NON FINITO

Influenced by the Renaissance and utilized by proverbial artists such as Donatello and Michelangelo, Non Finito currently stands as a work in progress—much like the works which this project aspires to both archive and share after the Non Finito project is actualized. The term “non finito” is a sculpting technique where a specific work remains unfinished or incomplete—sometimes deliberately. This concept sparks inquiries such as: when is a project considered a success vs. a failure? What happens when an unfinished, unrealized or incomplete work becomes readily available for someone other than the “original” creator to adopt, so as to finish, complete or take into a new direction? What collaboration methods will emerge to connect local creatives with those from other milieus? How can creative energy which appears to be unused, dormant or stifled be recycled or unleashed?

The process is simple: (1) anyone anywhere submits an unrealized or unfinished project to be collected alongside other unfinished works in an accessible online archive; (2) someone else “adopts” an unfinished project from a number of unfinished projects displayed and attempts to complete or finish the chosen project; (3) the “surrogate” then submits a new, more final version of the once unfinished project to be displayed online; and (4) the cycle ideally continues infinitely (i.e. someone else can adopt the latest version of any project and proceed to finish or expand upon it). Non Finito intends to be a tool to unite local artists with those elsewhere and also serve as an open platform to promote intercultural, experimental collaboration techniques between artists of ranging expertise. Non Finito is under construction but will be complete shortly as an organic archive and engaging inquiry into authorship, ownership and exchange.

For more information and to be informed when this project launches, subscribe to the Non Finito mailing list by sending an email with the subject heading subscribe to: