Con Edison Immigrant Artist Program Newsletter, Issue No. 49
Special Report: Immigrant Artist Program @ DUMBO and Governor’s Island
Since its inception in 2007, NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Program (IAP) has served more than 100 artists through its Mentoring Program covering a range of disciplines from visual and performing to literary and multi-disciplinary to folk and traditional arts. This fall the Immigrant Artist Program is highlighted at two venues, the Governors Island Art Fair, organized by NYFA fiscally sponsored organization 4heads, and at NYFA’s offices as part of the Dumbo Arts Festival.
For the exhibition at the Governors Island Art Fair, NYFA’s curatorial department selected works from 20 artists from all years of the Mentoring Program, with both Mentors and Mentees represented. The exhibition covered a wide range of disciplines, such as works on paper, video, photography, mixed media, painting, and sculpture. Featured artists include Alessandra Exposito, Alex O’Neal, Andrea Star Reese, Anna Pasztor, Drashko, Gabriela Alva Clemens, Hiroko Ohno, Irma Bohórquez-Geisler, Jeanne Verdoux, Jihoe Koo, Katya Grokhovsky, Kyoung eun Kang, Lisa Crafts, Maki Kaoru, Marcelo Fazzalari, Ricardo Miranda Zuniga, Saeri Kiritani, and Visakh Menon.
The exhibition takes full advantage of the intimate domestic space provided by the buildings on the historic island, with artworks in the kitchen (see image) as well as two main rooms. The artists have been gallery sitting, which allows them to promote their work and their fellow artists, as well as interact with visitors. “People visited the space almost without cease,” said Hiroko Ohno, one of the artists in the show. “I watched their reactions and was able to talk with several people, including some artists. It was a very good experience for me.”
Saeri Kiritani, who uses her own likeness in her work, held conversations with visitors that were initiated when they recognized her from her photograph on the wall. “Without doing performance, I felt like I was performing for my photo by sitting down on the porch. It was very enjoyable to watch people and to see their reactions toward the art,” she said.
NYFA News interviewed Katya Grokhovsky (Mentee, 2012) about her piece in NYFA’s exhibition at the Governors Island Art Fair and her experience as an immigrant artist. To read the article, click here.
The exhibition is located in Building 4A, Nolan Park, Governors Island. IAP alumni and current Mentor Stephen Wood’s work is on display on the 1st floor of Building 111 and current Mentee Jain Kwak’s installation is on the 2nd floor of Building 404 on Colonels Row. This weekend is the final opportunity to see the show, open September 28th and September 29th, 11am – 6pm. For visitor information, click here.
Pangea, the exhibition in NYFA’s office gallery, features current participants in the Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. The exhibition opens during the Dumbo Arts Festival on Friday, September 27th from 6:00 – 9:00pm, and the exhibition will be open during the weekend from 11:00am – 6:00pm. Curated by NYFA’s Program Director David C. Terry., the show features artists Santina Amato, Franca Barone, Gianluca Bianchino, Liene Bosquê, Pablo Carpio, Heejung Cho, Giada Crispiels, Priscila De Carvalho, Helen Dennis, Rosemarie Fiore, Isabelle Garbani, Volker Goetze, Joanne Howard, Nung-Hsin Hu, Denise Iris, Hidenori Ishii, Jessica Kaire, Jain Kwak, Hyunji Lee, Zaun Lee, Carlos Martinez, Eva Nikolova, Lucia Pedi, Liesl Pfeffer, Alfredo Plot, Karolina Sobecka, Claudia Sohrens, Laetitia Soulier, Anita Sto, Rica Takashima, Octavio Vazquez, Stephen Woods, Ezra Wube, and Sophia Chizuco Yw.
The work includes site-specific installations, video, photography, sculpture, mixed media, works on paper, and paintings, which will be on view until January 2014. A special reading and performance event featuring IAP’s literary and performing artists will be held on Friday, January 17 from 6:00 – 9:00pm. Participating artists include Martita Abril, Ephrat Asherie, Jonathan Cerullo, Volker Goetze, Amy Lawless, Jaqueline León, Grace Lee, Javier Peñalosa, Neil Rolnick, Barbara Rubin, Oded Tzur, Carlos Valle, and Octavio Vazquez.
In addition to NYFA’s Pangea, featuring current participants in the Immigrant Artist Program, IAP Artists are also featured in mentor Claudia Sohren’s exhibition, What is a photograph?, during the DUMBO Arts Festival.
Featuring five international artists from NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Program, Sohrens uses a PHOTOVILLE container to investigate the inherited legacy of photography in contemporary art. The featured artists explore photographic processes that focus on creating rather than capturing and also provide a source for nonmimetic, nonlinear conceptions of time and space. Featured artists include: Denise Iris, Ezra Wube,Laetitia Soulier, Eva Nikolova, and Claudia Sohrens. The exhibition hours are as follows: Friday, September 27th, 2013 – 6:00pm – 9:00pm, Saturday, September 28th, 2013 –12:00pm – 9:00pm, and Sunday, September 29th, 2013 – 12:00pm to 6:00pm. For more info, click here.
The DUMBO Arts Festival attracts 200,000 visitors over 3 days with the participation of over 500 artists from a variety of disciplines, 100 studios, 50 galleries and stages and 100 programming partners. Art revelers can enjoy: outdoor and indoor visual art installations and exhibitions, digital art and large scale projections, studio visits with artists, as well as performers throughout the neighborhood. For more info, click here.
