ROUGHAGE + RATCHET
May
16
6:30 PM18:30

ROUGHAGE + RATCHET

Please join us for one of the last harvests of the season at the Gainesville Giving Garden and a shout-at-the-screen version of GOOD | BAD | BLACK | MOVIE | BINGO! Pick fresh produce from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and join the screening of a TUBI classic from 8:30 to 10:30 pm.

Don’t worry, on-site refrigeration facilities are available!

PLEASE REGISTER HERE | https://forms.gle/1D6ZcMWmzKPAVD4e9

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REBIRTH: the revolution with be a RAVE
Apr
1
3:00 PM15:00

REBIRTH: the revolution with be a RAVE

AN ARISE WELLNESS EVENT

sounds provided by | DJ DAY/DEM

featuring a legendary performance by | THEE GAINESVILLE IT DOLLZ, EMMA GRATION + SHEYĒ

including a | FASHION SHOW + vending by | KARRÉ BEAUTY, PRARIE AURA, HENNA WITH KAVS, LETY THE KNOTTY HOOKER, FLORES DE MIEL, ACARUS BEAUTY, COMPART KUNOICHI

<FREE ENTRY> <DANCE PARTY> <VIBES ALL NIGHT>

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BOOK CLUBBING
Jul
28
6:00 PM18:00

BOOK CLUBBING

Visually fashioned in the style known as ‘Urban Fiction’, #HOODTALES, is an ongoing exploration of Black femme identity both as cultural commentary, and self-reflection. Designed and developed by artist Kenya (Robinson), these “Books” are journals disguised as paperbacks and made available on Amazon.com via Amazon Direct Publishing. In an effort to recognize the collective nature of story-making, the artist, and Jillian Hernandez, Ph.D. have prepared an in-person Book Club Meeting for the Legend of White M.I.K.E Series. With discussion facilitated by Terri Bailey, founder, and CEO of Bailey Learning And Arts Collective (BLAAC), the ensuing documentation will serve as research material for the eventual publication of the works as literary fiction.

Please join us on THURSDAY, JULY 28th from 6-8 pm at the Ustler Hall Atrium (The University of Florida) for BOOK CLUBBING sponsored by BLIXEL: The (Re)Stock Image Project, CULTURE/NATURE/STRUCTURE, and BLACC2BASICS. Catering is provided by Kushy Cuisine.

Registration is FREE and ONLY available via BLIXELPIXEL@GMAIL.COM

Space is limited -- ZOOM link : bit.ly/HOODTALES

#HoodTales #UrbanFiction #Blixel #RatchetpieceTheatre #ObamanishaWashington #BLAAC2BASICS #KushyCuisine #AestheticsOfExcess #CultureNatureStructure

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Performing Resilience / For the Birds
Apr
14
5:30 PM17:30

Performing Resilience / For the Birds

  • Ustler Hall Atrium / CENTER FOR GENDER, SEXUALITIES AND WOMEN’S STUDIES RESEARCH (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Illustration by Alma Elaine Shoaf, 2020

Meghan Moe Beitiks and Kenya (Robinson) discuss how experiences of marginalization may produce ecological wisdom.

In this live performance/conversation, artists and frequent collaborators Meghan Moe Beitiks and Kenya (Robinson) will discuss human/nonhuman ecologies and how experiences of marginalization may produce ecological wisdom.

The publication of Beitiks’ recent book, Performing Resilience for Systemic Pain (2021), prompts a point of ecological discussion for ideas that (Robinson) addresses in works like For the BirdsBLIXEL: The (Re)Stock Image ProjectThe Golden Tablets of THOT, and HOOD TALES. (Robinson) was a pre-publication reader for Performing Resilience, and her reading and annotation of the book led them to their current projects.

Their most recent collaboration, Breath^work, is a multidimensional article forthcoming in the journal Performance Research: Beitiks contributed an academic text on breath and performance, and (Robinson) edited the article with images and visual annotations. In the forthcoming HOOD TALES: the annotated text, their collaboration will include contributions by an incarcerated woman of color, who will compose the text for one of (Robinson)’s HOOD TALES book covers. Beitiks will edit the text, adding footnotes and a forward to give academic audiences an appropriate context for the project.

“Performing Resilience / For the Birds” is an opportunity for Beitiks, (Robinson), and their audience to reflect on and unpack their artistic and activist dialogues and the multiple ecologies within which they are entwined.

