INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the NOTHING NEW FINAL REPORT. It is an attempt to convey the broad scope and deep impact of the Nothing New Call for Art, Installation, and Catalog. Data comes from Nothing New Submissions (n=66), Participating Artist Catalog Requests (n=34), and a Final Survey (n=13). It is written, designed, and edited by Jason Wyman / Queerly Complex. 

The conception of Nothing New occurred in Fall 2024 thanks to on-going conversations within the Immigrant Artist Network, which was founded in 2022. Immigrant and their comrade artists were seeking easy ways to showcase and present their work in galleries. Bushra Gill and Jason Wyman, members of the Immigrant Artist Network, joined forces to find a way to activate 465 Collective, a new space by / for Queer and Trans artists, organizers, and filmmakers (co-founded by Jason Wyman / Queerly Complex.)

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Our two guiding questions were:

• How do we make it as easy for Immigrant and / or Queer Artists as possible to contribute to a group show?

• How can we use this opportunity as a way to more permanently archive this moment so future generations can find our names, our art, our way of seeing / experiencing / making meaning of this world?

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The Nothing New (thanks, John O'Reilly, for the name) Call for Art invited artists or any culture, generation, practice, or location to submit one letter-sized (8.5" by 11") digital image, a short bio or description, and links to where to find them online or in the material world.

The guides were simple:

• Must self-identify as an Immigrant and/or Queer.

• NO new works; NO new words. 

The Call for Art was launched in December 2024. Submissions were promoted through word-of-mouth and Instagram posts and advertisements. Submissions closed on December 31, 2024. 66 submissions were collected, and 66 artists were accepted into the Nothing New Installation and Catalog. 

Digital submissions were printed on archival paper with archival inks by Golden Gate Coop in San Francisco and were paid for by Queerly Complex. Prints and name cards with bios, Immigrant / Queer checkboxes, and links were installed in a two row alphabetical grid on all three gallery walls. A print catalog of all works and words was also designed by Queerly Complex, and printed for archival purposes (also paid for by Queerly Complex). 

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The Opening Reception on Saturday, February 15, 2025, brought together over 100 people at the 465 Collective gallery, located at 465 S. Van Ness in San Francisco / Yelamu. It featured performances, words, and rituals by Bushra Gill, Kirthi Nath, Devon Devine, Rhea Joseph, and Jason Wyman / Queerly Complex.

The show ran from February 15 to March 16, 2025. The gallery was open weekends from 12pm to 5pm PT. Open gallery hours brought out an additional 62 visitors. 

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Participating Artists were invited to pick up their archival print from the gallery the last weekend of the show. Thanks to some generous anonymous contributions, 33 Participating Artists were able to receive free Nothing New Catalogs. This ensured Catalogs are distributed throughout North America, so Participating Artists names and works can be found by future generations. 

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A digital version of the Nothing New Catalog can be found in the Internet Archive. All Participating Artists names have been keyworded, so a simple name search will result in the Nothing New Catalog being found. This is another way Nothing New makes archiving easy and accessible for Participating Artists, and creates breadcrumbs for our descendants to find that lead to their works and words.