Pledges of Allegiance Launches on Flag Day

June 14th, 2017

Creative Time is pleased to announce the launch of Pledges of Allegiance, a serialized commission of sixteen flags, each created by acclaimed artists to be flown in public spaces: 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.

To inaugurate the project, today, Flag Day, Creative Time is raising Marilyn Minter’s RESIST FLAG on the roof of its headquarters at 59 East 4th Street in New York City. The flag will fly from Creative Time’s newly erected flagpole for the remainder of the month before being replaced by the next flag in the series. Minter’s RESIST 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 join Creative Time in raising upcoming Pledges of Allegiance flags.

“We realized we needed a space to resist that was defined not in opposition to a symbol, but in support of one, and so we created a permanent safe space for our flags to fly,” said Nato Thompson, Creative Time Artistic Director. “It’s our fervent hope that Pledges inspires others to join us in solidarity, flying these symbols of unity and shared identity on their own grounds and so establishing more such spaces nationwide.”

Conceived in response to the current political climate, Pledges of Allegiance aims to inspire a sense of community among cultural institutions, and begin articulating the urgent response our political moment demands. Each flag points to an issue the artist is passionate about, a cause they believe is worth fighting for, and speaks to how we might move forward collectively.

Pledges of Allegiance flags will be auctioned through an exclusive online auction at Artsy, starting today June 14 and running through June 28. The flag being auctioned is the original 4×6 hand appliqued artwork that inspired the project — an edition of two with the second being the artist copy. Place your bid here.

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

Photograph by Guillaume Ziccarelli