Current & Upcoming Exhibitions:
Trappings • Stories of Women, Power and Clothing
June 13–August 16, 2008
516 ARTS presents the New Mexico exhibition in the national tour of Trappings: Stories of Women, Power and Clothing, created by Two Girls Working, the collaboration by artists Tiffany Ludwig and Renee Piechocki. The exhibition tour is in conjunction with the release of their book of the same title. Their artwork Trappings begins by asking women to respond to the question: what do you wear that makes you feel powerful? Two Girls Working have interviewed over 530 women in fifteen states. Through its multiple parts Trappings ignites conversations about the meaning and expression of power. The exhibition includes a two-floor installation at 516 ARTS and a public art project on bus panels on the downtown D-Ride buses and on banners along Central Avenue. www.twogirlsworking.com More details
Cautionary Tales • A Visual Dystopia
September 6–October 18, 2008
In an epoch in which our global community seems to be rapidly disintegrating politically, economically and most alarmingly, environmentally, this exhibit will present work by artists whose images reflect a world going/gone awry. This is a place where much is not well through misuse/abuse of the environment, where because of the failure of society as a whole to properly take care of itself and the world it exists in, we may actually be near the end of the world as we have always known it. These artists have a common theme of alarm and dismay, while at the same time finding haunting beauty and powerful personal expression in their words of caution to us all. Featured artists include Roger Ballen, Jeff Gibson, Robert Hirsch, Rhiannon Mercer, Lori Nix, David Ondrik, Robert Sullkin, Emily Trovillion, Laurie Tumer, Erika Wanenmacher, William Wilson and Cathy Wysocki. Curated by Holly Roberts.
Finding A Pulse
September 6–October 18, 2008
We trust in science and technology, along with human compassion and ingenuity, to fix broken bones, cure disease, protect drinking water, provide healthy food from healthy land. However, there is much that is in need of aid — from the health of living organisms and the environment, to human relationships and social institutions. Despite the odds, the need to rescue, nurture and protect remains strong. Psychologically, we turn to private charms and talismans, suits of armor, self preservation and faith in the powers of super heroes and deities to ward off possible harm and enforce justice. Physiologically, the living body’s ability to heal itself is a reflection of the larger systems of healing and regeneration found in nature. When darkness brews on the horizon, what survival kit could contain the means to fix or transcend obstacles? The artists in this exhibition come to the rescue with a visual silver lining in the dark clouds; a personal message of hope, healing and resuscitation. Call to artists (click to download). Curated by Rhiannon Mercer and John Photos, 516 ARTS.
Speak Out: Art, Design & Politics
November 1–December 20, 2008
What success can artists and designers have in causing and effecting change today? In the past, the power of print was enormous; people could be jailed for what they said, performed or put in print, and this is still true today in a few countries. In our present culture we are bombarded by a plethora of messages that jostle for our attention and flood our eyes and ears through print, performance, email and the internet. This exhibition showcases artists and designers from around the world who have taken on the challenge of creating socially and politically charged messages that are meant to persuade, inform and/or educate audiences in a visually over-stimulating landscape. The exhibition includes political and social posters and art work that span the last decade selected by invitation, as well as current political and social art and design selected from a call to artists (click to download). Curated by Abby Goldstein, Associate Professor of Art, Fordham University, New York, New York.
LAND/ART
Summer/Fall 2009
In the summer and fall of 2009 a group of New Mexico arts organizations will join together to present LAND/ART, which will explore relationships of land, art and community through exhibitions, site-specific art works, lectures and a culminating book. Focusing on “environmental” or “land” art, the collaboration seeks to address our changing relationship to nature, and to offer a new or previously unconsidered understanding of the place in which we live. What we now think of as the “environment” has broadened to include the global community, the microscopic world, and cyberspace as well as wilderness, the urban environment and suburban sprawl. The land art genre includes ecological activism, reclamation and remediation projects, and ephemeral site-specific performances, among many other approaches, all of which have in common art and artists that respond to features of our natural environment. For more information about LAND/ART programs presented by 516 ARTS and many New Mexico arts organizations, museums and schools, please visit www.landartnm.org.
