I am excited to share two new solo projects I am opening in New York City this month at Recess Art and Center for Book Arts. The two concurrent projects are a presentation of new interdisciplinary art across mediums. The projects are a part of my larger practice in archiving and amplifying the often overlooked labor of BIPOC femmes in activist histories.
Happy fall season! I'm writing to share some exciting news about exhibitions featuring my work, both on a national and international scale, as well as recent museum acquisitions and other professional activities.
Frieze London Solo Booth:
I will be having a solo presentation of my art at Frieze London on October 11-15, at The Regent Park's, with Addis Fine Art Gallery, at booth H33. The presentation includes all new tapestries, video art, and sculpture, including some made from archives from the Black Cultural Archives in the Brixton district of south London, which collects the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK.
A sneak preview of my solo booth at Frieze London can be found here.
In conjunction with the fair, I will be in conversation with Lisa Anderson, the director of the Black Cultural Archives, in an artist talk at Addis Fine Art Gallery on Friday, October 13, at 6pm. The gallery is located at 21 Eastcastle Street in London. If you are in town for the fair I hope to see you at the booth and for the talk at the gallery!
Recent Museum Acquisitions:
I am excited to share that the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, AL has acquired my sculpture Crown (Zewditu) for their permanent collection. It's an honor to know the work will be preserved by the museum. I have made three crowns in this series, each one having been acquired by a different institution (including Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, and Sharjah Art Foundation in the United Arab Emirates). A new crown in this series will premiere during my exhibition at Frieze London.
Fall Group Exhibitions in USA, Europe, and Africa:
"The Rose," Lumber Room, Portland, OR, curated by Justine Kurland, July 27 - October 27, 2023.
"Clear Views from 28," NYC Culture Club, New York, NY, curated by Silver Art Projects, September 5 - October 6, 2023.
"Portrait as Place / Place as Portrait," Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, MA, September 5 - December 11, 2023.
"Various Flowers," Hirschl & Adler, New York, NY, curated by Dylan Gauthier for Lighthouse Works, now through September 14 - October 6, 2023.
"States of Becoming," University of Maryland Baltimore County Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD, curated by Fitsum Shebeshe and Independent Curators International (ICA), September 22, 2023 - December 31, 2023.
** traveling exhibition
"Multiplicities: Blackness in American Collage," Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, curated by Katie Delmez, September 22, 2023 - December 15, 2022
** traveling exhibition, exhibition catalog available
Group show @ Fisk University's Carl Van Vechten Gallery, Nashville TN, curated by Jamaal Sheetz, October 11 - March 8, 2024.
"Future. Forward. Freedom.", Ed.Varie Gallery, New York, NY, curated by Wide Awake Andrew Lockhart, Michelle Pred, and Wildcat Ebony Brown, October 3 - November 6, 2022.
"Convening of Poets," Kadist, Paris, France, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi and Julia Morandeira Arrizabalaga, October 6, 2023 to February 4, 2024.
Group show @ Galleria Anna Marra, Rome, Italy, November - December 2023.
"The Upshot of Trans-Affective Solidarity," Institut Français of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco, video screening curated by Kisito Assangi, November 9, 2023.
"Ethiopia at the Crossroads," Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, curated by Christine Sciacca, December 3, 2023 - March 3, 2024.
** traveling exhibition, exhibition catalog available
Upcoming Artist Talks:
Here are some in person talks that I will be giving in the next couple of months.
Recent Artist Talks: Here are some video recordings of recent talks I gave with museums this fall.
Please consider supporting the following non-profit organizations, where I have donated art for their fall auction fundraisers.
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Happy summer! It’s been a while since my last update, here's some news from the studio.
Museum Acquisitions:
I'm pleased to share that all of my sculptures, tapestries, and video artworks that were included in the 2023 Sharjah Biennial have been acquired by two institutions, the Sharjah Art Foundation (located in United Arab Emirates) and Kadist (located in Paris, France, and San Francisco, CA), for their permanent collections. I am thrilled that my artwork, which amplifies the legacies of Black women's contribution to social justice histories, can be preserved by these two incredible international institutions.
In addition, one of my collages, Headdress 38, which was featured in my 2022 solo exhibition at Praise Shadows Art Gallery, has recently joined the Rose Art Museum's permanent collection in Waltham, MA. Many thanks to the acquisitions committees of all these organizations for supporting my work.