This event is free and open to the public. No advance registration is required.

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LIBERATORY ADORNMENT
Nov
5
to Jan 23

LIBERATORY ADORNMENT

Liberatory Adornment is curated by Jillian Hernandez, PhD.

Hair care as protection and display of power, pink as the color of radical politics, consumption as relational practice… Liberatory Adornment explores how contemporary artists mobilize femininity to claim beauty, care, and abundance for Black and Latinx people. By departing from the masculinist aesthetics of U.S. militarism and the Black and Chicanx movements of the 1970s, artists Pamela CouncilYvette Mayorga, and Kenya (Robinson) generate alternative visualities to address the urgent social issues of the contemporary moment. The works in this exhibition invite us to appreciate the paths for personal and collective freedom that are available in the everyday via beauty rituals, domestic decor, confection, glitter, gold, and rhinestones. Junk culture transforms into sacred symbology and girlhood memory is tapped for political consciousness, creative self-healing, and cultural/ancestral homage.

Beyond their shared aesthetic modes, what brings the works in Liberatory Adornment together are their playfully dead-serious investigations of nation, sexuality, consumer desire, and violence as they manifest in the context of U.S. racial capitalism. The politics of how perceived difference shapes social, cultural, and economic value is implicated at every level of these artists’ practices and is investigated via (often bodily) materiality, domestic and personal adornment, and consumer/object relations (mass-marketed toys, brand name sneakers, beauty products, and “urban” fiction). Rather than articulate appeals for representation and inclusion, the works in this exhibition transform the meanings, economies, and iconographies of racialized gender through femininity and generate new imaginings of freedom.

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CITIZENSHIP: A Practice of Society
Oct
2
to Feb 14

CITIZENSHIP: A Practice of Society

  • museum of contemporary art denver (map)
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“Citizenship: A Practice of Society is a survey of politically engaged art made since 2016. In response to political events and the current climate, as well as recent art world trends, the exhibition posits art making as a critical civic act. The works in the exhibition exemplify how artists act as citizens. Many of them facilitate viewers' participation, demonstrating how we, too, can engage in civic life. Works included address specific political crises, such as the opioid epidemic and Flint, Michigan's battle for a clean water supply. Others highlight specific legal issues that shape the American citizenry and society. And others simulate civic engagement in ways that distill it to its essence, transcending partisan politics.

The exhibition features recent work and several new commissions by more than 30 artists and organizations: Nicole Awai, Alexandra Bell, Tania Bruguera, the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), Alex Da Corte, Jeremy Deller, Shannon Finnegan, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Nan Goldin, Ann Hamilton, Adelita Husni-Bey, Ekene Ijeoma, the Institute of Sociometry, Ariel René Jackson, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Titus Kaphar, Kenya (Robinson), Robert Longo, Alan Michelson, Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, Jayson Musson, Ahmet Öğüt, Yoko Ono, Trevor Paglen, Pope.L, Pedro Reyes, Yumi Janairo Roth, Dread Scott, Laura Shill, Aram Han Sifuentes, Rirkirt Tiravanija, and Nari Ward.”

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Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations, Episode 4: SEATING CHART FOR A FALL DINNER PARTY IN A PANDEMIC
Sep
9
to Dec 30

Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations, Episode 4: SEATING CHART FOR A FALL DINNER PARTY IN A PANDEMIC

Gallery Kendra Jayne Patrick for  METRO PICTURES 

“Now that epidemiological concerns preclude both a physical exhibition and the centerpiece event marking Gallery Kendra Jayne Patrick’s first fall exhibition for one of the wildest art seasons on record, it feels important to use this opportunity to actively seek new means for fostering consequential art dialogue. Seating Chart for a Fall Dinner Party in a Pandemic, then, is an ode to the thrilling possibilities springing from dinner conversations I’ve experienced all throughout my life and work with art. It’s an exhibition of pairs, each featuring one object by one artist in each gallery’s respective orbit. In this configuration, the works are afforded an intimate, intricate dialogue, in much the same way as the artists themselves might be, were they afforded physical and temporal proximity.”

