The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art Announces Avant Premiere

Weaving together myth, movement, and snapshots of real life, MUD WATER is about a crew of turfers preparing for an upcoming dance battle and a man in search of his shadow. The cast of MUD WATER consists entirely of real dancers who are recognized in the turfing community as well as globally in the world of freestyle dance. Main actors Yung Phil (Turf Feinz), Dopey Fresh, Intricate, and No Name - who play themselves - are local turfers from Oakland, San Francisco, and surrounding areas.

“Getting an avant premiere with mowna feels like one of those really lucky, synergistic moments that we've had throughout the making of this film. For one, I love that we're on the same page about being ambitious and daring in our experimentation, while sticking closely to authenticity. Mowna and MUD WATER are of the same kind: we don't care about high horses or usual ways of doing things, we're just here to make the time of our lives, blowing past expectations,” said director, My-Linh Le.

The Freedom Music video, by Lisa Bonet, is a part of the #FreedomRemix movement, made by a predominantly female crew and features over 100 women of all ages celebrating liberation, by Dorothy, featuring Angel Haze. The project is directed by Lisa Bonet and produced by We Are Hear. Executive Producers include Linda Perry and Kerry Brown.

“This was a beautiful collaboration of dance activism. We have here, the power of women assembling, dancing, celebrating—protecting...the joyful participation in the sorrows of the world. The way forward is through paths yet known. Carrying in our hearts, Above All Do No Harm. We must teach this to our children. We come fierce, like mama rhino guarding her young, all the while feeding our Joy. We sway to the songs of our ancestors,” said Lisa Bonet.

Members of mowna provide support for the museum's mission, helping to sustain the museum and supporting artists to live their lives and make their work. Membership to mowna has purposely been made affordable and accessible so members are able to enjoy free admission, access to the collection and special events: meet the artists, curator talks, parties, mowna founders’ chats, and more. Membership to mowna is fifteen dollars a month and can be canceled at any time.

Seventy percent of member contribution pays the artists for their work. The other thirty percent pays for the creation of the site and the curation of the work.

As large institutions cancel shows, the art that is being made currently will not be seen, might be lost, or perhaps considered irrelevant by a show that is scheduled as far off as 2022. The pandemic has forced art institutions to reassess their business models and ethics and address the inequality that exists within the art world. Some venues have shut down permanently, others struggle to stay afloat. With all of this going on we are currently witnessing a two-year gap in the art world's exhibition schedule.

The Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art addresses this crisis through hosting the 2021 mowna Online Biennial through their humane platform facilitated by a sustainable business model that exhibits and supports a diverse range of art and artists right now. The 2021 mowna Online Biennial opens April 30, 2021, exhibiting an international pool of 100 artists. The Biennial includes all forms of art, inviting artists to consider new ways to exhibit their work online and to consider how artwork translates through mowna's digital platform.

Mowna seeks to create an ever-changing, fun, thoughtful, beautifully designed space to encourage awareness and mindfulness through the exhibition and experience of art and serves the public's need for art for the highest good of all. By addressing the current needs of not only the artist but also the audience, mowna is breaking barriers within the global art community.

Mowna offers the preservation of artworks through an online collection that is an educational resource and archive for its members and its artists, and aims to find, display, and support wild and newfangled art through the incorporation of innovative new technologies and ways. Mowna provides artists with financial compensation for their art and expands awareness of their talents via a sustainable platform where they can flourish.