Summer Artist Residency: I am currently a mentoring artist at Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, alongside curator Larry Ossei-Mensah and painter Alteronce Gumby. The three of us have selected twenty emerging artists who are working with us for three weeks under the theme of "Forums for Storytelling." I feel honored to have access to this beautiful campus to make my art, and to support the work of other artist’s practices within creative community. |
Summer Exhibitions:
- "Perpetual Portrait," group exhibition, Vielmetter Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, July 8 through August 18, 2023
- "The Rose," group exhibition, Lumber Room, Portland, OR, curated by Justine Kurland, July 29 through October 28, 2023
- "We've Been Here Before," solo public art project, RISD Art Museum, Providence, RI, curated by Domonic Molon and Ahmari Benton, July 2, 2022 through August 27, 2023
Selected Recent Artist Talks:
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Selected Recent Press and Interviews:
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Thank you for your continued support of my practice. May you find relief from scorching summer heat, and some joyful moments within lengthened summer days! |
- "Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present," Bait Al Sakar Serkal Heritage Building, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Conceived by Okwui Enwezor and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi. February 7 to June 11, 2023, live performance on February 11, 11:00am.
- "Tennessee Triennial," public art project at Fisk University, in partnership with Frist Art Museum and Engine for Art, Democracy, and Justice, Nashville, TN, January 27 to May 7, 2023.
- "Resting Our Eyes," Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, curated by Autumn Breon and Tahirah Rasheed, January 21 - June 25, 2023.
- "Let Love Quiet Fear," Praise Shadows Art Gallery, Brooklyn, MA, a For Freedoms organized group show in conjunction with the unveiling of Hank Willis Thomas' The Embrace public sculpture, January 12 to February 12, 2023.
- "We've Been Here Before," public art project at RISD Art Museum, Providence, RI, curated by Dominic Molon, July 2, 2022 through June 25, 2023.
- "States of Becoming," The Africa Center, traveling exhibition in collaboration with Independent Curators International, curated by Fitsum Shebeshe, New York, NY, October 14, 2022 through April 2, 2023.
- Artnet News: "How Do You Judge the Value of Social Practice Art? Artist Helina Metaferia Developed Metrics to Determine if a Project is Successful."
- Vanity Fair: "Leisure, Adornment, and Beauty Are Radical Acts in 'Resting Our Eyes.'"
- The Cut: "Women At Rest: Ten Black artists imagine the freedom of leisure at ICA San Francisco's 'Resting Our Eyes' exhibition."
- Cultured Magazine: "Making a Big Investment? Fairchain is The Art World's Prenup."
- Boston Art Review: "Our Favorite Art Moments of 2022."
Below is a list of the exhibitions that I am participating in this fall season. If you happen to be in these cities during this time, I hope you can visit them.
Solo Projects:
- The Armory Show, solo presentation with Addis Fine Art Gallery, New York, NY, September 8 through 11, 2022
- "We've Been Here Before," public art project, RISD Art Museum, Providence, RI, curated by Domonic Molon and Ahmari Benton, July 2, 2022 through June 25, 2023
- "Sound, Stories," Locust Projects, Miami, FL, curated by Heiki Dempster, September 10 through November 5, 2022
- "Perplexity," Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC, curated by Tomora Wright, September 17 through December 10, 2022
- "States of Becoming," The Africa Center, traveling exhibition in collaboration with Independent Curators International, New York, NY, curated by Fitsum Shebeshe, October 14, 2022 through February 23, 2023
- "Resilience," Eastville Museum, Sag Harbor, NY, curated by Storm Ascher of Superposition Gallery, July 5 through September 30, 2022
It's been a while since my last update -- in fact this is the first one of 2022! So much has happened in the studio. I am writing to share with you a few exciting projects from the summer, and a recap of the spring.
I recently opened a solo public art exhibition, We've Been Here Before, on the interior and exterior of the RISD Art Museum in Providence, RI, which is now on view through June 25, 2023. The Project is a commission of four new collages as vinyl murals, and an acquisition of the original hand made collages for the museum's permanent collection. We've Been Here Before is a year long collaboration with the museum, the RISD & Brown University BIPOC femme community, and their library archives of protest history.
