OUR MISSION

CAI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded and built by two artists with international connections, Yin Peet and Viktor Lois, with headquarters in Acton, Massachusetts. Our Mission is to promote the creation, understanding, and appreciation of contemporary art in the global context. Our scope is global. Our programs include international symposium and exchange, artist-in-residency, art education and exhibitions. Our media focus is three dimensional and multidisciplinary. We encourage experimental work in music/sound art, digital media, performance art, installation, and writing as well as sculpture in the more conventional sense of the word.

Its 12-acre campus, THE QUARRY, is surrounded by close to 100 acres of town forest. It is the site of a former working granite quarry. The main building “The Red Box Performance Hall“ is a 7,000 square foot multi-purpose studio building containing two galleries, a classroom/workshop, a multidisciplinary performance hall, and outdoor working spaces. The facility is equipped with industrial machinery.

The strength of CAI as an art organization in the global context is our international network. Our two Directors are both first-generation immigrant artists with international experience and connections to both foreign and American peers. This vital network between Asia and Europe ultimately benefits the U.S. and international artists. We are confident our organization will continue to serve the community for years to come.

CAI HISTORY

Contemporary Arts International (CAI) was incorporated in May 1999 in Massachusetts and obtained tax-exempt status in 2004. The purchase of a 12-acre former granite quarry in Acton by Yin Peet in 2003 was a bold step towards gaining a home for and realizing the future activities of CAI. The vision and persistence initiated by sculptors Yin Peet and Viktor Lois started with negotiations at numerous Town meetings and with the community (56 meetings alone in 2006 seeking approval), continued with slowly clearing the land, designing, engineering and constructing a large studio and residency house.

As of 2018, there are more than 100 pieces of stone and kinetic metal sculptures forming a key feature of the landscape to accentuate and express our vision for the site: distinctly symbolize a dynamic place for the development and presentation of large-scale artworks created by ambitious and uniquely talented artists. To better describe this art ground, we have renamed art ground a title: “YV ART MUSEUM” (Why We Art Museum). While Y refers to Yin, V refers to Viktor, when we ask “Why We”, we are referring to all artists who have had come and join the endeavor of our art mission.