Philadelphia, PA (October 1, 2021) — Moore College of Art & Design will welcome Abstracted Migrations: Ideas on Embodied Motion (Abstracted Migrations) to The Galleries at Moore from October 2 through December 4. 2021. Curated by New York-based educator and visiting curator Kalia Brooks, the exhibition brings together three artists—Firelei Báez from the Dominican Republic, Saya Woolfalk from Japan and Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum from Botswana—whose practices identify the spaces where artists become integral to "restructuring the world."
Focused on themes of migration and femininity, Abstracted Migrations will model new modes of recognizing bodies in motion as it relates to social and political forms, geographic and cultural mobility, technology, and the stability of the environment in supporting the human condition. The work helps the viewer understand how the exchange of materials, bodies and ideas inform new associations of subjective experiences while exploring how traditional histories and typologies are challenged and dismantled.
Abstracted Migrations is presented by Brooks as part of Moore's Visiting Curators Initiative (VCI), which highlights the artistic talents of curators from outside the Philly region. The initiative was announced in early 2018, with the intent for visiting curators to share their input during the fall seasons of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Brooks was set to be the visiting curator in 2020, but the show was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I am thrilled to be curating this exhibition at Moore College of Art & Design with three women artists of color who I have admired through my curatorial career," said curator, Kalia Brooks. "I hope that the burgeoning artists attending Moore will be able to see their aspirations modeled through this work."
Brooks is one of three curators participating in the VCI. She is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Photography and Imaging at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, focusing on visual cultural theory, the history of photography and the business of art. She also is a member of a committee facilitating an international conference series titled "Black Portraitures," focused on the image of the Black body in Western arts and culture.
"We are thrilled to welcome Kalia Brooks and Abstracted Migrations to The Galleries at Moore as we continue our Visiting Curators Initiative," said Cecelia Fitzgibbon, president of Moore College of Art & Design. "This initiative—and in particular, this powerful and timely exhibition—allows us to bring new, meaningful perspectives to the larger Philadelphia art and culture community, and to inform our students about trends in contemporary art."
Upcoming special events for Abstracted Migrations includes the opening reception on Friday, Oct. 1 from 4–7 p.m. and a conversation with Brooks and Woolfalk, moderated by Deborah Thomas, on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Above Image: Firelei Báez, DREAMer (a demand for opacity that weaves no boundaries), 2017. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 105 x 249 in. Private collection, courtesy of the artist & James Cohan Gallery, New York.
Moore College of Art & Design’s gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome; masks required. More information can be found on Moore’s visitors page.
For press inquiries:
Stephanie Fanelli, Signature 57
stephanie.g.fanelli@gmail.com | 484.213.5968
