by Molaundo Jones, Social Media Specialist at Fractured Atlas
Elina Akselrud | Photo by Marc Serhan
Elina Akselrud is founder of Intertwining Arts and creator of CROSSOVER ART PROJECTS- piano performance blended with other visual and performing art genres. Intertwining Arts has been a member of Fractured Atlas since 2016 and is based between New York and Lucerne, Switzerland.
How has Fractured Atlas benefitted your artistic practice?
Fractured Atlas gave a way for Intertwining Arts to become an organization. This is crucial for every kind of creative professional that is seriously oriented towards presenting their work. The Intertwining Arts team has successfully presented two multidisciplinary performance projects. The first one, “CHOPIN: A Letter through the Parisian Years,” unites live music, photography, and theater in one multifaceted performance. It was performed in Paris, France; Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland; and Munich, Germany. Its cinematic version was released in Paris, France and is currently available on YouTube.
At Intertwining Arts’ film release at the Hotel Chopin in Paris
The second project “The SCRIABIN SONATAS Reimagined, Part 1” presents music with a projection of artistic video collages. It explores the subject of the impact of humanity on of the planet. It was performed in a Swiss tour and the film will be released in The Netherlands later in 2019. We have currently been working on presenting our third multidisciplinary project “TRANSIENCE: painting after Scriabin and Vine,” which will manifest a live creation of a painting on stage — also projected — happening simultaneously with the piano performance. Fractured Atlas helped us structure our vision, get organized as a team, and it greatly encouraged us to create and keep going even when things got difficult.
How has Fractured Atlas benefitted your revenue/income generation?
Fractured Atlas made it possible for Intertwining Arts to be able to apply for grants. It is a whole world of opportunities, which are very limited when one does not have a base, (i.e. a fiscal sponsorship) such as the one that Fractured Atlas provides. We are always grateful for this assistance.
What specific Fractured Atlas services/programs have you used?
Intertwining Arts uses the grant application aid regularly, as well as SpaceFinder. Both helped tremendously!
Elina Akselrud and Intertwining Arts
Why do you think artists and organizations should become members of Fractured Atlas?
Fractured Atlas is a unique organization that provides valuable and much-needed services for every independent artist. When an artist needs to raise money to present their art, it takes time away from creating the work. Fractured Atlas gives artists tools and opportunities to manage their time in a more optimal way and focus on the art-making. It also offers necessary suggestions to improve grant-writing skills, regularly hosts webinars assisting artists with various aspects related to paperwork, fundraising, organizational issues, and moreover, it gathers information about various funding opportunities throughout the country and the world! Last but not least, every artist at Fractured Atlas knows that he or she is surrounded by other artists in this community. Meaning that there are like-minded people, with similar goals and struggles, who understand each other and that no one feels alone.
What has been one of your biggest challenges as an artist or for your arts project and how did you push through it?
The biggest challenge for Intertwining Arts so far has always been developing more public awareness. Since it is a young, emerging organization, we aren’t widely known yet. Of course, marketing is very much related to funding, however we do not give up and always keep planning new strategies for optimizing outreach for every new project we are presenting.
Do you have any upcoming events that people should know about?
May 24, 2019:
“TRANSIENCE: painting after Scriabin and Vine”, Project Premiere
Marianischer Saal
Bahnhofstrasse 18, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland
September 7, 2019:
“SCRIABIN SONATAS Reimagined, Part 1”, Performance + Film Release
Schouwburg Theater Hengelo
Beursstraat 44, 7551 HV Hengelo, The Netherlands
Behind the scenes of CHOPIN: A Letter through the Parisian Years
What is your biggest accomplishment as a result of being a Fractured Atlas member?
Being granted a fiscal sponsorship from Fractured Atlas, Intertwining Arts became real. This inspired our team’s creation of new projects, new collaborations with fellow artists, and reaching out to new locations. We are thankful to Fractured Atlas for giving us this jump-start!
You can follow and learn more about Elina Akselrud and Intertwining Arts at http://intertwiningarts.org; on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at @intertwiningarts; and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrtuHl_kZiCt4U4Kwd0xb_A.
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