Sherri Cornett
  • HOME
  • WORKS
    • TRANSFORMATIONS
    • FREEDOM SERIES
    • PUBLIC ART
    • GROTTOES
    • CHRYSALIS
    • COLLABORATIONS
    • LENS BASED ART
    • ANCESTRESSES & WISE WOMEN
    • SEAFORMS
    • SHELTERS
  • PROJECTS
    • TRANSFORMATIONS at Kirks for Kirks
    • UNITAS youth art and leadership
    • WHAT IS IT ABOUT MY MEMORY Community Engaged Installation >
      • MEMORY CARDS What Is It About My Memory
      • SOMAS What Is It About My Memory
      • EXHIBITIONS What Is It About My Memory
    • FOOD and CULTURE HUB East Helena
    • THE 2020 AWAKENING BILLINGS For Freedoms 2020 >
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Robert Hall on Blood Quantum
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Indigenous Voices Films and Filmmakers Panel
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS MMIP Community Gathering
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS REDRess Exhibit
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Seeing Patterns Exhibition
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Related Events
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Partners and Presenters
    • FOR FREEDOMS Billings >
      • FOR FREEDOMS Billings 2018 Partners and Presenters
    • COMMUNITY GROVE
    • CONVERSATIONS AMONG WOMEN
    • FLOW Interactive Exhibition and Community Project >
      • EXHIBITION Flow
      • VOICES OF THE RIVER SYMPOSIUM Flow
      • MIXING OIL and WATER Film Night and Discussion Flow
      • WORDS ON WATER: POETRY AND JAZZ IN CONCERT Flow
      • LIVING IN HARMONY ON THE YELLOWSTONE Flow
      • YOUTH OUTREACH Flow
      • READING AREAS MSUBillings Library Flow
      • YELLOWSTONE RIVER CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS Flow
    • POINTS OF MANY CONNECTIONS
    • QUEST Guest Art Facilitator
    • ALTITUDE 3123 >
      • EVENTS Altitude 3123
  • CURATORIAL
    • CHINA Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang 2014 >
      • ART & ARTISTS/CHINA Half the Sky
      • ART & ARTISTS/US Half the Sky
      • CULTURAL and COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS
      • DELEGATES
      • ESSAYS & ESSAYISTS
      • BLOG Half the Sky
    • UNDOCUMENTED Difference in America Today
    • GUTFREUND CORNETT ART
    • SOUTH KOREA Woman Body Seoul and Gwangju 2012
    • MATRIXXMODULATION Jon Lodge
    • PLANNED PARENTHOOD A Celebration of Expression: An Evening of Wine, Women and Art
    • WOMEN DO IT! Traveling Postcard Exhibition >
      • WOMEN DO IT Gallery
  • WRITING
    • ESSAYS
    • JOURNALISM
    • BLOG Memories and Musings
    • OTHER WRITING
  • ABOUT
    • EXHIBITIONS and EVENTS
    • BIO/CV
    • CONTACT/NEWSLETTER
Picture
Memories and Musings

2.8.10 Softness Overcoming Hardness

3/29/2020

0 Comments

 
#memoriesat60 #communityengagedart
Softness Overcoming Hardness
Angela Davis, Keynote Speaker
#OpenEngagement Conference, Oakland
May 1st, International Worker's Day, 2016
[Angela starts at 11:30, this video is long, but so good, so settle in, it's Angela Davis! and it includes Q&A at the end]
#AngelaDavis starts with the recognition that we were on the colonized land of the Ohlone, that the Oakland area is the foundation of the #BlackPanthers movement (50 years hence), home of #Occupy, #BlackLivesMatter, #transgender movements, #restorativejustice, #foodsovereignty and so much more.
The title of this conference, which focuses on #sociallyengagedart, was Power (with the palpable and obvious subtext of privilege). It was necessarily uncomfortable and and educational and expanding and connecting.
Angela adds, of course, Power ... To The People. She talks about artists who have been inspired by the Black Power movement and how this inspired others to make art and make change. How art plays a pivotal role in changing the consciousness and drives of those who can change the world. Art does, indeed, change the status quo.
To my delight, she talks about #DollarBrand and #AbdullahIbrahim, to whose music I was introduced in the 80s, (yes, in retrospect I see the colonial connection) when I was helping friends renovate a 1700s home in Long Swamp, PA and we spent our late nights listening to their eclectic music collection. Abdullah’s music remains soulful to me today, particularly, "Soweto" (link in comments).
She talked about the importance of softness in overcoming hardness, that softness is a place of reflection, imagination, and possibility. That we must continue to move.
0 Comments

9.6.19 #StonewallForever

3/28/2020

0 Comments

 
I will not be in Billings for the 406 Pride event, so, today, I am spending some time in the lovely Stonewall National Monument across from the Stonewall Inn. Here is a link to the Stonewall augmented reality app (you don’t have to be here to use most of it) for history and much more https://stonewallforever.org/app/
The US Dept of the Interior memorialized this galvanizing event which set in motion 50 years of Pride.#stonewallforever #406Pride
0 Comments

7/10/19 Walls and Borders

3/28/2020

0 Comments

 
Thinking about walls this morning as I ponder a piece of the Berlin wall my mother brought home after it fell and a piece of Doerte Weber's woven version of the US/Mexico border wall recently installed at the 48 Stunden Neukölln Festival in Berlin. (Thank you, Doerte!) And, hoping that our own version of unification - a common humanity, compassion, love over hate, peace over fear - will rise up and tear down the walls that separate us.
Photo 2: Doerte's piece in Berlin
Photo 3: Doerte's piece, "Checkpoint Carlos" in Karen Gutfreund and my exhibition at Santa Clara University, "Beyond Borders: Stories of im/Migration"
(https://www.gutfreundcornettart.com/info-beyond-borders.html)

Doerte's statement about "Checkpoint Carlos"
"When the border wall between the US and Mexico was built, memories of my home country's border division (Germany 1961-1989) surfaced. Checkpoint Carlos forms ten passageways - woven plastic bags from from newspapers given to me by a vast number of people in San Antonio, TX. They symbolized our common humanity, support for human rights, and immigration reform." (This piece is the US and Mexican flags separated by a border)
https://48-stunden-neukoelln.de/de/event/wall-wall
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

4.4.19 Framing the #HearMeToo Movement

3/28/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Please join Dr. Sue Balter-Reitz, Stephanie Baucus, Reno Charette, Kelly Christy, Brittany Hommer, Juli Pierce, Kassie Runsabove, Chrysti M. Smith, Rian St. Pierre, and Erika Willis and me as we facilitate #HearMeTooMontana table ConverZations at this Zonta Club of Billings event!
Framing the #HearMeToo Narrative: Community Engaged Art
Sherri Cornett
Zonta Club of Billings #HearMeTooMontana ConverZations
April 28, 4-5 Social Hour, 5-6:30 dinner and conversations, 6:30-7 final words
"With examples of national and international artists and art projects that encourage dialogue and seed social change related to violence against women, artist curator Sherri Cornett will facilitate a conversation exploring ways art could further understanding and action in our region".

I am inspired by how many artists I know, at quick glance, who address these issues and whom I will be including in a brochure for my table participants: Suzanne Lacy, Rebecca Belmore, Marita Growing Thunder, Sally Beth Edelstein, Mido Lee, Ianna Brooks, SA Bachman & Neda Nedd Vedd Moridpour, Audrey Chan & Elana Mann, Eva Preston & Joanna Fulginiti, Cat Del Buono, Veronica Cardoso, Carol-Anne McFarlane, , Jane Hickey Caminos, Kay Kang, Kathryn Shinko, Vanessa Filley, Jaime Schaefer ...

Here is my info booklet: 
framing_the_hearmetoo_movement.pdf
File Size: 3058 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

1.6.19 Undocumented: Difference in America Today

3/27/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
UNDOCUMENTED: DIFFERENCE IN AMERICA TODAY
Kirk's Grocery, Billings, MT
December 6, 2018 - January 6, 2019
Curated by Sherri Cornett and Dr. Aaron Rosen 


The dual show features internationally recognized artists MICHAEL TAKEO MAGRUDER and BENTLY SPANG. Each artist reflects on discourses of intolerance and belonging in the light of their family histories and current events, especially the crisis facing immigrants at the southern border of the United States. Community response to this show, (and the addition of Plaid Shirt Guy's plaid shirt in the front gallery), was powerful.

