SanctionedArray is an ongoing project conceived by Sidhant Bhagchandani (SpecifyOthers) based in New York City and United Arab Emirates, comprised of an online database of video art and a series of curated video exhibitions focused on Belarus, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Myanmar/Burma and Zimbabwe. 

The project began in 2010 in response to the restrictions placed on artists' submissions to The Guggenheim Museum's and YouTube's video biennial, Play (www.youtube.com/play), where video submissions from citizens or residents of US-sanctioned countries were not considered eligible (www.sites.google.com/site/ytplayterms/all). In protest to such restrictions, artists of any origin were invited to submit their videos to SanctionedArray. 

781 video art entries were received from around the world during the month of October 2010, and juried from the database into a selection of 100 videos. (www.sanctionedarray.specifyothers.com/100/jurors)

Independently from the jury, a playlist of 52 videos entitled Others2Specify inaugurated a series of curated exhibitions from the database, CuratorsArray. SanctionedArray’s iterations of 100 and Others2Specify were first presented on October 25th, 2010, at the Big Screen Project, a public art venue for film and video screenings on Sixth Avenue and 29th Street in NYC; and on November 2-3, 2010, at WHITE BOX gallery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. 100 jury-selected videos were screened interactively along with a linear playlist of Others2Specify.

The project has grown beyond its initial premise of a response or an assertion of institutional critique and towards a specific and affirmative approach focused on video art engaged specifically with the US sanctioned countries (www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/). CuratorsArray iterations are contingent on the space and time of their production. This specificity is reflected in the online previews as well as in screenings and exhibitions at museums and galleries around the world. Each array features both curated selections and open call entries.