Meditations on the African, Andean & Asian Diasporas



Curated by artist William Cordova for Round 32 of Project Row Houses, eco, xiang, echo brings together a multigenerational group of artists from various backgrounds and geographic locations. Working in photography, performance, installation, drawing and sculpture, each artist presents work that addresses the often-overlooked connections between distinct cultures. These connections range from paralleling historical narratives to fantastical freedom dreamscapes. This project is a platform for a continued dialogue around the notions of collective consciousness in the Diasporas represented in this exhibition.

Participating Artists include Crystal Campbell, Albert Chong, Coco Fusco, Marina Gutierrez, Ayana V. Jackson, Minette Mangahas, Glexis Novoa, Mendi and Keith Obadike.


The exhibition is open and free to the public from March 27 through June 20, 2010:

Project Row Houses

2521 Holman Street

Houston, Texas


Artist/Community Talk

Thursday, March 25, 2010

7pm



Open Forum: Diaspora: Connections & Crossroads: a moderated conversation with local and national students, social activists, educators and artists.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

2pm



Also on view in conjunction with Fotofest, Project Row House presents new works by New York/ Philadelphia based artist Nsenga Knight






Persistence Of Site - Tupac/2pakeko*
with a sound installation by Charles Edward Fambro


Marina Gutierrez combines traditional folk art forms, using ‘pre’ and ‘post’ industrial materials, to create visual narratives, recounting themes of personal and cultural history, political events and ecological commentary. Whether sewing metal, choreographing video, or refashioning metal can fruits into dresses or tablecloths, each media is chosen as specific language for the story told.


For her installation at Project Row Houses, Persistence of Site – Tupac/2Pakeco (2010) combines drawing, sculpture and printmaking. In this layered installation, Guiterrez explores concepts of trade, travel, exploitation and global capitalism. She finds parallels between the icon of colonial resistance in South America: Tupac Amaru and that of the tragic contemporary global hip hop icon: Tupac Shakur. Accompanying her installation, Charles Edward Fambro’s sound piece uses a compositional technique that is pure hip-hop, though distinct from what is commercially recognizable as such. In his sound work, he explores similar concepts as Guiterrez, and explores them through musical roots that connect folk cultures through sound.









Active in Public and Community Arts, Marina Gutierrez received New York City Arts Commission Design Awards for the Imagination Playground, Prospect Park and sculpture in the Julia de Burgos Center. She directs a free arts program for City high-school students and co-authored ART/ VISION / VOICE Cultural Conversations in Community.

Charles Edward Fambro is a Sound Composer, free turntablist, and visual artist.
–

BASE is a platform in discourse and design for locality and grounded collaboration between artists and cultural practitioners.