15 Sep 2008

Exit Art presents SIGNS OF CHANGE: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now

In Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now, hundreds of posters, photographs, moving images, audio clips, and ephemera bring to life over forty years of activism, political protest, and campaigns for social justice. Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee as part of Exit Art's Curatorial Incubator Program, this important and timely exhibition surveys the creative work of dozens of international social movements.

Organized thematically, the exhibition presents the creative outpourings of social movements, such as those for civil rights and black power in the United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in Europe; environmental activism and women's rights internationally; and the global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests, such as those for indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and for social change in France. The exhibition also explores the development of powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics and create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organizations.

Although histories of political groups and counter-cultures have been written, and political and activist shows have been held, this exhibition is a groundbreaking attempt to chronicle the artistic and cultural production of these movements. Signs of Change offers a chance to see relatively unknown or rarely seen works, and is intended to not only provide a historical framework for contemporary activism, but also to serve as an inspiration for the present and the future.

This exhibition will travel to the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, January 23 - March 8, 2009.

During the exhibition, there will be ongoing screen printing workshops with guest artists and activists in collaboration with the Lower East Side Printshop as well as the following programs and events.


DAILY SCREENING SERIES

Films in the series include Newe Segobia is Not for Sale: The Struggle for Western Shoshone Land (1993); The Land Belongs to Those Who Work It / La tierra es de quien la trabaja (2005); To Walk Naked (1995); Break and Enter (1970); Stronger than Before (1983); Carry Greenham Home (1984); Korea: Until Day Break (Excerpt from ...will be televised) (1990); Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad / A Little Bit of So Much Truth (2008); What the Fuck Are These Red Squares? (1970); The Columbia University Divestment Struggle: Paper Tiger at Mandela Hall (1985); Standing with Palestine (2004); Five Days for Peace (1973); Indonesia: Art, Activism, and Rock 'n' Roll (2002); People's Park (1969); Excerpt from Lanesville Overview I; Be a DIVA (1990); I the Film (2006); A Very Big Train Called the Other Campaign / Un tren muy grande que se llama: La Otra Campaña (2006); Crowd Bites Wolf (2001); Fourth World War (2003); Newsreel shorts and other films TBA.

For a complete schedule, please visit www.exitart.org.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

TWO-PANEL SYMPOSIUM

THURSDAY, September 25: Signs of Change Symposium

6 pm: Producing and Distributing Social Movement Culture

Panelists include: Sphinx/Indymedia Africa, illcommonz (Japan), Favianna Rodriguez/Tumis Design (Oakland, CA) and others TBA. Moderated by Gregory Sholette, Assistant Professor Queens College Department of Art, Co-Founder PAD/D & REPOhistory/New York.

8 pm: Assessing the History and Future of Social Movement Culture: A Critical Analysis

Panelists include: Sasha Roseneil/Professor of Sociology and Social Theory, Director, Birkbeck Institute for Social Research, Birbeck, University of London (UK), Mary Patten/Artist & Professor, School of the Art Institute (Chicago), and others TBA. Moderated by Kazembe Balagun, Brecht Forum/blogger: blackmanwithalibrary.com (New York, NY).

COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND

Saturday, OCTOBER 11 to Monday, OCTOBER 13:

Weekend of Screenings and Discussion, co-sponsored by 16beaver group

The Signs of Change Weekend of Screenings and Discussion brings together films and videos from the past 40 years that raise questions about what it means to participate in both cultural production and political action. Discussions will follow each screening. Curated in collaboration with Benj Gerdes and Paige Sarlin of 16beaver group.

SATURDAY, October 11 at Exit Art

4 pm: Finally Got the News (1970, 16mm, League of Revolutionary Black Workers).

7:30 pm: Narita: The Peasants of the Second Fortress (Sanrizuka: Dainitoride no hitobito) (1971, B&W, 143 min., 16 mm, Ogawa Pro).

In Japanese with English subtitles.

Introduced by Sabu Kohso, Japan-born writer and activist, and Barbara Hammer, filmmaker.

