Sandra de la Loza, The Art of Lockpicking and the Lockpicking of Art (2010)

Some exciting art news from our friends at G727 Gallery!

“Please check out this exhibition opening in Cairo, Egypt on November 6th. It features Angelinas Sandra de la Loza, Karla Diaz and Lysa Flores, situating their work alongside women artists from Latin America in a Middle Eastern context.

Pilar Tompkins Rivas and I, Adrian Rivas are big fans of LA Eastside and thought the readers might enjoy following this project. I will be posting more about the exhibit on my site as it develops. http://www.g727.org

Please post some comments. We are hoping that some Cairo bloggers will visit LA Eastside soon.”

Citizen, Participant
November 7 – December 10, 2010

Darb 1718 / Contemporary Art and Culture Center Kasr El Sham3 Street Cairo, Egypt

مواطن مشارك نوفمرب – 10 ديسمرب ، 7 2010
درب 1718 / للفن املعارص ومركز الثقافة Sham3 شارع قرص القاهرة ، مرص

María Alós
Milena Bonilla
Tania Candiani
Carolina Caycedo
Sandra de la Loza
Karla Diaz
Carla Herrera-Prats
Musical performance by Lysa Flores
Curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas

Citizen, Participant is an exhibition representing current strategies for artistic production and public intervention in the United States and Latin America today. Grouping seven women of the same generation from four countries in North and South America and the Caribbean, each of the artists shares a similar concern for addressing social agendas within their work, and utilize artistic tactics of performance, relational and service aesthetics, pedagogical practices, research-based projects, and the usage of public and private archives.

The notion of what it means to be a “citizen” can be at once vague and exact. More than a mere labeling of an individual’s status within a nation-state, the idea of citizenry may be defined by an individual’s decision to participate in a community. Taking an active role in shaping social scenarios and political agendas has the potential to ultimately reconfigure history. The artists in Citizen, Participant intentionally adopt practical, poignant and often poetic gestures that occur in the public realm as tactics for artistic statements. These artists are primarily concerned with questioning subjectivity and value, while frequently offering alternative, pro-active solutions and initiatives. Without sidestepping aesthetical concerns, the artists in Citizen, Participant favor a controlled inquiry of social interaction ranging from historical investigations to metaphorical public acts.

Whether in institutional or commercial contexts, these artists frequently reach beyond the limitations of traditional artistic roles, in search of greater public interest, engagement and resonance. While crossing borders and seeking new territories, they encourage the viewer to reconsider their own context and surroundings. Citizen, Participant is reflective of these strategic approaches, while these projects are inspired by the cross-cultural dialog generated by the premise of the exhibition.

For more information contact Pilar Tompkins Rivas
pilar@aptglobal.org
+1 323 839 9656 www.aptglobal.org
Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Center
+ 2 23 610 511
www.darb1718.com

This exhibition is generously supported by the Artist Pension Trust and the Embassy of Mexico in Egypt.

Image: Sandra de la Loza, The Art of Lockpicking and the Lockpicking of Art (2010)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::