FreePort [No. 001] - Contemporary Art at the PEM

“The job of the artist is not to invent something new but to reveal what already surrounds us.”

— Charles Sandison

This weekend the PEM will launch a new contemporary art initiative called FreePort with the installation of a work by Charles Sandison entitled Figurehead, and inspired by the PEM's collections.

Internationally renowned for his animated digital projections, artist Charles Sandison is installing a site-specific artwork created for the Peabody Essex Museum's East India Marine Hall. Sandison's work activates the words of 18th-century ship captains' logs to create an immersive environment drawing upon the trade routes, politics, competition and voices that led to the founding of the museum and the origins of PEM's remarkable collection. Organized by PEM's Curator of Contemporary Art, Trevor Smith, this installation marks the first in a series of contemporary art interventions in PEM's FreePort initiative.

Launch Party
The PEM will celebrate the launch of the new Contemporary Art Initiative FreePort and the installation of Sandison's Figurehead at a launch party on Friday, October 1. Admission is free, but please RSVP on the museum's Facebook page. The party starts at 8:00 and features DJ Flack, dancing, a cash bar, and dessert. Attire is cocktail/contemporary.

Visit pem.org for more information on FreePort, Sandison, and everything else happening at the PEM!