Mana Contemporary Partners with the Marina Abramovic Institute

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mana Contemporary, a leading art organization, today announced a partnership with renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic in support of the Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI).

On May 28, nearly 100 art collectors and arts professionals attended an exclusive dinner celebrating the partnership. The elegant evening was held at the recently opened Mana Glass Gallery, one of the largest galleries in the United States. Featuring interior design by architect Richard Meier, the column-free exhibition space spans 50,000 square feet.

In October 2014, Mana Contemporary will host MAI@MANA-1, Abramovic's groundbreaking long durational workshop consisting of 72 continuous hours of exercises out of the many Abramovic has developed during her 40 years of work as an artist, teacher, and curator. These exercises will be presented in the Mana Glass Gallery, and are expected to attract 10,000 participants over the three-day period. Tickets to participate in the exercises will be made available to the public, and all proceeds will benefit the construction of Abramovic's planned cultural center, MAI-Hudson.

Additionally, Mana Contemporary has extended an invitation to MAI to create a satellite performance art studio at its Jersey City campus.

"The collaboration between Mana and MAI evolved organically more than a year ago and is based on shared ideology," says Eugene Lemay, President of Mana Contemporary.

"Our creative visions complement one another to create and push the boundaries of art," says Shai Baitel, Vice President of Strategy at Mana Contemporary.

Both organizations emphasize the need for communication through which people connect and exchange ideas, from artist-to-artist, artist-to-audience, and artist-to-art professionals. Transparency and accessibility are also elemental to both organizations' missions—art and the process of art must be open and for everyone.

"The people here at Mana are just incredibly great and generous, and most of all understand the purpose of my institute," says Abramovic.

During the May 28 event, guests were treated to a performance by Armitage Gone! Dance, and Eugene Lemay announced a future exhibition of Karole Armitage curated by Jeffrey Deitch, as well as a Latin American art fair at Mana Wynwood curated by Octavio Zaya. Lemay also unveiled a special print of Abramovic in a limited edition of 35 produced by Mana Contemporary's silkscreen studio, Gary Lichtenstein Editions at Mana. Sales of the $50,000 prints will benefit MAI.

About Mana Contemporary
Mana Contemporary is a leading arts destination with locations in Jersey City and Chicago. Studios, exhibition spaces, art services, and programming provide an unparalleled environment for creating and experiencing art. By exposing and exploring the artistic process, Mana Contemporary offers an exciting way to discover and learn about art while artists are enabled to experiment and collaborate across all disciplines, forms, and media. Mana Contemporary is home to the Richard Meier Model Museum, Gary Lichtenstein Editions, the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation, the Middle East Center for the Arts, Shen Wei Dance Arts, the Keating Foundry, and more. For more information about Mana Contemporary, please visit www.manacontemporary.com.

About MAI
MAI was founded by Marina Abramovic and will serve as her legacy. MAI is a platform for immaterial and long durational works. The Institute focuses on the study, preservation, and presentation of long durational performance including dance, theater, film, video, performance art, and music. The Institute pursues an active role in contemporary culture by forging productive unions between art, science, technology, and education. When MAI's space opens in Hudson, NY, it will be an experimental site to conduct research and host workshops, and will serve as a venue where the public can experience and interact with works of long durational performance.

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SOURCE Mana Contemporary