹款"旨在揭开艺术家与策展人在全球剧变中寻求支持的种种过程的神秘面纱。Mari Spirito 将分享她作为 Protocinema 执行总监的经验 —— Protocinema 是一家创立 15 年的游牧艺术机构，没有固定场馆，在不同城市之间工作，主要基地在纽约和伊斯坦布尔。Spirito 在独立机构与建制机构之间游走，创立了以草根规模在地方与国际层面同时工作的 Protocinema。她以"委任创作"而非"展出成品"来支持艺术家的愿景，是一种允许内容上更大胆冒险的模式，同时也要求以不同的方式应对筹款与财务不稳定的挑战。这堂大师课将从分享 Spirito 的经验与教训出发，走向对我们自身价值的更深理解。课上我们将练习"提出请求"（making asks）——向他人寻求支持，并探索这个过程在每个人身上激起的东西。这项练习将引向关于互助交换的更广泛讨论：在某种层面上，把每一次互动都当作一次平等的交换，意味着什么？它又如何能为所有相关方创造最好的结果？

​关于讲师

​Mari Spirito 是 Protocinema 的执行总监与策展人。Protocinema 是她于 2011 年创立的纽约跨地域非营利艺术机构。作为一家没有固定场馆的 501(c)(3) 非营利组织，Protocinema 在纽约、伊斯坦布尔及世界各地委任并呈现场域特定的展览和公共项目 —— 以"委任新作"而非"展出成品"的方式支持艺术家，这种模式允许内容上更大胆的冒险，同时也要求以不同的方式应对筹款与财务的不稳定性。其项目包括 2015 年启动的 Protocinema 新锐策展人系列（PECS）导师计划、2022 年与 Laura Raicovich 共同创办的月度数字出版物 Protodispatch，以及展览文本出版物 Protozine。

​Spirito 曾任纽约 303 画廊总监（2000–2012），那是切尔西最具代表性的当代画廊之一。2013 至 2018 年，她负责策划巴塞尔艺术展（巴塞尔与迈阿密海滩）的 Conversations 对谈项目 —— 艺博会旗舰级的艺术家、策展人与文化人物对谈系列。2015 至 2017 年，她任伊斯坦布尔 Bomonti 区 Alt Art Space 的策展人兼总监 —— 那是一座由旧啤酒厂改造的大型展览空间，她在那里呈现了 Rodney Graham 在土耳其的首展等一系列展览与公共项目。

​她曾任纽约首届 High Line Plinth 委任项目国际顾问委员会成员（2017），2012 年第二届马尔丁双年展（土耳其）顾问，2014 年为悉尼 Artspace 客座策划土耳其当代艺术，并任 Onassis 文化中心副策展人，在那里策划了《Nature of Justice》（2018）—— 与 St. Ann's Warehouse 联合制作的、对阿里斯托芬《鸟》的视觉艺术回应。

​她目前正在联合策展 2026 年 RISD 雕塑三年展，自 2023 年起在 RISD 雕塑系任教；曾于 2024 年在麻省艺术与设计学院任教，2023–24 年任佛蒙特艺术学院 MFA 视觉艺术项目客座策展人。Spirito 现任纽约 Participant Inc. 董事会副主席、ArteEast 董事、多伦多约克大学 Goldfarb Gallery 顾问委员会成员。她拥有麻省艺术与设计学院的 BFA 学位。

​代表项目

• ​《A Few in Many Places》（2020–21）—— 开创性的多城市展览模式：同一展览同时在伊斯坦布尔、贝鲁特、柏林、费城、曼谷、首尔、纽约七城展开，以在地参与和数字连接维系

• ​《The Myth of Normal, A Celebration of Authentic Expression》—— 波士顿 MassArt 美术馆群展（2023–24）

• ​《The Substance With Which the Future Is Made》—— 迪拜 Alserkal Avenue 首届录像艺术项目（2024–25）

• ​《I'm Glad You Exist》—— 阿尔巴尼亚斯库台 Ekrani i Artit 电影节录像放映（2025）

• ​《Art, Ancestors, Ghosts & the Dead》—— 跨文化死亡观研讨会（2023）

• ​《Nature of Justice》—— Onassis 文化中心，与 St. Ann's Warehouse 联合制作（2018）

​[PLACEHOLDER - details to be finalized]