The Thousands

Grassroots movements are rock and roll. Nurturing artists from the seed, the ARI in Artist Run Initiative can stand for many things – A Ritualistic Imperative, Artists’ Rites Island, A Real Intervention. Running such a thing is no glittered stadium show, but in the words of artist Tom Polo, the existence of ARIs "are crucial to the discussion of contemporary art and the growth of young artists looking to experiment and find their feet." They get people involved.

SafARI 2010 is the unofficial fringe exhibition to the Biennale of Sydney and champions emerging artists and ARIs to acquaint us with the rich jungle ports of Sydney creativity. A national call for submissions will see the work of fifteen transformative artists (from familiar names to unknowns) weaved across MOP, Locksmith Project Space, Firstdraft, Serial Space and the window of FBI on Regent Street.

Look for Jason Sims’ mirror boxes, Vincent & Vaughan O-Conner’s sound machines, Tom Polo’s shift to digital fonts and the SafARI Forum which fishes into the dangers of the commercial gallery system and what can be learned from ‘outsider’ models.

Discover new vistas, new mediums and who’s introducing them to your mind field. Emerging as an artist takes the strength of a rhino and a little help from the natives of the wild.