Fri 5/23 @ 5-7:30PM
Through Sat 6/14
Akron Soul Train’s newest collection of shows, the product of the short-term residencies it awards to artist, is typically diverse.
Filmmaker Payton Burkhammer’s Lamest Place in the World research exhibit explores her process for creating her first feature film whose screenplay asks questions such as “Is a person’s life directed by their choices, or is their fate inherent?” “How does one navigate an uncertain future?” and “Would knowing the future provide peace of mind or create more personal conflict?” The road-trip narrative follows four college-aged young people visiting small-town tourist attractions, including regional Ohio locations such as the World’s Largest Basket in Newark, Ohio. Her exhibit will include photos, tourist ephemera and other material she is using to craft her story.
Saloni Parekh is a South Asian artist currently teaching at Oberlin, who work includes painting, video and sound, among other mediums. Her show, Chaturanga, explores both the positive consistencies and divisive inconsistencies of religion while asking questions such as “What might god look like?” In this show, she presents her questions in paintings, film and a multimedia installation using AR and 3D technology, as she looks at issues of religion, politics, and personal devotion, and the entanglement of faith and power, drawing primarily on imagery from South Asian Hinduism and Islam. She’ll be speaking about her work at 5pm at the opening reception on Friday May 23.
Finally Anna Young debuts her Life is a F*cking Joke, a series of experimental self-portraits that draw on photography, print, illustration, and collage, referencing the conflict between her queer identity and her rigid religious upbringing. “Through this exhibition,” we’re told, “she seeks to push creative boundaries and foster connections between art, humor, and healing.”
The opening reception and the show, which is on view through June 14, are free and open to all.