In addition, my solo exhibition, All Put Together, is on view at the Bolinas Art Museum in Bolinas, CA through August 6, 2022. The exhibition traveled from Praise Shadows Gallery in Boston, where it was on view last spring. The works in the show includes collage, video, and installation inspired by matrilineal legacies of activism. The original show at Praise Shadows Gallery premiered concurrently with my recent solo exhibition, Generations, at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which was on view from November 2021 to April 2022.
The first monograph book of my work has been released in conjunction with the recent Museum of Fine Arts exhibition, featuring an essay by Aruna D'Souza and an interview between myself and curators Michelle Miller Fisher and Chenoa Baker. You may learn more about this publication here.
I am also honored and thrilled to share that my artwork has been acquired for the permanent collection of the following institutions. I'm grateful to know that my work will be preserved and on public display here:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
RISD Art Museum, Providence, RI
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY
Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, MA
If you happen to be in Minneapolis in the next few months, please check out Come Celebrate with Me, my current public art project at the George Floyd Memorial, as part of the Social Justice Billboard Project in conjunction with Northeast Sculpture Gallery, sponsored by the National Academy of Design. It’s such an honor to share my art, inspired by the spirit of activism that propels this country into equitable progress, at a site that commemorates the life of George Floyd, and the renewed global attention to Black lives that his death brought on.
And finally, check out these recent reviews and publications from 2022 that feature my work: |
Thank you for your continued support! Warmly, Helina Metaferia |
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
- "Generations," solo show curated by Dina Dietsch and Michelle Fisher, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA November 6, 2021 - April 3, 2022
- "Designing Motherhood," group show at Center for Architecture, Philadelphia, PA, September 10 - November 13, 2021
- Untitled Art Fair, group show presented by Praise Shadows Gallery, November 29 - December 5, 2021
- "House of Crowns," pop up group show curated by Storm Ascher of Superposition Gallery and Anwarii Musa of Artmatic Art Advisory, Phillips first floor and mezzanine galleries, New York, NY, December 15-20, 2021
- "NI DE AQUI, NI DE ALLA," group show at Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, August 28 - September 20, 2021
- 1:54 London Art Fair, group show presented by Addis Fine Art, London, UK, October 14-17, 2021
- "Not A Monolith," Two Public Art Projects commissioned by Facebook Open Arts and Artbridge, at MoCADA's sculpture garden in Brooklyn and Dreamyard Projects in The Bronx, NY, Unveiled Summer & Fall 2021
CURRENT ARTIST RESIDENCIES AND PROGRAMS:
- Viewing Program, The Drawing Center, New York, NY, 2021
- Artist in Residence, Silver Art Projects @ The World Trade Center, New York, NY, 2021
RECENT PRESS:
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
- "Not A Monolith," Public Art Project with Facebook Open Arts and Artbridge, Brooklyn and The Bronx, NY, Unveiled June & July 2021
- "Artists & Identity," Group Exhibition, Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL, June 5 - August 15, 2021
- "From Modern to Contemporary," Group Exhibition, CFHill Art Space, Stockholm Sweden, June 11 - July 20, 2021
- Art Basel Online Viewing Program, Three person show, Addis Fine Art Gallery, June 16 - June 19, 2021
- "Storying," Residency Unlimited Exhibition @ Andrew Freedman Home, Bronx, NY, June 23 - July 7, 2021
RECENT PRESS:
CURRENT ARTIST RESIDENCIES AND PROGRAMS:
- Viewing Program, The Drawing Center, New York, NY, 2021
- Artist in Residence, Residency Unlimited, through July 5, 2021
I am excited to share that I currently have a solo presentation of my work at Frieze NYC Online Viewing Program, open now until May 14. This is my debut feature with my new gallery, Addis Fine Art, a London and Addis Ababa based gallery which now represents me in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. You may view a selection of my collage and video artwork for the virtual exhibition through either Frieze's website or Addis Fine Art's website. I'll also be giving a virtual artist talk, in conversation with artist-scholar Dr. Ayanna Dozier on May 8, 4pm EST, in conjunction with Frieze's Vision and Justice series of programs, curated by Professor Sarah Elizabeth Lewis. Please RSVP for this online talk at this link.
