Where we are going:
Umeå is about 600 km north of Stockholm and about 400 km south of the Arctic Circle. In February the average temperature ranges from 12-25 F, there is roughly three-hours of daylight and A LOT of snow! During the residency we will also have a studio at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts where we have been invited to give an artist talk and do studio visits with students.

What we’ll be making:
We don’t know yet! Since our work is often built out of our experiences on-site, we tend not to go into new situations with a over determined plan. Part of our collaborative process is about creating as we go,  remaining open to the environments we encounter and people we meet. Please join us during this process by following us on facebook and at our website where you can also see our past work. We’ll be blogging!

Tour with Occupy Museums at The Koch Dinosaur Wing at the Museum of Natural History

In September 2011, I joined the Occupy Wall Street movement. Since then, what started out as a curiosity has turned into a much larger commitment. It has felt like the most important place for me to be. The movement has offered a place to find solidarity and build change in a way the previously hadn’t felt possible.

Below is a little overview on some of the work that I have been involved with in Occupy Wall Street. Note: these reflections are strictly my own.

Getting Involved
My entry into the OWS was through the Arts & Culture working group (A&C). As an artist, I was looking to further the conversation that was happening around economic injustice in Occupy Wall Street into the realm of the art world. However I found that the majority of the conversations happening within the A&C were around creating art shows, or using Liberty Park as a curatorial space. This is not how I wanted to participate. As an artist that doesn’t necessarily make overtly political work, I was more interested in building solidarity among artists, who represent an exploited workforce.

ARTS AND LABOR WORKING GROUP

Formation
One of the best things about OWS is that the process easily facilitates the formation of new groups and it is very easy to enter the movement and start something new! After a few Arts and Culture meetings I was able to propose the formation of the Arts & Labor working group, and got a few A&C members to join me in helping its formation.

The first few meetings were small, and a mix of people from A&C, and others I directly recruited to be part of the conversation. Among those were members of W.A.G.E (Working Artists for the Greater Economy) who has been working on pressuring non-profits and museums to pay artist fees (similar to CARFAC in Canada) since 2003. Greg Sholette also came to an early meeting, providing some historical context by sharing resources on past movements of artists organizing around labor Issues in New York City. Also around this time, a larger meeting was called in the Occupy Movement to talk about the role of the arts in OWS. I attended that meeting, and announced the Arts & Labor working group, and from there the group exploded. From that point forward, it took on a life of its own.

The next few meetings were between 40 and 60 people. There was a lot of conversation around exploitation of arts workers and, calling a general strike, and ways to draw artists to the movement. (You can find meeting minutes here) There was a desire to do something for the next day of action, which was November 17th. We decided that we would hold a General Assembly in Chelsea, a symbolic center of the art market in New York. We called it Occupy Lunch.

Occupy Lunch
On November 17th 2011, on a city-wide day of action Arts & Labor held our first action, Occupy Lunch. The event took the form of a General Assembly on the High Line using the people’s mic. Over fifty arts workers came on their lunch break and spoke out about the working conditions and overall exploitation of arts workers. We handed out sandwiches and drank hot Chai. In the GA, people talked about how much money they make, how much debt they have, and the system that keeps them complacent. I found it empowering to hear from so many voices and to feel a sense of solidarity.

For more about Arts & Labor is up to currently: http://artsandlabor.org

OCCUPY MUSEUMS
At the same time as I started organizing with Arts and Labor, I participated in the first call to action of Occupy Museums, and soon thereafter joined that group as well. Occupy Museums is an action group that targets cultural institutions (largely museums) and calls them out for their relationships to corporate wealth and greed. Early on, Occupy Museums formed a partnership with the Sotheby’s art handlers, Teamsters local 814, who have been locked out of their jobs since August 2011. Occupy Museums has supported the union by protesting in front of Sotheby’s, but also organizing actions at MoMA that target board members who also play a role in auction house.

The strategy of Occupy Museums actions is to bring the General Assembly and people’s mic to the doors of the museum.  This format is open ended and fluid, anyone can join and speak at anytime. Occupy Museums also opens up creativity for the structure of the GA. Past actions have included poetry and manifestos, dance, and singing in the GA. We have held discussions on philanthropy, called out conflicts of interest from board members and philanthropists, and envisioned ways the museum could better serve the people. Click here for a list of past actions.

Also See: Some Reasons to Occupy Museums, and Occupy Museums Facebook page, Paddy Johnson lists Occupy Museums as the top exhibition of 2011!

Pie Charts, Blithe Riley, 2011

New York Art Residency & Studios (NARS) Foundation is proud to present its annual fall exhibition of thirty five NARS studio artists. Bridges, Trees, Skulls, Pies & other Treasure Trails will include prints, collages, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs that explore a wide range of subject matters and styles. From delicate geometric abstractions that examine the purity of form to explosive expressions of color that strive to strike a balance between emotion and intellect, the audience will be able to enjoy a treasure hunt through the winding hallways and the gallery space in search of their perfect treasure. Some will marvel at the meticulous rendering of the hair and expression of the brow while others find delight in the gestural strokes and splatters. From abandoned buildings and fences to tranquil bodies of water to intriguing fables and stories to delicious pies, the exhibition will surely delight those who dare to venture down the halls of the NARS Foundation.

