‘Art Not as Usual’ review: Worthy subjects, an incomplete portrait
Annie Eastman's documentary explores the Artnauts' global mission but leaves too much of the collective's history untold.
One of the most moving moments in “Art Not as Usual” comes when artist Beth Krensky recalls meeting mothers in Chile who were demanding answers about loved ones who had disappeared. Their determination became a personal reminder to “not give up.”
It’s a specific, powerful story about the relationships that can emerge from an art exhibition. Writer-director Annie Eastman’s documentary needs more like it. Instead, this well-intentioned but unfocused portrait spends so much time exploring the troubled histories of the places the Artnauts visit that it neglects the collective itself.
Founded at CU Boulder in 1996, the Artnauts have organized 256 exhibitions worldwide, frequently collaborating with communities affected by war, oppression and displacement. Making its world premiere at the Denver Film Festival, the documentary follows exhibitions in Brazil, Northern Ireland, Colombia, Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina during 2024 and 2025.
The goal is admirable: Art can encourage dialogue across cultural divides, particularly when artists take the time to listen to the communities they’re visiting. The film demonstrates what that looks like in practice. What it rarely explains is how the group developed that approach over three decades.
Eastman is most successful when focusing on founder George Rivera, now 80, whose childhood in segregated Texas shaped his opposition to racism. He recalls an art teacher handing him colored beans while his white classmates received paints and canvases. An archival photograph of Rivera and his Black childhood friend playing the Lone Ranger and Tonto takes on added weight when we learn they couldn’t attend the same school.
These memories give the documentary an emotional foundation that its sprawling international excursions struggle to match.
Where’s the rest of the collective?
The film spends considerable time on Rivera’s life but surprisingly little on how the Artnauts actually came together. Krensky and longtime member Martha Russo receive attention, while fellow founders Garrison Roots, Dennis Dalton and Luis Valdovino are largely relegated to the margins. I had to look up the group’s origins to learn it started at CU Boulder after watching a documentary subtitled “The Story of the Artnauts Collective,” which seems like a fairly significant oversight.
Meanwhile, the film hops between countries, offering extensive historical background about the communities hosting exhibitions. The visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial is affecting, and learning about the Brazilian Amazon’s exploitation is worthwhile. However, these passages frequently overshadow the artists’ relationships with their hosts.
We watch people hang artwork. We watch visitors look at artwork. Then come more montages of artwork. Eventually, the repetition starts feeling like padding, particularly when there are so many unanswered questions about the people responsible for creating it.
How has the collective evolved? What happens when artists disagree or an exhibition provokes an unintended reaction? How have three decades of international collaborations changed its approach? Eastman barely scratches the surface of these questions.
The documentary was originally conceived to celebrate the Artnauts’ 30th anniversary, and it shows. The film is so uncritical of its subjects that it feels more like a tribute than a serious examination of the collective’s accomplishments and challenges.
There’s a compelling film buried here, potentially within the same 60-minute runtime. Trimming the repetitive gallery footage and some historical exposition would make room for the Artnauts’ early experiments, setbacks and hard-won lessons.
“Art Not as Usual” makes a persuasive case that these artists care deeply about their mission. After an hour, though, I understood considerably more about where they’ve traveled than how they got there.