For more information: 
https://www.sherricornett.com/undocumented-difference-in-america-today.html

'Undocumented' explores immigration, internment, land access at Billings South Side gallery  Anna Paige  Dec 7, 2018 Billings Gazette https://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/community/undocumented-explores-immigration-internment-land-access-at-billings-south-side/article_974ee693-9491-5dfd-a27f-aa187a54b896.html?mode=nowapp&fbclid=IwAR3ZyWcEQ-ZWkoSqGfUtNQIj_lzNAIJkfw_S3JFbvUrpoI5Q4Nl24fo8IRQ

Read More
0 Comments

10.5.18 Freedom Lawn Signs

3/27/2020

1 Comment

 
As part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings, I invited participants in our various events to create lawn signs. 
  • Inspired by politician’s campaign signage, For Freedoms lawn sign activations encourage participants to produce and publicly display their own definition of freedom by filling out signs that say: Freedom Of..., Freedom From..., Freedom For..., and Freedom To…
  • Signs were be installed on the Free Speech Lawn of the MSU Billings campus as part the end of the Free To Be Me: Diversity on Campus and during Artwalk Downtown Billings on the south side of First Congregational Church (corner of 310 N. 37th and 3rd

The beautiful What Freedom Means to You banner created by MSUB's Club Art Collective and the Freedom lawn signs that we are creating at the town halls  

For more information about this project: ​https://www.sherricornett.com/for-freedoms-billings.html
1 Comment

10.4.18 The Dinners Project

3/27/2020

0 Comments

 
The Dinners Project: Billings Creatives Potluck and Conversations
Part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings 
Thursday, October 4, 2018
First Congregational Church of Billings, Community Room, 310 North 27th Street, Billings, MT 59101
  •  Facilitator: Sherri Cornett, Artist/Curator/Project Director of For Freedoms 50 State Initiative Billings, 
  • Participants: Sharon Forman, Damin Johnson, Phoebe Knapp, Linda Lemire, Tracy Linder, Angel Shandy, Bently Spang, Dixie Yelvington, Yungben Yelvington, Shelly Young
  • In collaboration with Creative Capital, For Freedoms 50 State Initiative, For Freedoms 50 State Initiative Billings and #LoveArmy
  • The goals of the national #DinnersProject are to amplify the efforts of creatives who are spearheading non-partisan civic and social change; build and strengthen relationships; have engaging and inspiring conversations and spark new projects and collaborations, all while breaking bread together.
  • Creatives in Billings gathered to share their thoughts and ideas about: What art-based activities are being used or could be used to enhance our community? To support important issues in our community? What would those issues be? What do artists need in our community to thrive? To stay connected? What communities are you part of? How could we connect them?
For more information about this project: https://www.sherricornett.com/for-freedoms-billings.html
0 Comments

9.15.18 Free To Be Me

3/27/2020

0 Comments

 
Free To Be Me: Diversity at MSUB
Part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings

Saturday, September 15, 2018  (2:30 – 4:30)
MSUBillings Student Union Building, Rooms A & B (lower floor and east through the cafeteria) and Free Speech Lawn
1500 University Dr, Billings, MT
  • Facilitator: Reverend Dwight Welch/United Campus Ministry, 
  • Community discussion about discoveries made while sharing our stories and identities facilitated by Rev. Dwight R. Welch of United Campus Ministry, and Parsa Hajy Abbasi (student from Iran), Tristen Belgrade (student from Rocky Boy (student from Chippewa-Cree tribe), Morgan Syring (MSUB Art Club Collective), Mitch Bohn (speaking from disabled student perspective), Jen Lynn (MSUB Women's and Gender Studies) and Patricia Vettel-Becker (MSUB Art Department Chair). 
  • Parsa spoke about learning to acknowledge, not oppose, when people misunderstood him because of his language and that he chose to become an ambassador for his culture. Tristen spoke about learning to expect racism, but not to let it stop him from his goals, despite historical efforts to make his people extinct. Morgan grew up in small towns with a single mother who emphasized supportive, civil listening and the importance of accumulating knowledge of others, Mitch told us about how fellow students expected that he must be in special education because he is in a wheelchair, but that accessibility is growing on campus. Patricia and Jen said that, since 2016, there is more intentional inclusivity and efforts to be more vocal for humanity and human rights. Dwight suggested we watch MLK's "What is Your Life's Blueprint" speech to middle school students. 
  • Inspired by politician’s campaign signage, For Freedoms lawn signs were available for  participants to produce and publicly display their own definition of freedom by filling out signs that say: Freedom Of..., Freedom From..., Freedom For..., and Freedom To…
  •  Discussion followed by creation and installation of Freedom signs on the Free Speech Lawn at MSUB
  • Facilitation assisted by Sherri Cornett (Artist/Project Director, for Freedoms 50 State Initiative Billings)
0 Comments

