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Sally – an interdisciplinary exhibition conceived by JoAnne McFarland and Sasha Chavchavadze

January 10, 2020, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Opening at Old Stone House & Washington Park
October 16, 6 pm – 9 pm
Opening Night Performance, “Round it’s gilt cage”
Katya Grokhovsky

“Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.” Mary Wollstonecraft

“Round it’s gilt cage” is a live performative bed-time story reading of random audience-selected excerpts of Mary Wollstonecraft’s seminal text, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”, which attempts to construct a bridge, between contemporary political assault on women’s lives, autonomy and agency and centuries-old historical oppression.

Gowanus Open Studio Hours – Saturday, October 19, 3:30 – 5:30 pm

On View Through January 26, 2020
Fridays, 3 pm – 6 pm or by appointment

The Old Stone House & Washington Park, Artpoetica Project Space, and The Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse are pleased to announce SALLY, an interdisciplinary exhibition conceived by artist/collaborators JoAnne McFarland and Sasha Chavchavadze.

DNA evidence suggests that Sarah ‘Sally’ Hemings and Thomas Jefferson had several children together. While a teenager in France with Jefferson’s family, Hemings had a chance at full freedom, but returned to America with Jefferson in 1791 when he was 47 years old. Many historians believe Hemings was already pregnant with her first child by Jefferson when she returned. She lived out most of her life as a slave on Jefferson’s Monticello plantation, in quarters adjacent to his that have recently been restored.

SALLY, a collaborative project, brings together artists, writers, and performers intrigued by the narratives of women, like Sally Hemings, whose destinies are inextricably interwoven with those they knew, and whose lives have often been erased or forgotten.

At this critical juncture, with women’s autonomy once again under siege, another meaning of sally seems particularly relevant: a sudden charge out of a besieged place. A primary theme in SALLY is how artists, through their methodologies, confront myriad issues of agency, and use community and collaboration to undercut the status quo, and construct lives of integrity and purpose.

SALLY Participants:
Lauren Frances Adams, Meredith Bergmann, Deborah Castillo, Sasha Chavchavadze, Maureen Connor, Katya Grokhovsky, Robin Holder, Jee Hwang, Tatiana Istomina, Fabiola Jean–Louis, Carole Kunstadt, Paula Lalala, Nancy Lunsford, Jennifer Mack–Watkins, JoAnne McFarland, Elizabeth Moran, Amanda Nedham, Ann Shostrom, Marisa Williamson, Philemona Williamson, Hong Chun Zhang.

During the opening reception, artist Katya Grokhovsky will perform “Round it’s gilt cage”, a 20 minute live performative bed-time story reading of random audience-selected excerpts of Mary Wollstonecraft’s seminal text, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”, which attempts to construct a bridge between contemporary political assault on women’s lives, autonomy and agency, and centuries-old historical oppression.

“Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.” Mary Wollstonecraft

About the Project Curators:
Sasha Chavchavadze is the founder of Proteus Gowanus, an interdisciplinary exhibition/event space that was a cultural hub in Brooklyn for ten years. Her community–based projects include: Battle Pass Collective; D’Amico Gowanus Laboratory; Museum of Matches; Carnival of Connectivity. Her paintings, drawings, and installations have been exhibited widely, including: Luise Ross Gallery; Cooper Union Gallery; Rotunda Gallery; Kentler International Drawing Space; Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock; Museum of Literature, Tbilisi, Georgia. Her work has been presented in MoMA workshops, TED–Gowanus and on BRIC TV. Her public art installation Battle Pass: Revolution II was commissioned by NYC DOT Urban Art. She has published in Cabinet, Bomb, and NYFA Current magazines, and as a book (Museum of Matches, Proteotypes 2011). As a 2018 Visiting Art at the American Academy in Rome, she initiated her Margaret Fuller Project.

JoAnne McFarland is the founder and Artistic Director of Artpoetica Project Space in Gowanus, Brooklyn that explores the intersection of words, visual art, performance, and installation. She is the former Exhibitions Director of A.I.R. Gallery in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Her numerous solo and group exhibitions include: Mending at 440 Gallery in Brooklyn, Both Directions at Once at KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, CA, and The Black Artist as Activist at The Corridor Gallery in Brooklyn. McFarland’s artwork is part of the public collections of the Library of Congress, the Columbus Museum of Art, and Dynegy Inc. among others. Her previous poetry books include: Said I Meant/Meant I Said, a collaboration with poet Paul Eprile, Identifying the Body, 13 Ways of Looking at a Black Girl, and Acid Rain. In her work McFarland treats violence and creativity as diametrically opposed: each act of making thwarts violence’s aim to destroy.

Details

Date:
January 10, 2020
Time:
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Series:
Event Categories:
, ,

Organizer

Old Stone House & Washington Park
Phone
718-768-3195
Email
info@theoldstonehouse.org
View Organizer Website

Venue

The Old Stone House at Washington Park
336 3rd Street
Brooklyn, 11215
+ Google Map
Phone
718.768.3195

Details

Date:
January 10, 2020
Time:
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Series:
Event Categories:
, ,

Organizer

Old Stone House & Washington Park
Phone
718-768-3195
Email
info@theoldstonehouse.org
View Organizer Website

Venue

The Old Stone House at Washington Park
336 3rd Street
Brooklyn, 11215
+ Google Map
Phone
718.768.3195