“Why should we continue to be poor when it is possible to use the infinite imagination which is our HEAD and our HEARTS!” -Bertrand, France
Lori Nelson has been documenting recession-era stories in souvenir form, painting stories of foreclosure, shame, swindling, and failure on pine plaques. Inspired by Studs Turkel, her project is a people’s history, a folkloric look at our habits and emotions during a crisis, with the aim of memorializing these intensely personal stories for ourselves and for future generations.
Thanks, Rayna!
Gestures of Resistance returns this January with a re-envisioned show at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. Like the 2008 public presentation, the upcoming show focuses on craft actions, “direct political statements, public interventions, or dialogical, community-specific project.” This is furthered by the exhibition’s planning; each of the eight artists participate by creating their work in the space, sharing it with other artists as the show unfurls, emphasizing both the work produced and the process of its making.
The exhibition takes the approach that to understand ‘performative craft’ requires a relational lens that sees objects and gestures as deriving meaning largely from how and where they are deployed, and that sees action as situated within social and political particulars.
While the studio/town hall/venue is on-going, upstairs in the Museum will be a study center with one work by each artist and reading materials on performative craft. A podcast of the same materials read aloud will also be available.
Participating artists include Sara Black and John Preus, Anthea Black, Carole Lung, Cat Mazza, Mung Lar Lam, Ehren Tool, and Theaster Gates, and the show is co-curated by Judith Leemann and Shannon Stratton.
Disclosure: Co-curator Judith Leemann is a friend of Groundswell, and the artist-in-residence at DS4SI, where we think and work together.
The renowned artist/activist space ABC No Rio made $1 million earlier this month, an anonymous donation toward their new facility at 156 Rivington Street in New York City’s Lower East Side. Costs are now covered through the first stage, since $1.65 million in city funding rolled in earlier this year. The wake has been held for the building, and a new structure will soon take its place.
Yesterday, Tadzio Mueller, one of the editors of Turbulence: Ideas for Movement appeared before a judge to redress his arrest by undercover police the day before. Tadzio, a spokesperson for Climate Justice Action, is one of hundreds detained for their criticism of the climate talks. In specific, it is rumored that his arrest is related to his public statements about organizing a People’s Assembly of demonstrators inside delegates’ meeting place, the Bella Centre, though police are yet to state a reason.
Fellow editors have issued an open letter petitioning for his immediate release, demanding:
At the time of writing, their petition has 2256 signatures. Add your name to the list here.
Boston’s radical musicians’ collective AMP will put the détournement in your holiday season during the coming week with several caroling events, singing traditional songs with lyrics altered to mirror the hot political topics of the day.
You’ll find the carolers:
Songbooks will be distributed to those interested in singing, so lift up your voices and raise some hell.
Disclosure: AMP was started by friends here in Boston, and, having played a very minor organizing role last year, I’m one of the officers of the Facebook group.
Subscribe via RSS
Facebook
Twitter