The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is teaming up with MTV Studios, Paramount, and the Smithsonian Channel to create the six episode docuseries The Exhibit, which will follow seven American artists who will compete for a presentation at the museum and a cash prize.
Following a nationwide search, participants were selected in consultation with Hirshhorn curators. The group includes printmaker Jamaal Barber, Onondaga artist Frank Buffalo Hyde, designer and sculptor Misha Kahn, painter Clare Kambhu, multimedia artist Baseera Khan, video and performance artist Jillian Mayer, and painter Jennifer Warren.
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On the show, they are tasked with creating works inspired by Hirshhorn and pieces from the museum’s collection, which includes such artists as Laurie Anderson, Mark Bradford, the Guerrilla Girls, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Nam June Paik, and Alma Thomas.
The museum’s director Melissa Chiu leads a rotating panel of art world judges—among them artist Adam Pendleton, critic Kenny Schachter, arts educator Sammy Hoi, museum digital strategist JiaJai Fei, and art collector Keith Rivers—to evaluate the originality and execution of the works. In the end, the winning artist will be invited to exhibit an original piece at the Hirshhorn and will receive a $100,000 cash prize from the television network.
The Hirshhorn said the show will air to 40 million people nationwide. Its purpose is to shed light on professional art-making processes and make art more accessible to new audiences, according to the museum.
The series is hosted by Dometi Pongo of MTV News and will premiere on MTV on Friday, March 3 at 9 p.m. and on the Smithsonian channel on Tuesday, March 7.
In format, the show recalls Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, a Project Runway–like Bravo competition show that aired from 2010 to 2011. Its judges included critic Jerry Saltz and dealer Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn.