Inauguration Exhibition OBJECT ACTION: THE 'F' WORD IN A POST-TRUTH ERA Set for state

AKArt and state are pleased to present Object Action: The "F" Word in a Post-Truth Era to mark the inauguration of Collect For Change-an initiative which collaborates with artists across disciplines, offering artwork with a portion of sales benefiting a charity personally selected by each artist.

As a feminist response to the one-year anniversary of the current administration, the group exhibition highlights "objects" and works by female artists "objecting" to a dominant paradigm through innovative media in the feminist realm.

Featured artists Ana Teresa Fernández, Chitra Ganesh, Michelle Hartney, Angela Hennessy, Nadja Verena Marcin, Sanaz Mazinani, and Michele Pred will donate a portion of all artwork sales to Art & Abolition, Girls Garage, Girls Inc., NARAL Pro-Choice California, Planned Parenthood, and 350.org.

Opening Saturday, January 6, 2018 with a reception from 5-8pm, and on view through February 16, exhibition programming (which will continue to be announced throughout the show's duration) will feature collaborations with arts entities that have histories of advocating for equitable representation, such as Gallery Wendi Norris and Pacific Felt Factory-and will also include a series of performances and events designed to cultivate discourse, hope, and action within communities that continue to struggle with the current political and social landscape.

Curated by Amy Kisch, Founder + CEO of AKArt and Collect For Change; Danielle Smith and Kimberly Verde, Founders of state and principals of FRAMEWORK; and Heather Zises, Founder of (READ)art and Editor of 50 Contemporary Women Artists (forthcoming in 2018), the show will be accompanied by a Community Action Station highlighting benefiting organizations, as well as others doing work on the feminist front. Object Action: The "F" Word in a Post-Truth Era will offer a Pop-Up Shop of zines and editions including Sadie Barnette, Kelly Inouye, and Piyali Banejie's The Sacred Labyrinth, and will feature a curatorial selection by Aimee Rubensteen (of Rojas Rubensteen Projects) of works by Phoebe Rose Gittelson, Meirav Ong, and Monica Uszerowicz. Diana Kane's Feminist Gold clothing line, The Nouveau Classical Project's #fffp tees, and Allie Pohl's Ideal Woman jewelry also will be on site.

Featured in the exhibition are photographic works from Ana Teresa Fernández' Arrastre series, taken during a performance in which the artist stages and subverts a traditional 'rite of passage' of a boy entering manhood through mastery of a horse at Tulum's cenote sinkholes-where Mayans sacrificed virgin women; Mixed media work from Chitra Ganesh's Protest Fantasy series which depict portraits of women who struggle with protest everyday; An interactive performance piece and installation, The Weight of Words II, by Michelle Hartney which addresses the president's use of divisive, hate-filled language; A site-specific installation and large-scale sculptural works by Angela Hennessy that explore racialized identity, visibility, and materiality; How To Undress in Front of Your Husband, a performance video by Nadja Verena Marcin, which turns a 1960s how-to video on disrobing, into a punctive performance that delightfully combats the male gaze; A photographic tapestry by Sanaz Mazinani, May you make your dreams longer than the night: 1968-2018, which responds to the Women's March protests; and multiple objects and installations by Michele Pred such as Wage Gaps, which features vintage purses with neon feminist slogans from her Pred-a-Porter series, and Riot Shields which sport feminist slogans painted in pink nail polish on police shields. The shields were first was carried on Inauguration Day in Washington D.C., and most recently during Art Basel Miami Beach at the artist's Parade Against the Patriarchy.

A 'sister' parade will be held as part of Object Action: The "F" Word in a Post-Truth Era on Sunday, January 21 at 12pm. Both the Miami and San Francisco performances seek to reflect and amplify the notions of shared and collective experience within the feminist movement, by bringing together the unique voices and expressions of artists advocating reflection, justice, and change. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using hashtags #ForChange #ForFeminism.

The exhibition will be on view at state, 1295 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. Public Hours: Saturday, January 6 - Friday, February 16; Tuesday - Saturday, 12-5pm or by appointment via info@statespacesf.com.

Programming Schedule:

Saturday, January 6, 5-8pm: Opening Reception

Tuesday, January 9, 6-9pm: Live performance + Opening Reception for Gallery Wendi Norris' MARíA MAGDALENA CAMPOS-PONS: If I Were a Poet
[off-site location: Presidio National Park, 649 Old Mason Street, San Francisco, CA]

Thursday, January 11: WOMEN RISING Panel Featuring Wendi Norris
[off-site location: FOG Design + Art Fair, Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA]

Saturday + Sunday, January 13 + 14, 11am-4pm: MOMosa Champagne Cocktail 'Shred-In' with Michelle Hartney's The Weight of Words During UNTITLED Art Fair Weekend

Sunday, January 21, 12-4pm: Collect For Change Inauguration March On the Mission [M.O.M.] from state to Pacific Felt Factory, with Performances + Live Music, Preceded by a Reading of Angela Hennessy's Manifesto

February [TBA]: Closing Reception + Panel Discussion on the Role of the Arts in Activism and its History in San Francisco

state is a visual arts exhibition space in the Mission District of San Francisco. state exhibits contemporary art with an emphasis on Bay Area artists and project-based artwork. state is run by Danielle Smith and Kimberly Verde of FRAMEWORK.

An initiative of AKArt, Collect For Change offers original artwork by emerging and established contemporary artists, underscored by the goal of creating social change. CFC collaborates with artists across disciplines to offer a unique, as well as socially responsible, means of collecting. With a percentage of all sales benefitting an organization personally selected by each artist, CFC aims to cultivate the artist-collector connection-providing new and seasoned collectors the opportunity to develop a deeper comprehension of the artist's creative and world visions. Our mission is to be a force for positive change in the art world, and the world at large.

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