SIGNS OF CHANGE: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now
Incite! (Favianna Rodriguez), We Resist Colonization!
September 20 – November 22, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday September 20, 2008, 7-10 pm
January 23 – March 8, 2009
Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
In Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now hundreds of posters, photographs, moving images, audio clips, and ephemera bring to life over forty years of activism, political protest, and campaigns for social justice. Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee as part of Exit Art’s Curatorial Incubator Program, this important and timely exhibition surveys the creative work of dozens of international social movements.
Organized thematically, the exhibition presents the creative outpourings of social movements, such as those for civil rights and black power in the United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in Europe; environmental activism and women’s rights internationally; and the global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests, such as those for indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and for social change in France. The exhibition also explores the development of powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics and create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organizations.
Although histories of political groups and counter-cultures have been written, and political and activist shows have been held, this exhibition is a groundbreaking attempt to chronicle the artistic and cultural production of these movements. Signs of Change offers a chance to see relatively unknown or rarely seen works, and is intended to not only provide a historical framework for contemporary activism, but also to serve as an inspiration for the present and the future.
During the exhibition, there will be ongoing screen printing workshops with guest artists and activists in collaboration with the Lower East Side Printshop as well as the following programs and events.
WEEKLY SCREENING SERIES
(schedule and program is subject to change)
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 3:30 pm
Friday and Saturday at 5:30 pm
WEEK ONE: September 23 – 27
Newe Segobia is Not for Sale: The Struggle for Western Shoshone Land (1993)
The Land Belongs to Those Who Work It / La tierra es de quien la trabaja (2005)
To Walk Naked (1995)
Break and Enter (1970)
WEEK TWO: September 30 – October 4
Stronger than Before (1983)
Carry Greenham Home (1984)
WEEK THREE: October 7 – 11
Korea: Until Day Break (Excerpt from …will be televised) (1990)
Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad / A Little Bit of So Much Truth (2008)
WEEK FOUR: October 14 – 18
What the Fuck Are These Red Squares? (1970)
The Columbia University Divestment Struggle: Paper Tiger at
Mandela Hall (1985)
Standing with Palestine (2004)
WEEK FIVE: October 21– 25
Films TBA.
WEEK SIX: October 28 – November 1
Five Days for Peace (1973)
Indonesia: Art, Activism, Rock ‘n’ Roll (2002)
People’s Park (1969)
WEEK SEVEN: November 4 – 8
Excerpt from Lanesville Overview I
Be a DIVA (1990)
I the Film (2006)
WEEK EIGHT: November 11 – 15
Films TBA.
WEEK NINE: November 18 – 22
A Very Big Train Called the Other Campaign / Un tren muy grande que se llama: La Otra Campaña (2006)
Crowd Bites Wolf (2001)
Fourth World War (2003)
SCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOPS
In collaboration with the Lower East Side Printshop the exhibition will feature ongoing screen printing workshops with guest artists and activists. Check www.exitart.org for schedule and participating artists.
ELECTION NIGHT AT EXIT ART Save the date November 4, 2008. Please check www.exitart.org for more details.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
SATURDAY, September 20, 7-10 pm: Opening Reception
with live screen printing and ice cream from the Tactical Ice Cream Unit
TWO-PANEL SYMPOSIUM
THURSDAY, September 25: Signs of Change Symposium
6 pm: Producing and Distributing Social Movement Culture
Panelists include: Yustoni Volunteero/Taring Padi Collective (Indonesia), illcommonz (Japan), Favianna Rodriguez/Tumis Design (Oakland, CA) and others TBA. Moderated by Gregory Sholette, Assistant Professor Queens College Department of Art, Co-Founder PAD/D & REPOhistory/New York.
8 pm: Assessing the History and Future of Social Movement Culture:
A Critical Analysis
Panelists include: Sasha Roseneil/Professor of Sociology and Social Theory, Director, Birkbeck Institute for Social Research, Birbeck, University of London (UK), Sandy Kaltenborn/image-shift berlin (Germany), Mary Patten/Artist & Professor, School of the Art Institute (Chicago), and others TBA. Moderated by Kazembe Balagun, Brecht Forum/blogger: blackmanwithalibrary.com (New York, NY).
COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND
Saturday, OCTOBER 11 to Monday, OCTOBER 13:
Weekend of Screenings and Discussion, co-sponsored by 16beaver group
The Signs of Change Weekend of Screenings and Discussion brings together films and videos from the past 40 years that raise questions about what it means to participate in both cultural production and political action. Discussions will follow each screening. Curated in collaboration with Benj Gerdes and Paige Sarlin of 16beaver group.
SATURDAY, October 11 at Exit Art
4 pm: Finally Got the News (1970, 16mm, League of Revolutionary Black Workers).
7:30 pm: Narita: The Peasants of the Second Fortress (Sanrizuka: Dainitoride no hitobito) (1971, B&W, 143 min., 16 mm, Ogawa Pro).
In Japanese with English subtitles.
Introduced by Sabu Kohso, Japan-born writer and activist, and Barbara Hammer, filmmaker.
In 1966, the Japanese government seized land and farms to build a larger airport near Narita. Local peasants, framers and activists created a powerful resistance movement, delayed construction for years, and disrupted the building process and airport’s opening. Although the government prevailed, for many in Japan, the Narita revolt is remembered as a heroic moment. This absorbing and rare documentary film chronicles this story. $5 at the door.
Screening co-sponsored by Asian/Pacific/American Institute and Tisch Department of Photography & Imaging at NYU in conjunction with The Uses of 1968: Legacies of Art and Activism Symposium and 1968: Then and Now Exhibition.
SUNDAY, October 12 at 16beaver group
12 pm – 9 pm; $5 – $10 donation
Featuring Diva TV (1989); Queen Mother Moore Speech at Green Haven Prison (1971); Winter Soldier (1972); Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan (2008); Stronger Than Before (1983); Fourth World War (2003) and others TBA. Discussions to follow.
MONDAY, October 13 at 16beaver group
12 pm – 9 pm; $5 – $10 donation
Featuring Happy Anniversary San Francisco, March 20-21 (2003); What the Fuck Are These Red Squares? (1970); U.S. Premiere of Five Days for Peace (1973); Crowd Bites Wolf (2001); A Very Big Train Called the Other Campaign (2006); U.S. Premiere of What Would It Mean to Win? (2008); Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993); and others TBA. Discussions to follow.
For more information on the programs at 16Beaver, please visit www.16beavergroup.org or call 212-480-2093. 16beaver group is located at 16 Beaver Street, Fourth Floor, New York City.
FRIDAY, October 24, 6–8 pm:
Premiere screening of newly subtitled short films and footage of the 1960s Dutch Provo movement, and book release of Richard Kempton’s Provo: Amsterdam’s Anarchist Revolt (in collaboration with Autonomedia Press).
EXHIBITION SUPPORT
Signs of Change is supported by a major grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Additional support provided by the Museum program at the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, and the Starry Night Fund at The Tides Foundation.
Public programs are supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Material support for the screen printing studio provided by the Lower East Side Printshop, New York. General exhibition support provided by Bloomberg LP; Carnegie Corporation; Jerome Foundation; Pollock-Krasner Foundation; Exit Art’s Board of Directors and our members. We gratefully acknowledge public funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane.
Sponsoring partners of Signs of Change are The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) in Los Angeles and the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam.
CURATORIAL INCUBATOR
The inaugural exhibition of Exit Art’s Curatorial Incubator Program is Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now, curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee. The program expands Exit Art’s commitment to young and emerging curators and scholars in contemporary art, by giving material, financial, and human resources to developing curatorial talent. Working with Exit Art directors and staff, fellows curate large-scale exhibition projects, learn fundraising, develop outreach and educational programs, and co-publish a catalogue. Access to Exit Art’s acclaimed archives facilitates these curatorial fellows’ abilities to contextualize their projects within international and historical frameworks. The second show of the Curatorial Incubator Program will open in February 2008. Corpus Extremus, curated by artist Boryana Rossa, will present work by artists who investigate the revolutionary changes taking place in technological and scientific research. !
Curatorial Incubator Director: Mary Anne Staniszewski.