Creative Time Raises Artist Pedro Reyes's Pledges Of Allegiance Flag

Creative Time is pleased to announce the hoisting of the eighth public artwork in the Pledges of Allegiance series, Hands On With a Vision, by artist Pedro Reyes. The flag will be raised today, January 16th in partnership with 11 institutions nationwide. Full list below.

Pledges of Allegiance is a serialized commission of sixteen flags, each created by acclaimed artists to reflect the current political climate.

Reyes offers the flag of the pUN, the People's United Nations, an experimental conference that applies tools and resources from social psychology, theater, art, and conflict resolution to geopolitics. Unlike the real UN, where delegates are appointed by states and act as career diplomats, the people's UN welcomes individuals who are connected by family ties or birth to the nations represented at the UN.

"The flag of pUN is inspired by the hamsa (which literally translates to 'five' from Arabic)," says Pedro Reyes. "This right palm with an eye at the center of it has been a symbol of protection across cultures and millennia, originating in Africa and predating Christianity and Islam. Workers' and peoples' movements have often been represented by a hand, sometimes holding a tool or closed in a fist. Here, the hand is open, and its five fingers represent the world's five populated continents This benignant hand placed over an orb is meant to signal our mission to protect the planet. We invite you to join us."

Pedro Reyes's flag will be raised at the following twelve locations:

1. Creative Time headquarters at 59 E 4th Street in New York, NY
2. University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa, FL
3. Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) in Detroit, MI
4. Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY
5. KMAC Museum in Louisville, KY
6. RISD Museum at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI
7. The Commons, in partnership with the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS
8. Texas State Galleries at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX
9. 21c Museum Hotel in Durham, NC
10. California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA
11. The Union for Contemporary Art in Omaha, NE
12. Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ Pedro Reyes, Hands On With a Vision, 2017
Nylon, hand appliqué
48 in. x 72 in.

Pedro Reyes was born in Mexico City in 1972. He has won international attention for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues. Through a varied practice utilizing sculpture, performance, video, and activism, Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organization to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness, and humor. In the fall of 2016, Creative Time presented Pedro Reyes's Doomocracy, a house of political horrors, at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Pledges of Allegiance is a nationwide public art project by Creative Time. The project is a serialized commission of sixteen flags, each created by acclaimed contemporary artists: Tania Bruguera, Alex Da Corte, Jeremy Deller, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Ann Hamilton, Robert Longo, Josephine Meckseper, Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, Jayson Musson, Ahmet Ögüt, Yoko Ono, Trevor Paglen, Pedro Reyes, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Nari Ward.

Each flag embodies art's ability to channel political passion, providing a unifying symbol around which to unite, as well as a call-to-action for institutions nationwide to raise upcoming Pledges of Allegiance flags in solidarity with Creative Time.

Pledges of Allegiance aims to inspire a sense of community among cultural institutions, beginning with an urgent articulation of the political demands of the moment. Each flag points to an issue the artist is passionate about or a cause they believe is worth fighting for, and speaks to how we might move forward collectively as a country. To inaugurate the project, Creative Time raised Marilyn Minter's RESIST FLAG on the roof of its headquarters on Flag Day, June 14.

Pledges of Allegiance was originally conceived by Alix Browne and developed in collaboration with Cian Browne, Fabienne Stephan, and Opening Ceremony.

Creative Time, the New York based public arts non-profit, is committed to working with artists on the dialogues, debates, and dreams of our time. Creative Time presents the most innovative art in the public realm, providing new platforms to amplify artists' voices, including the Creative Time Summit, an international conference convening at the intersection of art and social justice.

Since 1974, Creative Time has produced over 350 groundbreaking public art projects that ignite the imagination, explore ideas that shape society, and engage millions of people around the globe. Since its inception, the non-profit organization has been at the forefront of socially engaged public art, seeking to convert the power of artists' ideas into works that inspire and challenge the public. Creative Time projects stimulate dialogue on timely issues, and initiate a dynamic experience between artists, sites, and audiences.

For more information on Creative Time please visit www.creativetime.org.