The Free Hand’s purpose is to create experiences, artist residencies, and productions that bring artists and audiences together to discuss significant social issues. “Through multi-disciplinary and fiercely collaborative work, we purposefully seek our basic ideals of creativity, community, and justice,” stated Executive Director Bobby Miga, who directed and produced both the artist residency and the film. “We believe that the arts and creativity can catalyze major, tangible, good change in the world.”
On March 15, 2022, the one-hour, 45-minute art film will premiere exclusively on thefreehand.org in four portions with 22 sequences.
“EXCELSIOR’s” theme song, “Aim Higher,” by guest artist Damien Horne, will also be released on March 15, 2022. The renowned musician and life counselor from Nashville and Los Angeles co-host the TV show “The Song” and leads an inspirational group called The Magi.
The Coronavirus Artistic Response International Online Collaborative Residency at The Free Hand culminated in “EXCELSIOR.” The initiative, which was announced on March 15, 2020, and will begin on April 1, 2020, was created with three purposes in mind.
To enable artists and creatives all over the world to respond in real-time to the COVID-19 pandemic; to foster an authentic community among artists and creatives working in isolation, and to create inherently historic and important work that artistically documents the moment through quarantined collaboration.
PROJECT BENEFACTOR, fundraising for the next “EXCELSIOR,” will also be launched by The FreeHand. The Free Hand’s International creative climate response, a multi-disciplinary, collaborative production filmed on all seven continents, is envisioned as the culmination of the sequel. Through a tax-deductible donation, PROJECT BENEFACTOR will allow art collectors and supporters to finance a multi-artist residential experience or production. Benefactors might opt to support an existing or forthcoming program in exchange for an honorary producer credit on the work.