HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - May 13, 2014) - Emerging Collective, a new initiative focused on emerging artists from the Global South, kicks off during Art Basel HK. The NYC-based non-profit seeks to bring the most prolific artists doing activist and avant-garde work in emerging markets to the forefront of the global art scene, through immersive art exhibitions and a technology platform.

"Emerging artists in the Global South are creating innovative and compelling work that speaks to major world issues and can hit home with the changing demographics in the USA and Europe, especially the mosaic generation of millennials," said Raj Udeshi, Emerging Collective Co-founder.

There is a real gap for artists creating work around topics that challenge the establishment. Such artists need help getting their work shown in major art centers, but are uncomfortable with the gallery or museum paradigm. Emerging Collective aims to fill this gap, matching the art-as-activism spirit by employing disused spaces and minimal corporate sponsorship.

"If the artwork is disruptive in nature, then showcasing the artwork should match that ethos," said Udeshi. "The stories being told by Global South creatives are the stories of social and economic upheaval, of women's identity, of being a witness to history -- these lend themselves well to immersive exhibitions."

Fall 2014 Exhibition

The first immersive art exhibition will be this fall, and will focus on the Egypt Revolution. Emerging Collective is collaborating with a team of Cairo artists central to the cause, including Ganzeer and Yasmin Elayat, to raise money for this multi-dimensional art experience. The team has already secured an extraordinary disused space to house the exhibition, in the SoHo district of New York City.

"We are following in the footsteps of Participant Media's movies that change the world," said Tom Punch, Emerging Collective Co-founder. "We believe that immersive art experiences built around activist and avant-garde art themes have the potential to be the next big cultural change agent, perhaps one day more important than film."

Emerging Collective chose to announce its launch during Art Basel Hong Kong, in recognition of China's preeminence in the global art market, and the proximity of emerging Global South art hotspots, such as Hanoi, Delhi and Beijing. In the coming months, the team will travel through Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean, in search of emerging artists, to create future immersive exhibitions around activist and avant-garde work.

About Emerging Collective
Emerging Collective is a non-profit initiative designed to support a more balanced global art landscape, employing a disruptive combination of technology, self-sustaining business models, immersive exhibitions, and re-appropriated spaces. Based in New York City, we focus on emerging art markets where the overall art economy is growing and stories are compelling. With an emphasis on activist and avant-garde art, Emerging Collective aims to catapult the most promising creatives from the Global South to the forefront of major art capitals.