Radical Art Roundup

I can't believe we're already halfway through 2019! I haven't been every good about keeping up with my blog posts, because from January to June I was working, attending grad school and doing an internship too. I may have bitten off more than I could chew. But now it's summer - I'm taking it slow and catching up on some of my more creative interests. Even though I've been busy, I did squeeze in time to see some great art, some of which I'd like to share. The common thread in each of the three group art exhibitions featured below are the strong social justice themes employed by the curators while also choosing aesthetically compelling works.

I'll start with the show I saw most recently, Radical Love at the newly opened Ford Foundation Gallery (on view June 11th through August 17th, 2019). This show curated by Jaishri Abichandani and Natasha Becker completely knocked my socks off.

"Love, in the context of this exhibition, is defined by a commitment to the spiritual growth and interconnectedness of the individual, their community, and stewardship of the planet. Guided by the powerful words of bell hooks, 'Were we all seeing more images of loving human interaction, it would undoubtedly have a positive impact on our lives.' The works in Radical Love are grounded in ideas of devotion, abundance, and beauty; here, otherness and marginality is celebrated, adorned, and revered."

Exhibiting artists: Sue Austin La Vaughn, Belle & Jeannette Ehlers, Maria Berrio, Raúl de Nieves, Omar Victor Diop, Vanessa German, Jah Grey, Baseera Khan, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, McCallum & Tarry: Bradley McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry, Rashaad Newsome, Ebony G. Patterson, Jody Paulsen, Thania Petersen, Lina Puerta, Faith Ringgold, Athi-Patra, Ruga Nep Sidhu, Rose B. Simpson, Imani Uzuri, Lina Iris Viktor.

Another exhibit I saw recently was Race, Myth, Art, and Justice at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, curated by Grace Aneiza Ali and C. Daniel Dawson (November 15, 2018 - June 15, 2019).

"The exhibit explores intersecting ideas of race, myth, art, and justice through the lens and unique interpretations of twelve inter-generational photographers. Via innovative contemporary art practices, the photographers engage with the premise of “race” as a social construct rooted in myth, while simultaneously interrogating its profound implications and indignities on our 21st-century lives"

Featured Artists: Kwesi Abbensetts, Faisal Abdu’Allah, Terry Boddie, Jonathan Gardenhire, John E. Dowell, Jr. Adama Delphine Fawundu, Deborah Jack, Zoraida Lopez-Diago, Radcliffe Roye, Stan Squirewell, Ming Smith, Deborah Willis. Featured Writers:  Patrick Bova, Garnette Cadogan, Christopher Cozier, Tao Leigh Goffe, Claude Grunitzky, Natalie Hopkinson, Oneka LaBennett, Bárbaro Martínez-Ruiz, Pamela Newkirk, Seph Rodney, Niama Safia Sandy, and Brittany Webb.

Last but not least, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see part of El Museo's permanent collection at Culture and The People: El Museo del Barrio, 1969-2019 (on view April 11 – September 29, 2019), curated by Susanna V. Temkin, and co-organized by Noel Valentin, El Museo’s Permanent Collection Manager.

"In celebration of its 50th anniversary, El Museo del Barrio presents Culture and the People: El Museo del Barrio, 1969-2019, a two-part exhibition featuring selections from the Permanent Collection and a timeline contextualizing the history of the institution with related archival materials. The exhibition will reflect on the institution’s activist origins and pioneering role as a cultural and educational organization dedicated to presenting and preserving Latinx and Latin American art and culture. The exhibition borrows its title from an essay penned by one of the Museum’s founders and its first director Raphael Montañez Ortíz, who outlined his concept for the institution in a 1971 article published in Art in America."

Featured artists: Adál, Ignacio Aguirre, ASCO, Myrna Báez, Diógenes Ballester, Tony Bechara, Charles Biasiny-Rivera, Tania Bruguera, Roger Cabán, Rodríguez Calero, Luis Camnitzer, Martin Chambi, Papo Colo, Felipe Dante, Margarita Deida and Piedro Pietri, Ana de la Cueva, Milagros de la Torre, Perla de León, Bartolomé de las Casas, Marcos Dimas, Nicolás Dumit- Estévez, León Ferrari, Antonio Frasconi, Coco Fusco, Carlos Garaicoa, Domingo García, iliana emilia garcía, Arturo García Bustos, Flor Garduño, Guillermo Gomez-Peña, Beatriz González, Félix González-Torres, Muriel Hasbún, Pablo Helguera, Ester Hernández, Gilberto Hernández, Carmen Herrera, Lorenzo Homar, Graciela Iturbide, Alfredo Jaar, Ivelisse Jiménez, Charles Juhász-Alvarado, Shaun “El. C.” Leonardo, Richard A. Lou, Miguel Luciano, Antonio Maldonado, Carlos Marichal, Hiram Maristany, Antonio Martorell, Héctor Méndez Caratini, Raphael Montañez Ortíz, Arnaldo Morales, José Morales, Rachelle Mozman, Francisco Manuel Oller y Cestero, Pepón Osorio, César Paternosto, Dulce Pinzón, Miguel Rio Branco, Rubén Rivera Aponte, Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, Félix Rodríguez Báez, Freddy Rodríguez, José A. Rosa Castellanos, Fernando Salicrup, Juan Sánchez, Jorge Soto Sánchez, Taller de Gráfica Popular, Rubén Torres-Llorca, Nitza Tufiño, Rafael Tufiño, Patssi Valdez, Vargas-Suárez Universal, Rigoberto Torres, and the Young Lords Party.

El Museo del Barrio's Three Kings Day Parade!

Have you ever noticed recurring themes in your life? Well, one recurring theme for me is parades. Not going to parades, but actually being in parades. 

