In light of growing opposition to (and wariness of) the ongoing push for Globalization, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis, all manner of government agencies, think tanks, social theorists, development Banks, even artists – critics and advocates alike –- have weighed in, attempting to claim, redefine and/or re-purpose this ages-old grass roots movement. While some, it would seem, seek to disarm, even subvert, this powerful decentralizing, democratic, force; others are attempting to retool Regionalism, and adapt it to the realities of our day. The New Regionalism Project, in the long-forgotten tradition of Regionalism in art, subscribes to the latter.

Like the Romantic painters of the mid-1800s, in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and the American Regionalists, who responded to the social upheaval of the Great Depression, today's Regionalists, address the social dislocation generated by a 'digital revolution', as it has come to be known.

In the postmodern era, the public has forgotten that artists were once a force for positive change in the world. Independent artists possess a 'covert potential for resistance' , art historian and critic, Lucy Lippard, states.* Our objective here is to share a history that has been omitted from the official record, a history which demonstrates that artists may, once again, reinvent the way we live.

The name itself, in the era of Globalization, is the first and most important clue; Regionalism, represents the antithesis of this all pervasive ideology. It is important (and inconvenient to some) as art critic Lucy Lippard explains in her 2008 essay 'Beyond "Being" in Place', because of its 'covert potential for resistance'. For this reason, perhaps, some may feel that the less the public knows of this bothersome movement, the better.

Since the 1950s, Regionalism was been 'denigrated and dismissed', writes Lippard; more recently, it has been gradually written out of history. In the 'post-truth' era, however, after more than one-hundred years of 'Art for Art's Sake', the central values of the Romantics painters – Beauty, Nature and Truth – have never been more important.

Every few generations (as regular as clockwork) this perennial movement has re-emerged, usually in response to social and economic injustice, environmental concerns and subversion of the political system. Regionalism has a long tradition of social commentary and political activism which – with the help of the people – has generally succeeded in bring about positive change, and improved the lives of everyday people.

Today, the New Regionalism project seeks to remember, celebrate and revive an 'art for the people'.

Later members of the Hudson River School, the Romantic's counterparts in the United Stated, recognized the need to preserve the wilderness and are credited with founding the US parks system - Most notably, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Moran Point, on the Grand Canyons North Rim, is named after the Hudson River School artist Thomas Moran.

After the Great Depression, the American Regionalists were instrumental in bringing about 'The New Deal'; a development which improved the lives of the average person in the United States immeasurably. It is said the benefits of this, enjoyed by a large proportion of the population, have now be been almost entirely eroded,* which accounts for the rapid, and alarming, decrease in the size of the middle class (alarming because our liberal democratic system is dependent (1) on a majority of the population being of this constituency (ie. having a stake in the society) and (2) that they be engaged and sufficiently well informed. To understand why an informed and engaged population is important, see:'an elite among the middle-class'

The role art has played in the political struggles of the past 150 years is obvious, but this story's hidden dimensions are astounding. We will continue to explore the untold story of art in future updates – from the long forgotten, Congress For Culture Freedom; to Abstract Expressionism as a CIA and banker funded covert 'PsyOp'; to PSB D-33/2, the Psychological Strategy Board's 'Doctrinal Program' (declassified and made public in 2007). In light of all this, the importance of independent culture becomes crystal clear.