Art
Ayanna Dozier
Still from The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, 2023. Courtesy of Paramount.
One defining format of 21st-century culture has been competitive reality television. From RuPaul’s Drag Race to Project Runway, these shows have a familiar rhythm, asking competitors to apply their skills to a huge range of creative challenges to determine a weekly winner. Despite its natural compatibility with reality TV (both have high stakes, big ideas, and even bigger personalities), the art world has barely crossed paths with the format. With the exception of the short-lived show Work of Art: the Next Great Artist (2010–11) on Bravo and a pandemic-era series for London artists called Next Big Thing, no reality competition show has delved into the high-stakes tension of producing work for an institutional exhibition—until now.
On March 3rd, MTV will debut The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, a new reality competition show that brings together seven American artists to compete for a presentation at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and a cash prize of $100,000. This partnership with the Hirshhorn means that weekly challenges will be inspired by the museum’s collection. Hirshhorn director Melissa Chiu will also co-host the show alongside Dometi Pongo of MTV News.
Portrait of Melissa Chiu, 2023. Courtesy of Paramount.
Portrait of Dometi Pongo, 2023. Courtesy of Paramount.
“Our partnership with MTV and Smithsonian Channel connects the Hirshhorn’s collection and art-for-everyone ethos with a national audience wherever they are, at home or on screens,” said Chiu. “The docuseries invites viewers to witness how artists transform ideas into concrete and original responses.” Chiu also hopes that the show will highlight the importance of artmaking to a wider audience: “Over six episodes, this series presents seven rising artists from all over the country, documenting their creative process in real time. It emphasizes the significance of…