Kendra Jayne Patrick -

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AMERICA EAT$ ITS YOUNG
Mar
12
12:30 PM12:30

AMERICA EAT$ ITS YOUNG

Join Kyle Novak, director of the Santa Fe Gallery, and artist Kenya (Robinson) for a listening party of America Eats Its Young, the “fourth album (a double album) by Funkadelic, released in May of 1972. This was the first album to include the whole of the House Guests, including Bootsy CollinsCatfish Collins, Chicken Gunnels, Rob McCollough and Kash Waddy. It also features the Plainfield-based band U.S.(United Soul), which consisted of guitarist Garry Shider and bassist Cordell Mosson, on most of the tracks. Unlike previous Funkadelic albums, America Eats Its Young was recorded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and in the UK. The original vinyl version contained a poster illustrated by Cathy Abel. The bottom of the poster features the first widespread appearance of the Funkadelic logo, which would later appear on the cover of the album Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On.

www.wikipedia.org

**Songbooks will be provided**

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"You In Danger, Girl" : Friendship as a Revolutionary Act in a Transactional Age
Oct
16
5:00 PM17:00

"You In Danger, Girl" : Friendship as a Revolutionary Act in a Transactional Age

(As part of the Global South Center's conference on 'Social Ecologies')

We live in a time where even our passing curiosities are monetized. Yet, there remains the persistent need for coalitions, cliques, groups, chapters, subscribers, districts, cabals, covens, boards, teams, task forces, think tanks, gangs, and trustees.  Identity-making by committee.  

I wonder, did we always know ourselves only in relationship to other people? And, if so, is this an inherent vulnerability of human connection?  Has friendship become a lifestyle marketing tool? What is a friend,  when a curated portrayal, via social media, is preeminent?

Chile... I. Do. Not. Know. But I can speculate.  Join me for an in-the-round-discussion, moderated by a voice modulator and featuring The Cashmere Bouquet.

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2018 ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART FLORIDA PRIZE IN CONTEMPORARY ART
Jun
1
to Aug 19

2018 ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART FLORIDA PRIZE IN CONTEMPORARY ART

  • Orlando Museum of Art (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

The Orlando Museum of Art presents the fifth annual Orlando Museum of Art Florida Prize in Contemporary Art. This exhibition features 10 of the most progressive and exciting artists working in the State today. Additionally, one of these outstanding artists is selected to receive a significant monetary award.

The award and invitational exhibition recognizes the achievement and potential of these artists and encourages their continued innovation and creation of new work. With this initiative, the Orlando Museum of Art underscores its commitment to support talented emerging and mid-career artists, while celebrating the vibrant cultural life of Florida.

The Museum is thrilled to announce the 2018 Florida Prize artists: Carlos Betancourt, Brooks Dierdorff, Rafael Domenech, Gonzalo Fuenmayor, Ya Levy La’Ford, Jason Lazarus, Glexis Novoa, Kerry Phillips, Kenya (Robinson) and Jack Stenner. Each artist featured in this exhibition will be represented by a recent or site-specific body of work that provides an in-depth view of their practice. One artist will be receiving the $20,000 award which is made possible by the generous support of Gail and Michael Winn.

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Like a Girl Being Pretty, No. 031418
Mar
14
4:00 PM16:00

Like a Girl Being Pretty, No. 031418

Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness, doesn't it help?

- Lorelei Lee (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953)

 

Kenya (Robinson) presents a tactile lecture for the latest iteration of "Like a Girl Being Pretty", a series introduced by the artist in 2011.  At once an exploration of mainstream aesthetics, (Robinson) also offers a critical analysis of blondness, baldness, and beauty related to our collective hair politic, identification of gender, and normalization of whiteness.  Newly constructed artifacts will facilitate audience participation, along with archival images and digital collage. 

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Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations; Episode 1: Magnification
Jan
12
to Feb 24

Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations; Episode 1: Magnification

Presented by HARRISON at Bortolami Gallery, this exhibition convenes three artists whose art objects dilate particular elements of contemporary life for more detailed inspection. With his sly public gestures, Iván Argote makes visible the emotional and cultural infrastructures that support the functionality of international metropolises. Rosa Menkman’s experimental research into the atoms of digital images yields radical aesthetic forms. And, Kenya (Robinson) continues to investigate zero-sum capitalism through absurdity, here co-opting the making strategies of an obscure online fetish community. Episode 1: Magnification inaugurates Twenty-first Century Occupational Adjustments and Considerations, HARRISON’s ongoing exhibition series centered around art offering fresh perspectives on contemporary life.