9.13.19 Native American Race Relations and Healing Series

3/27/2020

0 Comments

 
Native American Race Relations and Healing Series “For Freedoms”
Part of For Freedoms 50 States Initiative Billings 

Thursday, September 13, 2018, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.,
Billings Public Library
510 N Broadway, Billings, MT
  • Moderator: Russell Rowland, Co-Director of this series and main contact for this event, [email protected].
  • Russell Rowland led a discussion with former Northern Cheyenne Tribal Chairman and current tribal judge John Robinson,  a member of the Kit Fox Warrior Society and veteran of the United States Army as well as a participant at Wounded Knee and the occupation of Alcatraz, and Carolyn Pease-Lopez, who represented District 42 of the Montana State Legislature for four terms, where she serves on the Agriculture, Human Services, Judiciary, and Legislative Administration committees. She was recently instrumental in preventing the passage of House Bill 615, which would have allowed county clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, on the grounds that this kind of discrimination would spread to the way she and her people are treated as well.She is a native of Crow Agency, 
Fitzgerald Clark reported the following live on Facebook:
  • John Robinson pointed out that the separation of migrant children at the border reminds him of the separation of native children from their families at boarding schools and all of these children will face massive PTSD as a result just like generations of native children did.
  • One big myth about Native Americans is that they all receive free money from the government. This is not true!
  •  Carolyn Lopez spoke about intergenerational trauma and how it can have physical and psychological effects. There is a great need for trained trauma informed counselors and professionals in Indian country. Especially to work with the children. She refers to these folks as "people whisperers".
  • Many people don't know that you can find colleges on tribal reservations. Chief Dull Knife college is in Northern Cheyenne and Little Big Horn college is on the Crow reservation.
  •  Bethany Yellow Tail is a Crow and Northern Cheyenne woman who has made a splash in the fashion world.
  • Carolyn pointed out that while there are seven reservations in Montana there are actually eleven tribes.
  • John spoke about the quandary of well intentioned people coming onto the reservation without any understanding of tribal culture and more often than not failing.
  • ​Carolyn Lopez speaks about the importance of Native languages in preserving Native cultures.

Read More
0 Comments

7.13.18 Beyond Hegemony

3/26/2020

0 Comments

 
My latest thoughts on activist curating: "Beyond Hegemony"
... my essay for the RISE: Empower, Change and Action! exhibition catalog.
"I admit to a fascination with word play, linguistics, and derivations and that the upswelling of termininology that is aimed at moving us beyond our past—as with post-colonialism, post-capitalism, post-feminism, postmodernism, post-identity, post-heteronormativity—sends me down lengthy rabbit holes of investigation. While I do believe such exercises can expand one’s understanding, the most powerful and empowering actions and interactions come when we take the “Think Globally, Act Locally” motto to the intimate scale— sharing our personal stories and our art and in face-to-face
communication."
I am grateful to the writings, actions and suggestions which kept these musings evolving:
~Maura Reilly "Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating"
~Bently Spang, who recommended John Brown Childs' "Transcommunality: From The Politics Of Conversion to the Ethics of Respect"
~The artists from RISE, whose work supported these thoughts: Carolyn Doucette, Marisa Govin, Gina Herrera
~The perpetually stimulating work of Linda Nochlin
~And the lecture and conversation with Linda Nochlin, which Maura presented at the University of Sydney’s Curating
Feminism conference in 2014 https://vimeo.com/113864836
Exhibition curated by Gutfreund Cornett Art (Karen Gutfreund and myself), Suzanne Whitney-Smedt (Owner/Director, Whitney Modern Gallery) and Marianne Kennedy McGrath (Curator of Art at New Museum Los Gatos).
Whitney Modern Gallery, Los Gatos, California, July 18 – August 31, 2018​
​Reception: 12:30 - 2:30, Artist Talk: 2:30 - 3:30, Saturday, July 21, 2019
Catalog available via Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/RISE-Empower-Gutfreund…/…/ref=sr_1_5…
Info about the exhibition
https://www.gutfreundcornettart.com/info-rise.html
0 Comments

