The dialogue between Philip Fryer and Sandrine Schaefer began in 2003 when Philip witnessed a live art piece Sandrine created at Boston’s late Oni Gallery. The two artists shared multiple philosophies about the art making process. They began their vibrant collaboration shortly after meeting. As their collaboration evolved, Philip and Sandrine discovered that they also had a shared interest in curating art happenings. This possibility presented itself as a chance to put their philosophies about art into practice.
Boston has served as a Mecca for live art for the last 30 years. The presence of Mobius artist group, the performance art department at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and multiple art initiatives that have made their presence known throughout the years has offered a platform for this often misunderstood medium to flourish. Boston’s transitory landscape has also offered itself as an inspiring environment for ephemeral art.
In 2003, action art experienced a resurgence in Boston. Inspired by the explosive movement happening around them, Sandrine and Philip created The Present Tense. Their goal was to create a series of thriving bridges between Boston and other parts of the world that are connected by ephemeral art. Their debut event, Activate: an evening of Occurrence happened in July 2005 at Zeitgeist Gallery. In 2006, the Present Tense joined forces with TEST, another Boston-based curatorial group, to create the Contaminate Festival at Midway Studios, where Sandrine and Philip were artists in residence. Inspired by TEST’s DIY attitude towards the reclamation of public spaces, and the shared goal of offering established and up-and-coming artists an opportunity to share work together made The Present Tense and Test collaboration successful. The two groups organized two more Contaminate Festivals in 2007 and 2008. Working with TEST also led Sandrine and Philip to discover another goal of The Present Tense. It became an unspoken normalcy to witness live art in odd spaces like parking lots, cages at an abandoned zoo, warehouses, etc. The Present Tense wishes to challenge designated art spaces to show live art. If these spaces openly acknowledge live art as a visual art medium, this would expand cultural perceptions of what art can be.
To date, The Present Tense has organized 10 art events, festivals, and artist exchanges. They have shown over 90 artists from across the globe. During this process they have accumulated footage, relics, and many relationships. The Present Tense believes that art is an access point for growth. With the help of The Berwick Research Institute The Present Tense has been able to create this online archive of work that Sandrine and Philip have created, witnessed and curated through The Present Tense. The goal of this archive is to provide a permanent presence/ exhibition space for ephemeral art that has difficulty finding space to be seen.
Visit us for weekly posts and experience the accumulation of this resource!
The Present Tense does not claim to own any of the artwork exhibited on this sight. All work is copywritten by the artists.
