Are We Cool Yet? Hub

Are We Cool Yet? is an artistic movement existing on the fringes of the international avant-garde, with roots in the early surrealist art movements of the late 19th and early 20th century and the growing scientific understanding and study of the anomalous that began to develop during that time. (For one man's account of how the movement came into its own, refer to the contest entry tale "Birth of the Cool".) The movement has no centralized leadership, no headquarters, very few traditions or conventions, and no official membership rolls or requirements - the only thing one need do to call oneself a member is to make art that employs, exploits, or revolves around anomalous objects, beings, or phenomena.

The organization of an AWCY? cell varies wildly from place to place. Many groups are organized into small salons led by a creative mastermind or a professional critic, while others are collectives with no clear leader, and some members prefer to work entirely on their own. In the opinions of some, it is not even necessary to know that the movement exists in order to be a part of it. The tendency of some such groups to produce highly visible public artworks that cause death, injury, or lasting psychological harm has led some to decry the entire movement as a bunch of "art terrorists", a label some of its members wear with pride, some repudiate entirely, and some wear ironically.

The largest and most visible gathering of AWCY? artists in any place or time is " Sommes-Nous Devenus Magnifiques? ", a grand exhibition held every ten years since 1874, at which those "in the know" can gather to view and scrutinize a selection of some of the finest works in anomalous art produced over the previous decade. To have a work accepted is considered (by those who care about such things) to be one of the greatest achievements an anartist can attain in a career, and members of cells all around the world petition to have their works displayed.