2.2.18 Creating Community Beyond Borders

3/26/2020

0 Comments

 
Thank you to our artists Priscilla Otani, Doerte Weber, Tessie Barrera-Scharaga, Shannon Wright and Carlos Cartagena, the staff and faculty of Santa Clara University and all those who attended from the community. Our Community Conversation with the Artists brought forth many stories to further dialogue around immigration, migration, assimilation and deportation and why and how we, as artists and curators, do such work.

​Powerful art and emotional reactions leading to continued sharing of stories at the reception of our "Beyond Borders: Stories of im/Migration". Thank you to our artists, the SCU faculty and staff and the engaged community.

Beyond Borders: Stories of im/Migration

Santa Clara University
January 8 - April 7, 2018
Exhibition Reception: February 2, 2018
Curated by Sherri Cornett and Karen Gutfreund, Gutfreund Cornett Art


Migrations of humanity, whether instigated by war, conflict, persecution, poverty or climate change, transport peoples from the known, their homes, families and communities, to the unknown. Beyond Borders: Stories of im/Migration explored the personal and observed narratives surrounding the struggles of flight, the immigration process, asylum, assimilation, deportation, threats of violence and the perception of being “other” within the American culture. Despite the complex assortment of legal, social, emotional and physical challenges, increasing numbers still trade these risks for the chance of safer, better lives for themselves and their families. Beyond Borders acknowledged the dignity, dreams and sacrifices of these people and reflects on where we are going, individually and as community. 

Read More
0 Comments

1.30.2016 What's Right, What's Left

3/22/2020

1 Comment

 
With recent tragedies, horrors and stories of hate and divisiveness, it is all the more important for us to share our perspectives, with whatever tools we have. As we know, art is a powerful way to start dialogue, to overcome language and cultural barriers.
At our Democracy show opening, a Turkish man came up to me to talk about the show. He was visiting his daughter in NYC, or more accurately, he was spending as much time in NYC as visa regulations allowed, escaping his beloved country due to the increasing fear and the loss of rights and democracy there. He was not an artist, but, that evening, he wanted to be in a place where democracy was being discussed, to be comforted that there are still safe venues to talk about concerns, about what is right and what is left, or remaining, of civil rights, human rights, dialogue. That brief conversation is why Karen and I do what we do with Gutfreund Cornett Art... creating opportunities for artists to start and add to conversations, to engage others to think more deeply about issues, to create community.​

What's Right, What's Left: Democracy in America
Phoenix Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
January 6-30, 2016
Curators: Sherri Cornett and Kren Gutfreund, Gutfreund Cornett Art 

Juror: Dr. Kathy Battista, Founder and Director of the MA Contemporary Art program at Sotheby's Institute of Art, New York

Artists with works in the gallery:
Nic Abramson, Ransom Ashley, Michael D'Antuono, Cat Del Buono, Justyne Fischer, Lindsay Garcia, Shawna Gibbs, Ruthann Godollei, Ingrid Goldbloom Bloch, Emily Greenberg,Gracie Guerrero-Bustini, Shreepad Joglekar, Sinan Revell, Monika Malewska, Victoria Helena Mihatovic, Kate Negri, Gina Randazzo, Nick Schmidt,  Laura Sussman-Randall, Dan Tague, and Eike Waltz.

Read More
1 Comment

6.5.16 Women Do It! 350+ Postcards Later

1/11/2020

0 Comments

 
When Priscilla Otani and I decided to piggy back on the success of her previous postcard projects for the Women's Caucus for Art and the United Nations, we had no long range goals other than to give women, men and children a chance to consider the impacts women have had on the economy, human rights, education, the environment, world health religion, the arts, sports, politics and peace. We were inspired by the work of the UN Women's  HeForShe campaign and its Beijing+20 program, celebrating the First World Women's Conference. 