It all started back when my Immaculata High School classmates and I were made to walk in the Columbus Day Parade - I was a flag twirler! I didn't particularly care for it, but I marched and twirled nonetheless. Through the years I have walked in numerous parades (some of my own volition and some with coaxing by friends); from the Puerto Rican Day Parade, to the Village Halloween Parade, to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and the Dance Parade. Numerous times. 

Being an Arts Administration graduate student now, one of the program requirements is to get a professional internship. Last November, the opportunity arose to apply for an internship at one of my most beloved cultural institutions: El Museo del Barrio. And when I found out they would particularly need me to assist in the production of their 42nd Annual Three Kings Day Parade, I thought to myself: of course, this makes perfect sense!  

For the purposes of this blog post, I won't go into detail about the work that was done leading up to the parade, but suffice to say El Museo's entire staff puts in a lot of time and energy preparing for this huge annual event which pays homage to the Caribbean/Latin American holiday tradition connecting with the surrounding community. In addition to the actual parade, there's a breakfast and awards ceremony immediately beforehand and a celebration with live performances after - so it's like three events in one. As an intern, I was working between two departments - Public Programming, and Marketing and Communications. Leading up to the parade, I helped with whatever was needed. I was not aware of where I would be stationed on the  big day. And then I met Rhina.

Rhina "La Reina" Valentin, a well-known host of BronxNet TV show Open, was to host El Museo's first ever Facebook Live feed of the parade. It was a great match since Rhina is a super-energetic host and (as I would soon learn) knows just about everyone in El Barrio. Rhina's partner in crime, Spock, was there to help produce the show, along with Alo from the East Harlem Culture Collective on camera/tech duty. I became a defacto Production Assistant. I'd never worked in film production before, but since I had a level of familiarity with parades, I was up for the task.

Early on Friday morning, January 4th, 2019 when people started pouring in to El Museo for the breakfast, we started by grabbing a few honorees for interviews - Dr. Betty Rosa, Hiram Maristany, and Jorge Ramos, all dressed in amazing regalia. From there the award ceremony, hosted by comedien Victor Cruz, began with remarks from elected officials like Melissa Mark Viverito,  Gayle Brewer, and Ruben Diaz Jr. This year's theme was "Advocacy in Action" and all of the Kings, Madrinas and Padrinos being honored embodied that spirit in some way. King Emeritus, Jesus "Papoleto" Melendez graced us with a powerful poem before the awards were distributed. 

Suddenly, a lively parranda appeared and lead us over to the parade route, starting at 106th and Park. It was hard to miss the giant puppets created by artist Polina Porras, representing the Three Kings, awaiting us along with lots and lots of school children wearing crowns. Rhina immediately went into full gear, sprinting effervescently through the parade interviewing so many people - and even dancing a few times along the way. Alo filmed the livestream without a break from the start to the end of the parade where we finally met the Three Kings and the three (live!) camels. 

Another parade under my belt.  

In the end, it was an amazing event to participate in. The fact that El Museo has carried on this tradition for 42 years is a feat in and of itself. It's a beautiful tribute to Three Kings Day, to El Barrio, to Caribbean, Latinx and Latin American communities; and a lovely demonstration of maintaining important cultural traditions within a rapidly-changing neighborhood. 

I managed to snap some candid shots and video clips along the way. I have posted them below, along with the Facebook live links from EL Museo's Facebook page. To see more of my photos, check out IG @whippedhoney.

Rhina interviewing Dr. Betty Rosa while Alo films.

Rhina interviewing Hiram Maristany with Three Kings puppets in the background. 

Ruben Diaz Jr. addressing the crowd at the award ceremony.

Papoleto's poem.

Parranda in the lobby of El Museo.

Kids and Kings, waiting for the parade to start at 106th and Park. 

Rhina interviewing Polina about her puppets. 

Rhina with Bomba Yo! 

Cabezudos (Big-Head Puppets) from Loisaida.

Wabafu Garifuna Dance Theater float.

Fogo Azul.

Rhina dancing along with Fogo Azul.

The Three Kings!

The Camels! 

Link to El Museo del Barrio's Facebook Live Video: Rhina Valentin interviews The 42nd Annual Three Kings Honorees at El Museo Del Barrio.
Link to El Museo del Barrio's Facebook Live Video: Marching through the streets of El Barrio with Rhina Valentin for the 42nd Annual Three Kings Day Parade.
Link to El Museo del Barrio's Facebook Live Video: Breakfast Ceremony hosted by Victor Cruz

Newsletter Famous

Today I received a newsletter published by the Graduate Student Assembly at Baruch College. Lo and behold - what do I see? A photo of me (in a banana yellow sweater!), flanked by smiling classmates visiting the closing plenary event at the APAP Conference. It made me giggle because I have a running joke with friends about the fact that I keep ending up in newsletters. 

I happen to have some of these newsletters on file, so I thought it would be fun to share them here in a blog post. It seems to be a recurring phenomenon - so don't be surprised if you see my face in your local circular sometime in the future. Hopefully I won't be wearing banana yellow next time.  

I joke, but I am actually proud to have attended (and in some cases participated or contributed to) these events/programs, for which I just so happened to end up in the photos. It's nice to be have these keepsakes and reminders of time well spent. 

Baruch Graduate Student Assembly Newsletter, January 2019, re: Touring & Presenting class at the APAP Conference.

NYC Artist Coalition Newsletter, December 2017, re: #SaveNYCSpaces
Night Mayor Town Hall event.

Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, informational flyer for Community Arts University Without Walls program, 2016.

Brooklyn Museum Membership Newsletter, April 2014. 

*Added after post was originally published - Weissman Graduate Career Services Newsletter, Fall 2019 Review.