The work in the Frieze show is an expansion of my ongoing By Way of Revolution series, which I began in 2018. The interdisciplinary project is a celebration of the overlooked histories of BIPOC women's labor within activism, and the generational impact of civil rights eras of the past on today's social justice movements. Over the last year while living in New York and Los Angeles, I have had the pleasure of photographing Black Lives Matter co-founders and chapter leaders, as well as members of newly founded artist-activist groups, including the Wide Awakes and Revival Resistance Chorus. The photographs then become collaged with Black liberation archives from previous civil rights eras that I source through extensive research at university libraries around the country.
In June 2021, two of my large scale collages from the By Way of Revolution series will be reproduced as wheat paste murals in Brooklyn and the Bronx, New York, through a commission with Facebook Open Arts and Artbridge for the public art series "Not A Monolith." That month I'll also be in two group exhibitions at CF Hill in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Art and Culture Center in Hollywood, FL. I'm also currently an artist in residence with Residency Unlimited, and a selected artist for The Drawing Center's Viewing Program, both in New York City.
Current Exhibitions:
- Frieze New York Online Viewing Program, Solo Exhibition, Addis Fine Art Gallery, May 5 - 14, 2021
- "From Modern to Contemporary," Group Exhibition, CFHill Art Space, Stockholm Sweden, June 11 - July 20, 2021
- Art Basel Online Viewing Program, Three person show, Addis Fine Art Gallery, June 16 - June 19, 2021
- "Artists & Identity," Group Exhibition, Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL, June 5 - August 15, 2021
- "Not A Monolith," Public Art Project with Facebook Open Arts and Artbridge, Brooklyn and The Bronx, NY, Unveiled June 2021
- "Storying," Residency Unlimited Exhibition @ Andrew Freedman Home, Bronx, NY, June 23 - July 7, 2021
Artist Talk:
- Virtual Conversation between Helina Metaferia and Dr. Ayanna Dozier, Frieze's Vision and Justice Program, May 8, 2021, 4pm EST
Current Artist Residencies and Programs:
- Viewing Program, The Drawing Center, New York, NY, 2021
- Artist in Residence, Residency Unlimited, through July 5, 2021
If you are in New York City, please visit my first solo exhibition in New York, "Helina Metaferia: (Middle) Passage for Dreams," at New York University's The Gallatin Galleries, which has been extended through April 7. The exhibition is a six channel video installation that explores Black bodies at rest in benevolent landscapes while discussing assorted contemporary topics, including notions of empowerment, existentialism, and what it means to be Black in America at this time.
Because of gallery restrictions due to COVID-19, the exhibition can be viewed in person from the windows of the gallery as a sidewalk show. Speakers are installed into the gallery windows and the sound from the video is audible from the street. Subtitles are displayed on all the screens for accessibility.
An online screening of the video will occur on March 4 at 7pm EST, followed by a conversation between myself and New York City based artist Steve Locke on the themes of love, the body, and the potential for self-actualization.
More of this season's in person exhibitions, virtual talks, and studio news can be found below.
WINTER 2021 SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
“Helina Metaferia: (Middle) Passage for Dreams,” Solo exhibition, curated by Keith Miller, New York University’s The Gallatin Galleries, New York, NY, January 25 - April 7, 2021
"Against A Sharp White Background," Solo exhibition, curated by Sarah Odens, Auburn University's Biggin Gallery, Auburn, AL, November 16, 2020 - January 15, 2021 (traveling show from Northeastern University's Gallery 360, curated by Amy Halliday)
WINTER 2021 GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
“2021 A.I.R. Biennial: An Ahistorical Daydream,” Group exhibition, curated by Jasmine Wahi, February 12 - March 14, 2021
“We Make The Marks,” Group exhibition, with catalogue text by curator Brittany Webb, Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, February 6 - April 3, 2021
"Bring it home," Group exhibition, curated by Ann Thompson and Ramon Tejada, Bennington College's Usdan Gallery, March 2 - May 5, 2021
UPCOMING PUBLIC TALKS AND PANELS:
College Art Association Conference, "Decanonizing the Gallery: Case Studies form the Museums," presentation with curator Amy Halliday on my recent solo exhibition, , February 11, 2021, 2pm EST
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, "VCCA Fireplace Series: Moira Linehan and Helina Metaferia," February 18, 2021, 7:30pm EST
Pratt Institute's Black Futures & Utopias Conference: "Radical Spectacle and Joy Featuring The Wide Awakes," February 19, 2021, 3:30pm
Pentimenti Gallery, "Artist Talk with Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Curator Brittany Webb," February 26, 5:30pm EST
Brown University, "What I'm Thinking About Now: Helina Metaferia's (Middle) Passage for Dreams Screening and Artist Talk," March 4, 12pm EST
NYU The Gallatin Galleries, "Artists Conversation: Helina Metaferia and Steve Locke," March 4, 2021, 7pm EST
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
Catalogue for "Against A Sharp White Background" with contributions from curator Amy Halliday and artist/scholar Sarah Stefana Smith
RECENT GRANTS:
2021 Lighthouse Works Legacy Grant
I'm pleased to announce the opening of my solo exhibition, Against A Sharp White Background, at Northeastern University's Gallery 360 in Boston, MA. This interdisciplinary exhibition utilizes performance, video, assemblage, collage, and social engagement to interrogate the exclusionary narratives found within western (art) history while reimagining institutional spaces. The exhibition runs from January 29 through April 5, 2020, and the opening reception takes place on Thursday, January 30, from 5pm-7pm. I hope to see those who live in the New England area there!