The call went out and the cards came in - steadily and from around the world, starting with a post card making gathering at my house and including gatherings in the Bay Area and classrooms around the country.  The growing collection traveled, in 2015, to the WC and CAA Conferences, to the UN Commission on the Status of Women Conference and our International Caucus UN Program parallel event there, to Honey's Cafe in Red Lodge, Montana, and, in 2016, to the Torpedo Factory Art Center in DC, the Women's History Month Exhibition at St. Louis Florissant Valley Community College (near Ferguson), Arc Project Gallery in San Francisco and ... all were collected in our online gallery.  Some samples are above.

The resulting mosaic of cards is a rich and inspiring diversity of media and message and women! 

Thank you to all who nurtured this along its path, including Maureen Burns-Bowie, Janice Nesser, Maggy Hiltner, Kerry Wolfson, Cherie Redlinger, Michael Yochum, and Stephen Wagner.

More information and photos of events at 
https://www.sherricornett.com/women-do-it-traveling-postcard-exhibition.html
0 Comments

5.4.15 Conflict Kitchen

1/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
I am finishing up my home-made baba ganouj this morning and reflecting on the thought-provoking, conversation-inducing presentation (and delicious Palestinian food) by the staff (the director is Jewish) of #conflictkitchen during the Open Engagement conference in Pittsburgh last month. About how important it is to keep dialogue open between people, even if governments and organizations find it politically incorrect. And how the sharing of food during can assist in these conversations, such as the meals the Half the Sky: Intersections of Social Practice Art delegates shared as we discussed, processed and problem-solved our time and interactions in China.

"Conflict Kitchen is a restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict. Each Conflict Kitchen iteration is augmented by events, performances, publications, and discussions that seek to expand the engagement the public has with the culture, politics, and issues at stake within the focus region. The restaurant rotates identities in relation to current geopolitical events.... These diverse perspectives reflect a nuanced range of thought within each country and serves to instigate questioning, conversation, and debate with our customers."

​
https://www.conflictkitchen.org/

Photo courtesy of conflict kitchen website
0 Comments

3.25.15 Considering Socially-Engaged Art in China

1/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
As part of the processing of our massive project in China, "Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art," several of the artist delegate leaders and I applied for and received a panel  at the annual Open Engagement Conference, the artist-led initiative committed to expanding the dialogue around and serving as a site of care for the field of socially engaged art ... this year at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh. Here is the conversational blog we created for the conference catalog: 

In April 2014, artist volunteers from the Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA) created an exhibition and interactive events for women artists in China and the U.S. at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, China, entitled “Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art (HTS:IISPA)” We were invited by the academy’s president and gallery director, who wished to create a dialogue between artists and their works about women’s issues. WCA has a 40+ years history of activist art, yet the choices about the collection of art and the events we brought to China were greatly influenced by the political and cultural restrictions there. Here is a conversation about our decision-making and reflections over time about our experience from some of the thirteen working delegates who went to China as key figures in this project

Blog participants:
  • Sherri Cornett (HTS:IISPA Director/Delegate Artist, WCA International Caucus Chair, Partner/GutfreundCornettArt, sherricornett.com)
  • Kay Kang (HTS:IISPA De-installation Coordinator/Delegate Artist, artspan/kaykang)
  • Mido Lee (HTS:IISPA Technology & Language Director/Delegate Artist, cargocollective.com/midolee)
  • Neda Moridpour (HTS:IISPA Event Leader/Documentation Team/Delegate Artist, Executive Director “Louder Than Words”, nedmorid.com)
  • Sandra Mueller (HTS:IISPA Cultural and Community Events Director/Delegate Artist, WCA Vice-President/Special Events, profile/sandra-mueller)
  • Brenda Oelbaum (HTS: IISPA Delegate Artist, WCA President, brendaoelbaum.me)
  • Priscilla Otani (HTS:IISPA Logistics Director/Delegate Artist, WCA Treasurer, ARC Gallery/San Francisco Partner, mrpotani.com)
  • Christine Giancola (HTS:IISPA Documentations Director/Delegate Artist, Webster University Adjunct Associate Professor and SIU/Edwardsville Photography Lecturer), christinegiancolaphotography.com)
 
PRISCILLA OTANI:
 We had a serious debate just prior to our social practice art interactive pieces. I recall that we felt conflicted and debated as to whether we should cancel or go forward with the performances. In the end, we decided to go forward. I felt our discussion, and what ensued, was an important milestone. Some of the unease came from a cultural sensitivity, a feeling of not wanting to impose Western values and standards on Chinese students, artists and academics who may not have the same perspective or readiness. I remember making a comment that our role was to “sow the seeds of discomfort,” to bring forth concepts and ideas that may be new, strange and uncomfortable. Of course I didn’t know if in fact we would have any impact at all, or if we would have even an audience. In the end, I felt very good about the events of the day. And after viewing the short video created by Mido Lee, I was surprised at how much of an impact we did have, and based on recent letters, how the women-based exhibition and performances continue to have on students at the Luxun Academy.
Nearly a year after our Half the Sky project, in what ways have your views and opinions about what happened with our socially-engaged events at the Luxun Academy changed or evolved?

