Art for Change: Meet the Judges for the Americas
The 2024 theme, ‘Tomorrow’ing: Visions of a better future’, invites emerging artists to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues and act as a beacon of hope in the pursuit of a better tomorrow.
Six winners from around the world will be decided by some of the best business and creative minds from the M&C Saatchi Group globally and eminent guest judges.
In this Art for Change series, we hear from our regional judges. Find out what makes them tick artistically, why this year’s theme is so critical, and what they are looking for in our winners.
Introducing M&C Saatchi's judges for the Americas: Grant Cornett, director & photographer, Nicholas Rotondi, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America, Benita Antony, creative director at SS+K M&C Saatchi.
Q> An alien lands on earth and asks you to explain your job. What would you say?
Grant> I use various devices to mediate and manipulate the documentation of reality for various ends.
Nicholas> Considering I can’t even get my immediate family to understand what I do professionally, I’m not sure I’m the best person to take on this type of diplomatic venture. I’d probably say that this job is a cake batter mix of history / art / science, and thus a unique window into society’s collective soul. Then I’d probably ask them if they wanted to join a brainstorm.
Benita> I help people tell their stories.
Q> Is there a piece of work that you believe has changed the game in your industry?
Grant> It's impossible to pinpoint a singular work, but I would like to say that today's imagery seems to be full of emulations of past works. Not too long ago, artists were influenced by their predecessors but expanded into new realms.
Nicholas> Technically every piece of work changes the game in our industry, for better and / or worse. We do not operate in a vacuum, which means everything can inspire anything else. Someone makes something, other brands / agencies see it and share it, and strategies shift (minutely or massively or in between). It’s something that I’m not sure agencies and brands and creative professionals consider enough: the impact a piece of creative advertising work may have not just on the brand itself, but on the industry, on the medium in question, on the artists that count on said medium to pay their rent, on how audiences will process similar concepts in the future, etc etc.
Brands can obviously have huge platforms, but the opposite side of the “reach” coin is an expedited ability to oversaturate. Just as we can shine a light on something, so can we make it uninteresting. We should always be challenging ourselves to deploy creative ideas and mediums judiciously and with narrative purpose, rather than, say, picking to shoot on film because it’s trendy. These creative worlds and mediums and sub-cultures mean more to people than just the number of impressions they can generate for a brand. Let’s be respectful of the work that inspires our work; sometimes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, whereas other times, restraint is.
Benita> I love the Ragú, “Long Day of Childhood” spot (the one where the kid walks in on his parents). I’m not sure if this changed the game but it made me excited to be a part of this industry.
Q> What inspired you to join the judging panel for this year’s Art for Change Prize?
Grant> Being a judge has always been appealing to me, at the very least it’s an opportunity to accept- which is gratifying in an eroding industry riddled with rejection.
Nicholas> Creativity is like space; no matter how much of it humans explore, there will always be more to discover and chart. My goal is to hitchhike my way across as much of the galaxy as possible.
Benita> The chance to support the work of lesser-known artists.
Q> If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be?
Grant> I’d like to have suffered through sitting for a portrait with Lucien Freud.
Nicholas> The answer to this question changes daily, but today, it’s Ray Bradbury. He had some freaky ideas that seem to be born of a profound knack for human insight. The more dystopian our reality gets, the more I want to speak with folks who forecasted the current state of things and ask what they saw however many years ago.
Benita> Beyoncé.
Q> This year’s prize theme is ‘Tomorrow’ing: Visions of a better future’. What do you hope to see from the entries?
Grant> Ambiguity.
Nicholas> I’m hoping for *winks* hope. If artists – who often trade in the abstraction of reality - are struggling to envision any level of optimism about our future, that’s a pretty deafening death knell for society.
Benita> Art that transports me to a future I couldn’t imagine for myself.
Q> Why do you believe it is important for society to support and invest in the arts?
Grant> Art holds a special, albeit compromised, position in the world's value production economy. At its best, it has no use value and aims to provide a brief reprieve from being automated through thought.
Nicholas> Cut to Robin Williams as John Keating. And, to add my own two cents: the rougher reality gets, the more important it is to spend time seeking out the beauties of life that remain.
Benita> The arts are our universal language. It’s how we connect with people across cultures, time and maybe even space one day (re: aliens).
Q> What advice would you give to someone thinking about entering this year’s prize?
Grant> Nothing is more important than offering opportunities to think for yourself.
Nicholas> As a judge, I’ll be giving equal credence to the word “change” in the competition’s title as to the word “art”. This isn’t a contest for the most interesting looking visual, but rather, the one that most effectively alters perspective or inspires action.
Benita> You have nothing to lose. Seriously, it’s free to enter.
Q> What does ‘Art for Change’ mean to you?
Grant> This is complicated as I feel art with a singular purpose usually lacks the complexity to have any agency at all.
Nicholas> All of the above.
Benita> Art that changes the way we see the world.