Exhibiting Artists:
Jose Arenas, Patricia Ayres, Gennadi Barbush, Michael Paul Britto, Richard Castellana, Maia Cruz Palileo, Justin Davis, Scott Geyer, Betty Hart, Griselda M. Healy, Cosme Herrera, France Hilbert, Aaron Hillebrand, Erin Rachel Hudak, Mikhail Iliatov, Ellen Coleman Izzo, Rachel Kahn, Kyung Han Kim, Hiromitsu Kuroo, Roberta Lawson, Marisa Manso, Bari Mohammed, Daniel Morgan, Hyo Jeong Nam, Patty Neal, Tempest NeuCollins, Kevin Noble, Sean Noyce, Blithe Riley, Mason Saltarrelli, Steev Scott, Michael Solomon, Marisa Tesauro, Elizabeth Velazquez, Townsend West

The New York Art Residency and Studios (NARS) Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization with a focus on international cultural exchange. NARS provides an array of creative support services including cross cultural exchanges, integrated residency programs, and affordable studio spaces that support the needs of both emerging and mid-career artists along with community building through public programs that engage the local community in Brooklyn. The artists included in this exhibition have studios either in NARS Foundation’s Sunset Park or Clinton Hill locations.

Gallery Hours
Monday – Friday: 1:00pm – 5:00PM
Saturday – Sunday: by appointment between 12:00PM – 6:00PM
Please call the NARS office to set up an appointment at 718-768-2765.

THE RUBELL FAMILY + Conner Contemporary Art announce the sixth in a series of art events:

EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO (6) : Slippery Slope
curated by Janet Biggs

Slippery Slope looks at balance, both physical and psychological, and the struggle to maintain a sense of self in the face of difficult or extreme situations. From the frozen Arctic to the comfort of one’s own bedroom, the artists in Slippery Slope identify the illusive nature of self definition using visual poetry, humor, and endurance. Just as one touches the horizon of personal understanding, the ground starts to roll underneath, cascading both body and mind into a topsy turvy spin down a slippery slope.

> EXHIBITING <

Katja Aglert – Winter Event antifreeze, 2009, 6:31
Courtesy of the artist

Janine Antoni – Touch, 2002, 9:37
Courtesy of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University and the artist

Patty Chang – Losing Ground, 2000, 6:30
Courtesy of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University and the artist

Coble/Riley Projects (Mary Coble and Blithe Riley) – Ascension/Immersion, 2009, 12:30
Courtesy of Conner Contemporary Art and the artists

Maria Friberg, Monika Larsen Dennis – Driven, 1998, 4:30
Courtesy of Conner Contemporary Art and the artists

Martin Kersels – Pink Constellation, 2001, 20:16
Courtesy of Deitch Archive and the artist

Installation view (approaching center)

Installation View (from gallery right)

Washed Today, 2011 (photographs, ink on wall, scrubbed iris print)

Washed Today, 2011 (detail)

True or False, 2011 (latex paint on panel, 16′x8′)

Storyboard, 2011 (3-channel video installation)

Pie Charts, 2011 (twelve 12×12″ photographs, pies baked by artist)

Diary Reading, 5 channel surround-sound audio piece, 2011

The Edna Experiments
Opening May 7 – June 3
Gallery Aferro, 73 Market St. Newark, NJ
Gallery hours 12-6 Th, F, Sat

About the project:
The Edna Experiments is a multi-media installation project based on the found diaries of a rural housewife named Edna. Spanning the late 1950′s to early 1970′s the diaries reflect meticulous details of daily life, but no emotions whatsoever. The books are records of an edited life, where what is preserved is terse, systematic and rooted in domestic and rural labor. Insight can only be gained through the accumulation and repetition of action. Edna leaves the reader with more questions about her life and identity than answers.

The Edna Experiments explores this found personal history not only through the information that is in the diaries, but also through what is missing. The project looks at our own process of interpretation, including our desire for expanding the narrative of Edna’s life beyond her methodical practice of everyday record keeping. The Edna Experiments explores what constitutes a lived life, and our own desire for closure and meaning when we look to memorialize those who are gone.

Ascension/Immersion
March 19 – April 30, 2011

On March 18th, I’ll also be representing our collaboration as the speaker for the Friday Gallery Talks at the Hirshhorn Museum, which will address the work of Marina Abramović, the connection between video and performance, and strategies of archiving and historicizing the medium.

March 5 – April 15, 2011
Opening Reception March 12, 6-9 PM

Ironworks Gallery
Valley Arts
406 Tompkins St Orange NJ

Gallery Hours: M-Fri 10-5, Sat 9-12

Kenseth Armstead, Dahlia Elsayed and Blithe Riley are artists whose current projects are rooted in biography and autobiography. The questions of authorship and authority that arise when artists work with found autobiographical material, or in the realm of “unofficial history,” are complex. Each text-based project has been shaped by the artist’s motivations.