Read More
0 Comments

    Author

    A place to decant my brain, to capture inspiration and share fresh insights. [Posts from 2015 onward]

    Categories

    All
    Adventure And Travel
    Art
    China
    Commission On The Status Of Women
    Curatorial
    Dialogue
    Environment
    Feminist Art
    Gutfreund Cornett Art
    Half The Sky
    Home Grove
    Inspiration
    International Projects
    #memoriesat60
    Music
    Public Art
    Social Justice Art
    Socially Engaged Art
    South Korea
    United Nations
    What Is It About My Memory
    Women's Caucus For Art
    Writing

    Archives

    July 2024
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020

    RSS Feed

© 2011 Sherri Cornett
  • HOME
  • WORKS
    • TRANSFORMATIONS
    • FREEDOM SERIES
    • PUBLIC ART
    • GROTTOES
    • CHRYSALIS
    • COLLABORATIONS
    • LENS BASED ART
    • ANCESTRESSES & WISE WOMEN
    • SEAFORMS
    • SHELTERS
  • PROJECTS
    • TRANSFORMATIONS at Kirks for Kirks
    • UNITAS youth art and leadership
    • WHAT IS IT ABOUT MY MEMORY Community Engaged Installation >
      • MEMORY CARDS What Is It About My Memory
      • SOMAS What Is It About My Memory
      • EXHIBITIONS What Is It About My Memory
    • FOOD and CULTURE HUB East Helena
    • THE 2020 AWAKENING BILLINGS For Freedoms 2020 >
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Robert Hall on Blood Quantum
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Indigenous Voices Films and Filmmakers Panel
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS MMIP Community Gathering
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS REDRess Exhibit
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Seeing Patterns Exhibition
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Related Events
      • THE2020AWAKENING BILLINGS Partners and Presenters
    • FOR FREEDOMS Billings >
      • FOR FREEDOMS Billings 2018 Partners and Presenters
    • COMMUNITY GROVE
    • CONVERSATIONS AMONG WOMEN
    • FLOW Interactive Exhibition and Community Project >
      • EXHIBITION Flow
      • VOICES OF THE RIVER SYMPOSIUM Flow
      • MIXING OIL and WATER Film Night and Discussion Flow
      • WORDS ON WATER: POETRY AND JAZZ IN CONCERT Flow
      • LIVING IN HARMONY ON THE YELLOWSTONE Flow
      • YOUTH OUTREACH Flow
      • READING AREAS MSUBillings Library Flow
      • YELLOWSTONE RIVER CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS Flow
    • POINTS OF MANY CONNECTIONS
    • QUEST Guest Art Facilitator
    • ALTITUDE 3123 >
      • EVENTS Altitude 3123
  • CURATORIAL
    • CHINA Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang 2014 >
      • ART & ARTISTS/CHINA Half the Sky
      • ART & ARTISTS/US Half the Sky
      • CULTURAL and COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS
      • DELEGATES
      • ESSAYS & ESSAYISTS
      • BLOG Half the Sky
    • UNDOCUMENTED Difference in America Today
    • GUTFREUND CORNETT ART
    • SOUTH KOREA Woman Body Seoul and Gwangju 2012
    • MATRIXXMODULATION Jon Lodge
    • PLANNED PARENTHOOD A Celebration of Expression: An Evening of Wine, Women and Art
    • WOMEN DO IT! Traveling Postcard Exhibition >
      • WOMEN DO IT Gallery
  • WRITING
    • ESSAYS
    • JOURNALISM
    • BLOG Memories and Musings
    • OTHER WRITING
  • ABOUT
    • EXHIBITIONS and EVENTS
    • BIO/CV
    • CONTACT/NEWSLETTER