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PAPER RAIN for Invocation Proclamation Manifesto (3)
Sep
30
8:00 PM20:00

PAPER RAIN for Invocation Proclamation Manifesto (3)

Finessed by the visuals of trap music videos and black social media, the mainstream has been (re)introduced to the performance of “making it rain” – the act of pitching money, like a card dealer, into the air and allowing gravity to flutter the bills to the ground. In the age of debit cards, wire transfer apps, and Bitcoin, this strip club staple emphasizes currency-as-object and asserts a distinct symbology created through the direct interaction of practitioner and patron. Paper Rain is an interactive performative investigation that elevates the vernacular of exotic dancing, as performed by women, and transforms male privilege into plastic material for manipulation.

BUY TICKETS

Photo by Scott Shaw, 2017

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PAPER RAIN for Invocation Proclamation Manifesto (2)
Sep
29
8:00 PM20:00

PAPER RAIN for Invocation Proclamation Manifesto (2)

Finessed by the visuals of trap music videos and black social media, the mainstream has been (re)introduced to the performance of “making it rain” – the act of pitching money, like a card dealer, into the air and allowing gravity to flutter the bills to the ground. In the age of debit cards, wire transfer apps, and Bitcoin, this strip club staple emphasizes currency-as-object and asserts a distinct symbology created through the direct interaction of practitioner and patron. Paper Rain is an interactive performative investigation that elevates the vernacular of exotic dancing, as performed by women, and transforms male privilege into plastic material for manipulation.

Photo by Scott Shaw, 2017

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PAPER RAIN for Invocation Proclamation Manifesto (1)
Sep
28
8:00 PM20:00

PAPER RAIN for Invocation Proclamation Manifesto (1)

Finessed by the visuals of trap music videos and black social media, the mainstream has been (re)introduced to the performance of “making it rain” – the act of pitching money, like a card dealer, into the air and allowing gravity to flutter the bills to the ground. In the age of debit cards, wire transfer apps, and Bitcoin, this strip club staple emphasizes currency-as-object and asserts a distinct symbology created through the direct interaction of practitioner and patron. Paper Rain is an interactive performative investigation that elevates the vernacular of exotic dancing, as performed by women, and transforms male privilege into plastic material for manipulation.

 

Photo by Scott Shaw, 2017

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CHEEKY LaSHAE: Get Into It
Sep
14
7:00 PM19:00

CHEEKY LaSHAE: Get Into It

CHEEKY LaSHAE invites you to Get Into It, an evening of #karaokeUNIVERSAL, Cocktails, and Trivia - in support of the upcoming exhibition WHITE MAN ON A PEDESTAL, opening at Pioneer Works November 10th, 2017. Your $20 dollar ticket includes one signature cocktail, The Careless Whisper, and is completely tax deductible. The ticket, not the cocktail.

 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cheeky-lashae-get-into-it-tickets-37035785030

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OUT OF LINE: “CHEEKY LASHAE: KARAOKE UNIVERSAL: LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE VOL. 01011863”
Aug
17
9:00 PM21:00

OUT OF LINE: “CHEEKY LASHAE: KARAOKE UNIVERSAL: LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE VOL. 01011863”

Join us for a night of karaoke hosted by the glamorous and enigmatic CHEEKY LaSHAE. A fluid-identity avatar and performative structure designed by artist Kenya (Robinson), CHEEKY LaSHAE's #KaraokeUNIVERSAL blurs the boundary between audience and performer. For "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 01011863," pop songs and politics combine in an investigation of freedom, offering us the opportunity to sing, reflect, and own the performer in us all. 

Thursday, August 17
9 pm – 10 pm

Photo credit: Carlos David

For Listen without Prejudice Vol. 01011863, special thanks to Holly Ajala, NIC Kay, Joseph Keckler, Karma Malhas, Zachary Nguyen, Haley Parsa, Xinan Ran, Malaika Temba, and the Textile Arts Center.

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alt-facts
Jun
17
to Aug 5

alt-facts

"It's not always possible to sort out fact from fiction, but to believe that everything is a lie is to know nothing."
—Jill Lepore, "The World That Trump and Ailes Built," The New Yorker

 

FEATURING:  Meriem Bennani | David Diao | David HerbertMatt Johnson | Ev and Franco Mattes | Jennifer and Kevin McCoyWilliam Powhida | Kenya (Robinson) | Rachel RossinUltra Violet Production House [Joshua Citarella and Brad Troemel] | The Yes Men

MORE...

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