Public Installation
c.20:21
Patti Smith
January 1–31, 2021, 8:21pm daily
Piccadilly Lights, London
circa.art
Patti Smith will take over the Piccadilly Lights advertising screen in London’s Piccadilly Circus for two and half minutes every day at 20:21 gmt (8:21pm), transforming the 4k screen into a digital canvas. Her monthlong presentation A New Year will combine musical performance and poetry, and feature two live prerecorded events at midnight on New Year’s Eve and January 20, the date of the US presidential inauguration. The project is presented by Circa, a new platform presenting digital art in the public space established in 2020. Circa commissions a different artist each month to present new ideas that consider our present-day world. To watch the events online, visit circa.art.
#PiccadillyLights
Patti Smith, A New Year, 2021, Piccadilly Lights, London
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Award
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The Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts (CIRCA), a platform established in 2020 to present digital art in the public space, has launched the third edition of the CIRCA Prize, which calls for artists of all ages to respond to the CIRCA 20:23 manifesto on hope. Throughout September, thirty international artists will see their work appear at 20:23 (8:23pm) local time on London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights and across a global network of digital screens, following in the footsteps of CIRCA-commissioned artists such as Douglas Gordon and Patti Smith. A jury of artists and collaborators, including Gordon, will select the winner, who will receive £30,000 to support their future practice as well as a new trophy designed by Ai Weiwei.
CIRCA Prize 2023 call for submissions on Piccadilly Lights, London
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Patti Smith
Légion d’honneur
Patti Smith was named Officier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur by the French ambassador to the United States, Philippe Étienne, on May 21, 2022. Reflecting the multifaceted contours of French society, the Légion d’honneur is the country’s highest order of merit. For two centuries, it has been presented on behalf of the Head of State to reward the most deserving citizens in all fields of activity.
Patti Smith receiving the Officier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, New York, May 21, 2022. Photo: Lynn Goldsmith
Award
Patti Smith
2020 WSJ Magazine Innovator Award
Patti Smith was named the Literature Innovator at the 2020 WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards on November 11, 2020. This year marked the tenth anniversary of the awards, which recognize inspiring talents from a variety of cultural pursuits. The poet, artist, and award-winning memoirist and musician was honored for the indelible mark she has made on American letters and for her decades of revelatory work. Actor Ethan Hawke presented the award during the ceremony, which was filmed this year due to covid-19 restrictions. To watch the ceremony, visit the WSJ Magazine’s YouTube channel.
Patti Smith. Photo: Steven Sebring for WSJ Magazine
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