Gupta is the co-founder of Babycastles and Silent Barn.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The first batch of members for the New Museum of New York’s artistic incubator program, NEW INC., has been announced, and among the 13 appointed individuals and businesses is Indian American software developer Kunal Gupta.
Gupta will be working alongside Sougwen Chung, Cla (Janos Stone, Sheena Matheiken), Adam Harvey, Maxrelax (Drew Lustro, Don Kim, Jesse Chorng, Paul Castellana), Accurat (Giorgia Lupi, Gabriele Rossi), Lisa Park, PARTY (Masashi Kawamura, Qanta Shimizu, Tom Galle), Tristan Perich, Print All Over Me (Jesse Finkelstein, Meredith Finkelstein, Kate Weintraub, Hayley Martell), Sabine Seymour, Paul Soulellis, and Charlie Whitney as NEW INC.’s inaugural members.
Gupta and his colleagues were chosen because of their expertise across a wide range of creative fields. The platforms represented by the first group of NEW INC. members include digital and physical manufacturing, wearable technology (such as smart watches, glasses, etc.), information design, performance art, and creative agencies.
The NEW INC. program is the first museum-led incubator program, according to its website. It is a “shared workspace and professional development program designed to support creative practitioners working in the areas of art, technology, and design.” The idea was first conceived in 2013, and is now set to launch this summer.
The year-long residency program will allow members to have “24/7 access to full-time or part-time co-working desk space, shared resources and equipment, events, and professional development programs.”
“Creatives today are working in unique ways that are cross-disciplinary, collaborative, leveraging technology, and increasingly straddling the line between culture and commerce,” said Julia Kaganskiy, Director of NEW INC., in a statement.
The NEW INC. program described itself as “a response to ongoing changes in cultural production and will provide a lab-like environment and framework for the development of original models in the pursuit of innovation.”
Gupta is a New York City-based artist and musician, and the co-founder of Babycastles and Silent Barn. The former is an “independent art games collective” that aims to use video games as an artistic and creative medium, while the latter is a Brooklyn-based art space that acts as an events venue for musical performances and art shows.
Gupta holds degrees from both Columbia University and New York University. He and co-nominee Tristan Perich, along with Katie Shima, formed an experimental live music performance group called Loud Objects, which aims to create “electronic noise music” with as few electronic components as possible.