In addition, I have four upcoming group exhibitions within the month, including at Ortega y Gasset Projects (Brooklyn, NY), Penn State's HUB-Robeson Gallery (University Park, PA), Brentwood Arts Exchange (Brentwood, MD), and Urban Institute for Contemporary Art (Grand Rapids, Michigan). All of the exhibition information is listed below.
I am also currently serving as an artist in residence at Triangle Arts Association in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The residency provides free studio space, as well as studio visits with curators and arts organizations. Please save the date for our Triangle Arts Associations open studios on Thursday, February 6, from 6pm-8pm. I'd love to see you there!
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Upcoming Solo Exhibition:
"Against A Sharp White Background,"
Northeastern University's Gallery 360
Boston, MA
Curated by Amy Halliday
January 29 - April 5, 2020
Opening Reception: January 30, 5:00-7:00pm
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Upcoming Group Exhibitions:
Brentwood Arts Exchange
Brentwood, MD
Curated by Dierdre Darden
January 13 - February 29, 2020
Opening Reception: January 18, 5:00-8:00pm
Penn State's HUB-Robeson Galleries
University Park, PA
Curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Kiara Ventura, and Dexter Wimberly
January 21 - March 22, 2020
Opening Reception: January 21, 4:00-6:00pm
Ortega y Gasset Projects
Brooklyn, NY
Curated by Zahar Vaks
January 25 - February 23, 2020
Opening Reception: January 25, 6:00-9:00pm
Urban Institute for Contemporary Art
Grand Rapids, MI
Curated by Juana Williams
February 21 - June 14, 2020
Opening Reception: February 21, 5:30pm-9:00pm
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Upcoming Open Studios:
Artist in Residence Open Studios
Triangle Arts Association
Brooklyn, New York
February 6, 6:00-8:00pm
If you are in New York City, I will be presenting on a panel at the Black Portraitures Conference at New York University in October, and will have work in a group exhibition at Smack Mellon in November. Hope to see you there.
Upcoming:
Here are some other additional highlights this summer:
Pictured above is a detail view of: Headdress 1, Helina Metaferia, collaged paper, 2019.
