Desai | Matta Gallery Opens New Exhibit on the Complexity of Immigration
Un | Moored: Oscillations and Migrations
February 3 - March 17
Conversation with CIIS Curator of the Arts Tuesday, March 1st 3-4PM
In response to the immigration crisis in the US and around the world, the Arts at CIIS has mounted a timely show called Un | Moored: Oscillations and Migrations at the university's Desai | Matta Gallery in San Francisco. Featuring work from Bayete Ross Smith, Deborah Jack, and Hellen Gaudence, the show explores the complex poetics and politics of contemporary migration.
Tanzanian artist Hellen Gaudence pairs large format photographic portraits of African immigrants who now live in the American Southwest with Tanzanian landscapes that collectively denote the artist's homeland. Poet and visual artist Deborah Jack, a native of St. Maarten, explores the memory of, and longing for home. Her work consists of recordings of oscillating ocean waves and a tremulous walk through the familiar landscape of the island. Bayeté Ross Smith's Passing series addresses the politics of contemporary migration through manipulated passports. Smith's work provokes questions of the intersection of ethnicity, skin tone, and national origin, and the power and privilege that adheres to certain identities over others.
The Arts at CIIS
The Arts at CIIS is a contemporary arts exhibition program that cultivates community engagement and creative and integrative approaches to the urgent challenges facing society today. The program is associated with the school's MFA program, which engages students in the exploration of the arts and social engagement. Through exhibitions, publications, and events featuring emerging and established artists, The Arts at CIIS strives to promote pluralism in the arts, to support artists in the creation of new work, and to foster dynamic and critical dialogues within and across communities.
Exhibition Programs
Opening Reception & Representation and Diaspora: A Conversation with Leigh Raiford and Hellen Gaudence
February 11, 6:00PM-8:00PM
Leigh Raiford and Hellen Gaudence will be exploring Gaudence's images, which pair portraits of African immigrants to the American Southwest with "portraits" of the landscape of Tanzania, the artist's homeland. How can we think about representation of the African diaspora through the figure and the land?
Jennifer S. Cheng: House A
Saturday, March 4, 2017 6:00-8:00PM
The Arts and MFA Programs welcome Bay Area poet Jennifer S. Cheng, who will be reading from her new collection of poetry, House A. Following the reading, Cheng will be in conversation with poet, cognitive scientist, and CIIS MFA faculty member Pireeni Sundaralingam.
For more information:
Deirdre Visser
Curator of The Arts at CIIS
dvisser@ciis.edu
415-575-6242
Desai | Matta Gallery • California Institute of Integral Studies • 1453 Mission St. • San Francisco, CA 94103
Tanzanian artist Hellen Gaudence pairs large format photographic portraits of African immigrants who now live in the American Southwest with Tanzanian landscapes that collectively denote the artist's homeland.
Bayeté Ross Smith's Passing series addresses the politics of contemporary migration through manipulated passports.
About CIIS
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private, non-profit university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in San Francisco, CA. CIIS was founded in 1968 and has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) since 1981. CIIS strives to provide an integral education that embodies spirit, intellect, and wisdom in service to individuals, communities, and the earth. Offering a personal learning environment and supportive community, CIIS provides an excellent multifaceted education for people committed to transforming themselves, others, and the world.
