Fri 3/29 @ 6-9PM
SPACES Gallery in Ohio City opens another pair of its typically conceptual shows with a strong social justice orientation.
In Healing the Land, the Committee of 500 Years of Resistance, formed in 1992 to push back against 500-year celebrations of Columbus’ first landing in the Americas, says it will “use the gallery space as a forum to lift up Indigenous Rights causes to the public.”
“Our longest campaign has been to advocate for the change of the Cleveland Major League Baseball Team,” they say. “Now that the shadow of the Cleveland Team has lifted, Indigenous voices can be heard beyond the mascot, beyond the myth. It is our goal to use this opportunity to highlight the continued and future work of the Committee of 500 Years to honor Indigenous Peoples and to advocate for the causes that impact our communities.”
In addition, New York-based artist Kamari Carter’s multi-media Dark Blue, Almost Black, which will also open that evening, “questions the presence of the body in relation to surveillance and the carceral state,” using sound, video (including bodycam footage and police and EMS radio streams) and wall pieces “to highlight the experience of the Black body within the intersection of police violence, modern protest culture, and systems of identity in the United States.” His work is informed by his experience as a Black male in the U.S.
Continuing on his minimalist work, Kamari Carter reflects on his experience as a Black male in America and forces the viewer to examine their own identity within systems of oppression. Dark Blue, Almost Black encourages deeper thought in one’s own voice in relation to those that are systematically silenced.
The shows open with a free public reception on Friday March 29 and will be on view through May 10.
spacescle.org/exhibitions/2024/03/29/