E12: Social Practice
JULY 22 - SEPTEMBER 12, 2015
12th Annual Exercises for Emerging Artists Program
Amy Hughes Braden, Margo Elsayd, Kunj, and Joseph Orzal
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Transformer is proud to present E12: Social Practice, the 12th year of our Exercises for Emerging Artists program. Focusing on a different artistic discipline each year, E12: Social Practice is supporting artists interested in pursuing social change and social engagement through their work. With mentorship from Kenneth Bailey of Boston based Design Studio for Social Intervention (DS4SI), DC based artist Patrick McDonough, and Transformer staff, E12 artists Amy Hughes Braden, Margo Elsayd, Kunj, and Joseph Orzal explore topics of femininity, critical pedagogy, urban planning, and visibility through a series of public actions and social interventions.
Transformer's 1404 P Street, NW project space will be dedicated to E12: Social Practice, July 22 - September 12, acting as a Social Practice Lab for each participating artist to workshop their ideas & methods, and share documentation of public actions during the following 10-day blocks:
Mrs. Alex Braden
July 22 - August 1, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 23
Amy Hughes Braden explores topics of femininity and feminine constructs through community conversations and audience surveys, gleaning information from both sources as she questions of 'what does it means to be a feminist?'.
vis.i.bil.i.ty
August 5 - August 15, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday August 6
Engaging with audiences through a series of public actions, events and performances, Kunj explores the topic of visibility, invisibility and hyper-visibility, while questioning the necessity of community-created “safe-space”. Kicking things off with “Your Birthday”, an event examining hyper-visibility and birthday rituals.
Liberation Station
August 19 - August 29, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday August 20
Exploring topics of Freedom, Oppression, Race, Objectification, Liberation, Books, Seinfeld, Meditation and Leisure - Orzal will host a series of programmatic conversations with community members in the artists' created 'Liberation Station'.
Margo Elsayd
The Mobile Community Stoop
September 2 - September 12, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday September 3
The Mobile Community Stoop is a 3-D sculptural stoop on wheels created by Margo Elsayd. Pushing the physical structure from place to place across the city, the artist will bring people together from all backgrounds to engage with the stoop by sharing in conversation and storytelling.
Social Change Art Action Lab
at American University’s Katzen Arts Center
The 2nd exhibition in Transformer’s four-part Do You Know Where Your Art Comes From? Series
September 24 – October 22, 2015
E12 artists will then share their ideas for new cultural tactics through their own methodologies in a culminating Social Change Art Action Lab at American University’s Katzen Arts Center September 24 – October 22, 2015.
Social Change Art Action Lab is the 2nd exhibition in Transformer’s four-part Do You Know Where Your Art Comes From? series being presented over two years at the American University Museum and the Rotunda of the Katzen Arts Center. Highlighting various contemporary platforms artists and arts organizations have initiated to develop, create, and present art, Do You Know Where Your Art Comes From? investigates current and future models of art organizing. This exhibition series was inspired by the launch of Common Field (commonfield.org), a new network of artist projects and spaces. Transformer is a Founding Member.
Do You Know Where Your Art Comes From? is curated by Victoria Reis, Executive & Artistic Director of Transformer, in collaboration with Tim Doud, Associate Professor of Art and coordinator of the Visiting Artist Program at American University.