Current Artist Residencies:
Fountainhead Residency
Miami, FL
December 11, 2018 through January 14, 2019
Michigan State University
Visiting Professor/Artist in Residence of Critical Race Theory
East Lansing, MI
2018-2019 academic year
Recent Exhibitions:
"Multiplicities: Continuous Unknowing"
Assembly Room Gallery
Curated by Natasha Becker
New York, NY
October 19 - November 25, 2018
"Time Is Love"
Mulhouse Art Contemporain
MOTOCO
Curated by Kisito Assangni
France
November 21, 2018
** Part of an internatinoal traveling exhibition which includes venues in Italy, Morocco, United Kingdom, Malta, Germany
"The Dark Horse"
Prizm Art Fair
Curated by Mikhaile Solomon
Miami, FL
December 4 - December 9, 2018
Recent Press:
The Washington Post
Bmore Art
Hyperallergic
OkayAfrica
My solo exhibition at Hamiltonian Gallery opens Saturday, August 11, 2018. Information for the show is as follows:
"Refiguring the Canon"
New work by Helina Metaferia
August 11 - September 15, 2018
Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street, NW
Washington, DC
Opening Reception: August 11, 7pm-9pm
Artist Talk: August 28, 7pm
About the Exhiibtion:
In "Refiguring the Canon," artist Helina Metaferia creates a hybrid environment where performance art and collage are used to interrogate racism, sexism, and notions of western exceptionalism within art historical narratives and institutional spaces. Metaferia displays documentation from performances at the National Gallery of Art and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, in which she asserts her body using simple gestures in contrast to historic artworks, challenging their conceptual meaning. In other works, Metaferia uses found magazines, including Art News, Art Forum, and Art in America, published in the 1980's (the decade of her birth). Combining the images of artwork featured in the magazines with photographic stills from her recent performances, Metaferia creates an avatar persona who reclaims a space in art history for under-recognized and marginalized women and artists of color. Playing with the 1980's trending re-interest in "primitivism," Metaferia uses her Ethiopian-American female body as a way to reclaim that gaze and decolonize the appropriation of black culture. Revisiting Hannah Höch's "From An Ethnographic Museum" series from a black woman's perspective, and addressing the Guerrilla Girls' timeless questioning of "greatness" in art history, Metaferia examines how these dated issues remain relevant today.
Artist Paolo Morales will also be opening his exhibtion, "Memphis Tulips" simultaneously at the gallery.
Above Image Caption: "Mythological Quest 1," Helina Metaferia, 2018, 22" x 28, magazine paper, digital print, colored pencils on paper
I am looking forward to presenting at the Black Portraiture[s] III Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa on November 19, 2016 at 10:30am. I am chairing and presenting on the panel "Performing the Continent: Re-Imagining African Identities through Multidisciplinary Art Practices," along with Rashayla Marie Brown, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle, and Tiffany Smith, and moderated by Nikki A. Greene. The conference is put together by New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Harvard University's Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, and Goodman Gallery. You can find more details about Black Portraiture[s] III here. Hope to see you at the conference.
The Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, CA just announced my solo exhibition at the museum as a winner of the Emerging Artist Program. The exhibition will take place January 25, 2017 to April 2, 2017 and will consist of installation, performance, and video. Here is the announcement on MoAD's website. Hope to see you at the opening!
I will be renewing my full time AICAD Post-MFA Teaching Fellowship for another academic year at San Francisco Art Institute, where I will continue teaching in the New Genres and Graduate departments. The fellowship includes full time teaching experience, an art studio, a professional development grant, monetary support and benefits, plus participation in the annual fellows conference. Here is the announcement about the fellowship in Art & Education.
I will be participating in the following artist residencies in 2016:
I recently was fortunate to have traveled with School of the Museum of Fine Arts professor Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons to Cuba for the 12th Havana Biennial for a performance in Casablanca. A few MFA graduate students from her installation class helped design and participate in a public performance that involved engaging Cuban citizens in a park with questions about current U.S. and Cuban relations. The performance, titled "Conversando," was mentioned by Holland Cotter in the New York Times in an article discussing this year's biennial. Here is a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/arts/design/havanas-vital-biennial-was-trumped-by-a-stifled-voice.html?_r=0
I am happy to be selected as an AICAD Post-Graduate Teaching Fellow for the San Francisco Art Institute for the 2015-2016 academic year. The fellowship includes full-time teaching experience, a professional development grant, monetary support and other fun perks. Art & Education (a joint venture between e-flux and Art Forum) just announced the nine fellows who will be placed at seven art institutions. Read here for more: http://www.artandeducation.net/announcement/announcing-fellows-for-post-graduate-teaching-fellowship/
I was honored to be selected as the 2015 School of the Museum of Fine Arts Graduate Student Commencement Speaker. Here is a video recording of my commencement speech below. The speech transcript has also been published on the SMFA website: http://www.smfa.edu/files/Helina-Metaferia-MFA-Student-Speaker.pdf
I am happy to be featured in the Boston Globe today in an article on top MFA candidates in Boston, written by art critic Cate McQuaid. It was a good overview to my work and my upcoming thesis exhibition/performance on May 14 at the Boston Center for the Art's Cyclorama.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015