Occupation and Institutions: A open discussion hosted by Occupy Museums
WHERE: 16 Beaver St.
WHEN: Monday April 16th, 7PM
WHAT: Open Meeting & Discussion

Is effective political protest possible inside arts institutions?

In Fall of 2011, Occupy Museums and several occupy groups from Europe were invited by the curators of the 7th Berlin Biennale (BB7) to use the KunstWerke hall in the city center for the Occupy movement. Those who chose to take part, decided to create an open and participatory international exchange forum for the movement. Since then, hundreds of activists from Germany, Spain, Holland, United States and Egypt, among many others, have been working together to plan for the BB7 and have issued an open call for all occupiers to participate. The hope is to reach a new public who are curious to learn more about our movement, and open up new ideas and possibilities for working together for change on a global scale.

Occupy Museums will be one of the groups attending BB7. We see this as a risky experiment between activists, governments, and cultural institutions which offer exposure and connectivity. The risk is co-optation of our movement’s grassroots power, the potential reward is international collective actions and solidarity. In preparation for BB7, we feel that input from the wider movement is essential. We want to collaborate, combine the collective knowledge of Occupy Wall Street and local artists, to create a platform for both meaningful critique and participation.

Please join us for an open forum to explore some of the following questions:

• Is effective political protest possible inside the arts institution?
• How does co-optation work, and can its dynamics be flipped in our favor?
• Is political art neither political nor art?
• What are the pros and cons of international mobility within the arts?
• Is Occupy Museums, or other arts groups, co-opting Occupy Wall Street?
• Who are our role models, those who have engaged in effective institutional change? What are the historical precedents can we look to as we approach this event?
• What are some of the ways other Occupy groups are effectively working with institutions?

We hope you will join us.
Contact or questions: occupymuseums [at] gmail.com

Open Call From Berlin Biennale:
Invitation to visitors – Join us! – Even before the Biennale starts!
We call on all people who are outraged by current social global conditions, struggling, hoping for change, to take part in our actions and meetings. Let’s organize ourselves and shape our own future, decide about our destiny.
Help our logistics team with physical support and donations of materials. Submit ideas for actions, presentations or workshops. http://berlin.theglobalsquare.org/

Contact: Join the Berlin Biennale mailing list by writing an email to berlinbiennale@lists.takethesquare.net
Groupware is being used for sharing of info, dates, news and tasks regarding the organization of the BB7. You can add yourself as a user here: http://biennale.theoccupyproject.org/user/register

The Living Theater:
The Living Theater will also be participating in the BB7 and they have offered to assist OWS  groups to develop videos for Berlin. From May to June the Living Theater in NYC will provide theater space for the creation of videos that document OWS performances,  process  and who we are.  The goal is to have these videos be part of BB7 and projected in the Occupied ghetto of the KunstWerke.

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!

Since September 2011, I have been an active participant in the Occupy Wall Street movement. My energy is mainly focused on two groups, OWS Arts & Labor and Occupy Museums.

Occupy Museums Statement:
Art and culture are part of the commons. Art is not a luxury item.

However, many art and cultural museums are currently run by and for the 1%. Economic interests dictate what art is accessible, successful, and desirable. Institutions often have board members who are part of the 1%. Galleries and museums increasingly operate as profit-driven business. In this system, money and power define what is art, and what is not. This system is cutting into the livelihoods of artists and art workers, and has emaciated the breadth of art available to the public.

Occupy Museums seeks to occupy our art galleries, museums and cultural institutions with the ideas, values, histories and art of the 99%.  Like our government, which no longer represents the people, museums have sold out to the highest bidder. We are a direct action group within the Occupy Wall Street movement. We bring attention to the most glaring problems within the current system and imagine alternatives. At Occupy Wall Street, we are taking the steps toward a future where our cultural commons are truly shared not hoarded by the few.

Occupy Museums!

For more information on Occupy Museums visit: http://occupymuseums.org/

Group Description:

Arts & Labor is a working group founded in conjunction with the New York General Assembly for #occupywallstreet. We are artists and interns, writers and educators, art handlers and designers, administrators, curators, assistants, and students. We are all art workers and members of the 99%.

Arts & Labor is dedicated to exposing and rectifying economic inequalities and exploitative working conditions in our fields through direct action and educational initiatives. By forging coalitions, fighting for fair labor practices, and reimagining the structures and institutions that frame our work, Arts & Labor aims to achieve parity for every member ofthe 99%

For recent Arts & Labor events, meeting times,  and actions visit http://artsandlabor.org

Reading is Another Form of Height is a text-based piece for a billboard and accompanying postcard. A reflection on narrative, the text on the billboard—a quote by the author Frank O’Connor— refers to the mental space of distancing and reflection of a reader, while the postcard refers to the physical dependence on time and geography.

In much of my work, I am interested in the tension between the feeling of freedom and autonomy and the systems of control that are constantly at play in daily life.

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.