For over 20 years, Milk has been a cornerstone of the creative community in Downtown NYC. From featuring an exhibit by the famed portrait photographer Platon in our gallery to hosting a fledgling Alexander Wang afterparty in the Jam Room we’ve always valued a melding of diverse perspectives – and to stand at the crossroads of emerging and established artists. We’ve taken that ethos and created it digitally through our Instagram profile, where we seek to highlight work that is pushing the art of photography forward.
Photography serves as the cultural continuum by which we understand history, capture the present, and inform the future. With a constant pulse on thinking about what’s next in visual arts while paying homage to the foundations of photography, we keep our doors open to all ideas.
We as a platform prioritize artist discovery and exposure. Our goal is to highlight work from a diverse range of visual artists globally, stylistically, and culturally. We help push the boundaries of the current visual culture and give our followers a lens into the photographer’s process. From the illusionist Dain Yoon to Dubai based Abdulla Elmaz, we seek to show something meaningful, thought provoking, and educational.
“I capture the ‘everyday lifestyles’ of black bodies against vibrant, colorful backgrounds… I created this image, using these vibrant colors of a man with pepto bismol (medicine) coming out of his mouth to describe how sickening the world is. I believe the inspiration behind this image was created in relation to some traumatic events that were happening in the world at that moment.”
“A lot of people seem to think illusions means tricking people into something but I don’t think that way. I don’t think of illusion necessarily as trickery, but a wider concept- I think that anything, that seems slightly different from its original form, could be an illusion.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year is that anything is possible, no matter how crazy the world may be with its many twists and turns. If you want something, and work towards it, anything can happen. I do see myself using my camera and art as personal therapy to get over bumps in my life. I love to create, it’s a natural high.”
Amongst the noise filling up many peoples’ feeds we hope to stand as a beacon of artistic inspiration. Check out our page if you’re looking for fresh visuals that just might help generate your next creative spark.
-Milk Agency