In/Between 2020: TRANSFIGURE

Online viewing open NOW; in-person Sept. 8 through Oct. 1, 2020.
In/Between 2020: TRANSFIGURE is a group exhibition curated by artists Martita Abril, Yanira Castro, and Poppy DeltaDawn and presented by New York Live Arts. It was developed to support the artists of the New York Foundation for the Arts’ Immigrant Artist Mentorship Program. All sales will go directly to the artists during the ongoing pandemic.

Artists Abril, Castro and DeltaDawn developed the 2020 theme, TRANSFIGURE, before the pandemic and uprisings. At the time, they were considering the upcoming U.S. elections and the call not just to strengthen democratic principles but to affect a transformation. There was/is a need for radical change towards a further completion of the democratic experiment, to equitable and just participation. Immigrant artists are among those at the crux of these conversations.

In light of Covid-19 and the uprisings, Abril, Castro and DeltaDawn considered dropping the TRANSFIGURE theme altogether. But the work the artists submitted spoke to a transfiguration during this time, to new realities of making, working, and fabricating. The loss of access to studios and materials, the last minute sales of proposed art works by artists in order to purchase groceries and pay rent, changed and transformed the work present on this site.

The world is in process of transfiguration. Right in the thick of it. How can we radically reconsider questions of belonging, being and inhabiting? For this year’s In/Between presentation, we are looking at metamorphosis as a process of constructing body and home from the resources we already carry within us.

This year’s exhibit features work by Zeshan Ahmed, Hyun Jung Ahn, Katya Akuma, Ivana Brenner, Hedwig Brouckaert, Zorica Čolić, Carin Kulb Dangot, Bel Falleiros, Nathier Fernández, Lee Geuryung, Vinay Hira, Jeajoon Jang, Ae Yun Kim, Jiaoyang Li, Spandita Malik, Levan Mindiashvili, j.p.mot, Bat-Ami Rivlin, Ghislaine Sabiti, Leila Seyedzadeh, and Sofia Suazo.

The exhibition will be available for in-person viewing at the New York Live Arts Ford Foundation Live Gallery, 219 West 19th Street, New York City, beginning September 8, 2020 through October 2, 2020. Visiting hours are Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-5pm. No appointment is required, however for special needs or requests please contact Hannah Seiden, hseiden@newyorklivearts.org.

*Gallery hours end at 3:30pm on Sept. 15.

The gallery will be open to a limited amount of visitors at a time. Visitors will be required to wear a facial covering at all times, and maintain social distancing.

In direct response to the needs of immigrant artists during the Covid-19 pandemic, works are available for purchase from the same website with all sales going directly to the artists. The full checklist of works, price listings and artist bios can be found here.

STAYING SAFE WHILE VISITING:
The gallery will be open to a limited amount of visitors at a time. Visitors will be required to wear a facial covering at all times, and maintain social distancing

Some crucial features we’ve added to our protocol include:

• A limit on visitors in the space to align with the city’s current social distancing protocol.
• If the gallery is at capacity, visitors may be asked to wait outside the gallery or return later.
• Visitors required to wear masks for the duration of their visit.
• Hand sanitizer provided for visitors at the front desk.
• Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization system which has been shown to neutralize 99.4% of SARS-CoV-2 in just 30 minutes.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is a nonprofit service organization that empowers working artists and emerging arts organizations across all disciplines at critical stages in their creative lives and professional/organizational development.

Through the Immigrant Artist Program (IAP), the New York Foundation for the Arts is building and serving a community of artists with diverse backgrounds who share the experience of immigration. We connect artists with services and resources to foster their creative careers, gain support and exposure for their work, and integrate into the cultural world of New York and beyond while upholding their distinct identities.