Screening Co-sponsored by Asian/Pacific/American Institute and Tisch Department of Photography & Imaging at NYU in conjunction with The Uses of 1968: Legacies of Art and Activism Symposium and 1968: Then and Now Exhibition.

SUNDAY, October 12 at 16beaver group

12 pm - 9 pm; $5 - $10 donation

Featuring Diva TV (1989); Queen Mother Moore Speech at Green Haven Prison (1971); Winter Soldier (1972); Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan (2008); Stronger Than Before (1983); Fourth World War (2003) and others TBA. Discussions to follow.

MONDAY, October 13 at 16beaver group

12 pm - 9 pm; $5 - $10 donation

Featuring Happy Anniversary San Francisco, March 20-21 (2003); What the Fuck Are These Red Squares? (1970); U.S. Premiere of Five Days for Peace (1973); Crowd Bites Wolf (2001); A Very Big Train Called the Other Campaign (2006); U.S. Premiere of What Would It Mean to Win? (2008); Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993); and others TBA. Discussions to follow.

For more information on the programs at 16Beaver, please visit www.16beavergroup.org or call 212.... 16beaver group is located at 16 Beaver Street, Fourth Floor, New York City.

FRIDAY, October 24, 6-8 pm:

Premiere screening of newly subtitled short films and footage of the 1960s Dutch Provo movement, and book release of Richard Kempton's Provo: Amsterdam's Anarchist Revolt (in collaboration with Autonomedia Press).


SCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOPS

In collaboration with the Lower East Side Printshop the exhibition will feature ongoing screen printing workshops with guest artists and activists. Check www.exitart.org for schedule and participating artists.

ELECTION NIGHT AT EXIT ART Save the date November 4, 2008. Please check www.exitart.org for more details.


EXHIBITION SUPPORT

Signs of Change is supported by a major grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Additional support provided by the Museum Program at the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, and the Starry Night Fund at The Tides Foundation.

Public programs are supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Material support for the screen printing studio provided by the Lower East Side Printshop, New York. General exhibition support provided by Bloomberg LP; Carnegie Corporation; Jerome Foundation; Pollock-Krasner Foundation; Exit Art's Board of Directors and our members. We gratefully acknowledge public funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane.

Sponsoring partners of Signs of Change are The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) in Los Angeles and the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam.

ABOUT EXIT ART

Exit Art is an independent vision of contemporary culture. We are prepared to react immediately to important issues that affect our lives. We do experimental, historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political and environmental issues. We absorb cultural differences that become prototype exhibitions. We are a center for multiple disciplines. Exit Art is a 25 year old cultural center in New York City founded by Directors Jeanette Ingberman and Papo Colo, that has grown from a pioneering alternative art space, into a model artistic center for the 21st century committed to supporting artists whose quality of work reflects the transformations of our culture. Exit Art is internationally recognized for its unmatched spirit of inventiveness and consistent ability to anticipate the newest trends in the culture. With a substantial reputation for curatorial innovation and depth of programming in diverse media, Exit Art is always changing.

CURATORIAL INCUBATOR

The inaugural exhibition of Exit Art's Curatorial Incubator Program is Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now, curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee. The program expands Exit Art's commitment to young and emerging curators and scholars in contemporary art, by giving material, financial, and human resources to developing curatorial talent. Working with Exit Art directors and staff, fellows curate large-scale exhibition projects, learn fundraising, develop outreach and educational programs, and co-publish a catalogue. Access to Exit Art's acclaimed archive facilitates these curatorial fellows' abilities to contextualize their projects within international and historical frameworks. The second show of the Curatorial Incubator Program will open in February 2008. Corpus Extremus, curated by artist Boryana Rossa, will present work by artists who investigate the revolutionary changes taking place in technological and scientific research. Curatorial Incubator Director: Mary Anne Staniszewski.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Exit Art is located at 475 Tenth Avenue, corner of 36th Street. Hours at Exit Art are Tuesday - Thursday, 10am - 6pm; Friday, 10am - 8pm; and Saturday, noon - 8pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. There is a suggested donation of $5.

For more information please call 212... or visit www.exitart.org.