OFF THE BEATEN PATH: VIOLENCE, WOMEN AND
ART
22 JANUARY - 13 APRIL 2011 | CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER EXHIBIT
HALL
OPENING RECEPTION | FRIDAY, 21 JANUARY
5:30-7:30
78 EAST WASHINGTON STREET, CHICAGO,
IL
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, December 13, 2010 —
Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women, and Art, a touring
group exhibition produced and curated by Art Works For Change
tours to the Chicago Cultural Center. On view are the works of 30 leading
artists, male and female, presenting interpretations and responses sourced from
each individual life and the cultures and mores of 25 different countries. For
this edition Art Works For Change has partnered with leading cultural and
activist organizations from throughout Chicago to present an unprecedented
series of free public programs through the entire run of the show. Admission to
the exhibition is free.
According to Art Works For Change Director and
exhibition Curator Randy Jayne Rosenberg, “One of our
main goals is to create a central point of contact where individuals and
organizations from throughout the community can come together to address an
issue like violence against women. We are thrilled that the themes addressed by
Off the Beaten Path have resonated so clearly throughout Chicago, and
that we are given an opportunity to extend the message of the show beyond visual
art and bring an even wider audience closer to an understanding of this severe
problem.”
Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women, and Art
capitalizes on the ability of visual art to engage the audience at an
intellectual and emotional level. Forgoing sensational or tabloid imagery, the
works on view instead present a myriad of responses to the issue at a subtle,
more personal level derived from unique individual experiences and cultural
points of view. To better address the multi-faceted nature of the problem, the
exhibition is divided in five distinct categories: Violence and the Individual;
Violence and the Family; Violence and the Community; Violence and Culture; and
Violence and Politics. The exhibition’s opening will be celebrated by
Luz y Solidaridad, a reprise of a 2006 performance piece by Susan Plum on
Friday, January 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Agency: Volontaire; Marina Abramovic; Laylah Ali;
Louise Bourgeois; Lise Bjorne Linnert; Maria Campos-Pons; Patricia Evans;
Luciana Fina; Maimuna Feroze-Nana; Global Crescendo Project; Mona Hatoum;
Icelandic Love Corp; Yoko Inoue; Kim Myung Jin; Jung Jungyeob; Amal Kenawy; Hung
Liu; Almagul Menlibayeva; Gabriela Morawetz; Wangechi Mutu; Miri Nishri; Yoko
Ono; Cecilia Paredes; Susan Plum; Cima Rahmankhah; Jaune Quick-to-See Smith;
Joyce J. Scott; Masami Teraoka; Hank Willis Thomas; Miwa
Yanagi.
COMMUNITY PROGRAM
Art Works for Change partnered with The
Voices and Faces Project, the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for
the Study of Women & Gender in the Arts & Media and
Rape Victim Advocates to create Chicago’s Off the
Beaten Path Programs, an innovative series that explores violence against
women through individual forums, all held at the Chicago Cultural
Center.
“The Chicago Cultural Center is thrilled to present this exhibition of
enlightening and challenging art, and its ambitious community program. We hope
that visitors and residents alike will see the exhibit and engage with these
issues in their communities through the program series” said
Elizabeth Kelley, Director of Visual Arts Programs at the
Chicago Department of Cultural
Affairs.
The program opens with a special performance of Stories on Stage
co-created by Stories on Stage Founder Kathe
Telingator and The Voices and Faces Project. Noted Chicago-based actors
under the direction of Michael E. Myers will read acclaimed
literary works exploring the realities of violence against women and the moving
and sometimes surprising ways that survivors rebuild their lives. Art
& Civic Engagement: A Panel Discussion organized by the
Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women & Gender in the
Arts will feature exhibition artists Patricia Evans,
Susan Plum, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and
Hank Willis Thomas discussing the ability of art as a tool for
social change. We Are the Stories We Tell: A Testimonial Writing
Workshop, created by writer R. Clifton Spargo and The
Voices and Faces Project invites survivors of abuse to employ poetry and prose
to better come to terms with the injustices they have experienced. Rape Victim
Advocates (RVA) will celebrate women’s resilience in the face of violence
through Enemies of Silence, RVA’s Poetry Night,
as local luminaries bask in the fierce joy of survival, launching April as
Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2011. The month of programming will conclude with
The Bandana Project. Opening with a performance by singer
Michelle Anthony, the public work session will encourage
visitors to decorate bandanas as an awareness-raising response to the abuse of
female immigrants and farm workers who cover their faces with them to avoid
unwanted sexual
attention.
For a
complete schedule visit
chicagoculturalcenter.org
SPONSORS AND
PARTNERS
Off the Beaten Path is sponsored by The
Oak Foundation and Lambent Foundation. Organizational and programming partners
include Amnesty International; Soroptimist International, a United Nations NGO;
the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts
and Media; Rape Victim Advocates; the Voices and Faces Project; End Violence
Against Women International; the Chicago Foundation for Women; the Joyful Heart
Foundation; Verizon Wireless; and Esperanza: The Immigrant Women’s Legal
Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
ABOUT ART WORKS FOR
CHANGE
Art Works for Change produces traveling
contemporary art exhibitions that address social and environmental issues. A
nonprofit organization, Art Works for Change applies the transformative power of
art to promote awareness, inspire action and provoke dialogue. The exhibitions
serve as a crucible where artists, museums, advocacy and educational
organizations, and the local community may join
together.
For more
information visit
artworksforchange.org
Image: Yoko Inoue - Untitled, photograph of performance, 36" x
36"
MEDIA CONTACT
Andy Cushman or Andy
Monk
OCTOPUS OUTREACH
T 917-744-4042
E ac@8op.us /
am@8op.us
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