Michele Pred, Angela Hennessy, Piyali Banerjie Lead Activism in the Arts Talk

On Thursday February 8, 2018 from 5:30-8pm, Collect For Change, AKArt, and state will co-present a conversation with artists Angela Hennessy, Michele Pred, and Piyali Banerjie on the role of the arts in activism. In conjunction with our current exhibition, Object Action: The "F" Word in a Post-Truth Era, the artists will speak about their own work, both in and out of the social practice realm, and their featured pieces in the group show. Concluding the discussion, Angela Hennessy will perform a reading of her The School of the Dead manifesto, after which a reception will follow. More information is available on the Facebook event page.

Angela Hennessy is an Oakland-based interdisciplinary artist who teaches visual and cultural narratives of death and contemporary textile theory. Through writing, studio work, and performance, Hennessy examines mythologies of blackness embedded in linguistic metaphors of color and cloth. An ongoing theme in her textile-based practice is the importance of claiming space as a black woman, with weight and joyful expansiveness. On view at state is Hennessy's site-specific installation and large-scale sculptural work Black Lit, which explores racialized identity, visibility, and materiality. The sweeping piece is a haunting reference to the 'Lantern Laws' of the 1700s, which required any slave older than 14 to carry "A Lanthorn and lighted Candle in it...as the light thereof may be plainly seen." Woven, crocheted, and braided synthetic and human hair motifs reclaim mourning rituals, layered with signifiers of race, femininity, and sensuality.

Michele Pred is a Swedish-American conceptual artist whose practice includes, sculpture, assemblage and performance. Her work uncovers the cultural and political meaning behind everyday objects with a particular focus on themes including equal pay, reproductive rights, and personal security. Multiple installations by the artist are on view in the current exhibition. Wage Gaps, which is comprised of vintage purses and neon, speaks to the economic chasm between women of different racial backgrounds and white men in America. The project literally illuminates the complexities of the unequal distribution of economic power. Power of the Purse, a selection of the artist's limited edition series of Pred-à-Porter purses, carry slogans such as 'Resist,' 'My Body My Business,' 'Me Too,' and 'Pro-Choice,' which serve as canvases to marry the politically-charged messages of the feminist movement with representations of women's modern economic power. The text on each purse can be lit up and set to constant or flash mode, and are meant to be carried and serve as small-scale political billboards. Feminist Frontline features feminist slogans emblazoned with pink nail polish on a trio of riot shields. The first shield was carried on Inauguration Day in Washington D.C., then a duo was carried during the artist's curated Parade Against the Patriarchy at Art Basel Miami Beach, and most recently at the March On the Mission [M.O.M.] presented by Collect For Change, AKArt, and state.

Piyali Banerjie's work features survivors of human trafficking, homelessness, and sexual violence. On view are select images from The Sacred Labyrinth project, a photo series of 108 vaginas painted as flowers/plants, animals, socio-political concepts, expressions of women's struggle, depictions of sexual violence, culture, humor, and natural embodiments of the universe. Seeking to replace patriarchal narratives of shame with an uncolonized, discursive feminine mystique, the project paints women of diverse sexual orientations, cultures, religions, professional backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and post-op transgendered women. While Banerjie's subjects are being photographed, participants anonymously share their experiences and stories of their bodies. A narration of these intimate interviews is made available at the exhibition. Not only does The Sacred Labyrinth focus on transforming humans from an extrinsically defined object to something more intrinsic and expressive, it also creates therapeutic, inspirational art as both self-expression, and a challenge to the viewers.

On view through February 16, Object Action: The "F" Word in a Post-Truth Era marks the inauguration of Collect For Change-an initiative which collaborates with artists across disciplines, offering artwork with a portion of sales benefitting a charity personally selected by each artist. A group exhibition that is a feminist response to the one-year anniversary of the current presidency, the show 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 are donating a portion of sales to Art & Abolition, The Center For Popular Democracy's Puerto Rico Rebuilding Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice California, Planned Parenthood, Girls Inc., and 350.org. 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 Author of 50 Contemporary Women Artists (forthcoming in 2018), the show is accompanied by a Community Action Station highlighting benefitting organizations, as well as others doing work on the feminist front, and a Pop-Up Shop of zines, edition, gear and publications.

LOCATION
state
1295 Alabama Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

EXHIBITION DATES + PUBLIC HOURS
January 6 - February 16, 2018
Tuesday - Friday, 11am-4pm
Saturday, 12-5pm
Or by appointment via info [at] statespacesf.com

About state
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.

About Collect For Change
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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