June 2 - September 3, 2023
From Contemporary at Blue Star:
“Blue Star Contemporary announces Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology, an exhibition curated by Sharmila Wood and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI) on view from June 2 thought September 3, 2023. Actions for the Earth is a traveling exhibition that considers how artistic practices use kinship, healing, and restorative intervention to foster a deeper consciousness of our interconnectedness with the earth.
This exhibition turns to a group of interdisciplinary artists to engage with the overlapping, worldwide crises of our time. Ongoing climate change, entrenched social inequity, and renewed concerns over public health have all underscored the need for approaches that take on global responsibilities while caring for our local environment. For decades, artists have sought to find new antidotes to oppressive structures of power, and promoted greater understanding of the many ways that nature, health, and sustainability are intertwined.
Actions for the Earth presents the work of eighteen intergenerational artists and collectives who place action, instruction, reciprocity, and exchange at the forefront of their practices. By sharing their participatory artistic interventions and healing strategies alongside research in ecology, science, and ancient beliefs, these artists remind us that we are connected within a constellation of living networks, inseparable from the planet and its environments. Artworks on view create space for the honoring of ancestors, foreground the significance of Indigenous knowledges, and engage in speculative imaginings through science fiction and network sciences—organic, digital, and spiritual.
In its curatorial approach, Actions for the Earth acts as a resource for studying our current times. The works on view not only emphasize themes of learning, care, and intimacy, but offer concrete knowledge by inviting the public to participate in actions such as instruction-based meditation and deep listening activities. The life of these works, and the interventions they propose, extends far beyond the scope of the exhibition to engage people in their personal contexts.
Artists: Ackroyd and Harvey, Lhola Amira, Arahmaiani, Sayan Chanda, Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser), lololol, Ana Mendieta, Zarina Muhammad, Patrina Mununggurr, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, Tabita Rezaire, Eric-Paul Riege, Cecilia Vicuña, Katie West, and Zheng Bo
Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology is a traveling exhibition curated by Sharmila Wood and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI), New York. Lead funding is provided by the Hartfield Foundation as part of an initiative to support ICI’s commitment to new curatorial voices who will shape the future of the field, and ICI’s Curatorial Intensive alumni as they move through the stages of their career. Actions for the Earth is made possible with the generous support of ICI’s Board of Trustees and International Forum.
The presentation at Contemporary at Blue Star has been organized in collaboration with Jacqueline Saragoza McGilvray.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Sharmila Wood applies a multidisciplinary approach to curating that weaves together writing, research, design and communications. Her latest project, Actions for the Earth: Art, Care and Ecology is an exhibition being produced by Independent Curator’s International. The tour begins at Contemporary at Blue Star opening June 2, 2023 – September 3, 2023. The project exemplifies Sharmila’s interest in creating participatory exhibitions and fostering dialogue around ecological, political and social issues that could expand possibilities of future utopias on planet earth.
She is Director at Tarruru, a purpose-driven multidisciplinary creative studio and consultancy. In this role Sharmila has delivered public art projects, developed programming, led concept ideation and created the blueprint for an iconic new cultural centre that rethinks the role of cultural institutions in civic, cultural and economic life.
Sharmila’s curatorial practice reflects her interest in artistic and design movements that engage with contemporary issues. As an Australian of mixed ancestry she is interested in hybridity and globalizing encounters that engage with heritage, tradition and diverse knowledge systems.
Sharmila has provided creative direction on major publishing and design initiatives, and managed commissions across the arts. Her writing has been published in numerous books and journals. She has also delivered a number of editorial projects. Her international exchange and cultural diplomacy initiatives have received award recognition.
ABOUT ICI
Independent Curators International (ICI) supports the work of curators to help create stronger
art communities through experimentation, collaboration and international engagement. Curators are arts community leaders and organizers who champion artistic practice, build essential infrastructures and institutions, and generate public engagement with art. Our collaborative programs connect curators across generations and across social, political and cultural borders. They form an international framework for sharing knowledge and resources—promoting cultural exchange, access to art, and public awareness for the curator’s role.
ICI’s flagship professional development program for curators, The Curatorial Intensive, supports emerging curators by bringing them together to gain new skills and perspectives on curating in partnership with advanced-career faculty. Since 2010, the program has taken place in more than 25 cities around the world and served 500 curators from 70 countries, who form an unparalleled, dynamic alumni network.
http://www.curatorsintl.org/
THE STORY OF CONTEMPORARY AT BLUE STAR
Contemporary at Blue Star presents exhibitions with artists from San Antonio and around the world sharing their global perspectives that encourage understanding, empathy, change, and action, fulfilling our mission to inspire, nurture, and innovate. Like most non-collecting contemporary art spaces, the Contemporary contributes fresh insights and perspectives on larger issues affecting society and culture by highlighting trends, movements, and conversations happening in art. Admission to the Contemporary is always free.
The Contemporary was founded for artists, by artists, in 1986 through a grassroots movement sparked by the cancellation of the first major museum exhibition of contemporary art in San Antonio. Six arts supporters and artists founded Contemporary Art for San Antonio to provide an exhibition venue for artists and the public. With the support of donors and property developers Bernard Lifshutz and Hap Veltman, the founders, artists, and volunteers converted a warehouse into a gallery for the first annual Blue Star Exhibition. Over the years, Contemporary has grown to include a professional staff, a robust calendar of onsite and offsite exhibitions, community collaborations, creative youth development programs, international exchange opportunities for artists, and public art projects. Formerly known as Blue Star Contemporary, the institution announced its mission-driven new name, graphic identity, and website in 2022.
The Contemporary is an anchoring cultural institution in San Antonio, as well as a destination for residents and tourists alike. Located along the banks of the San Antonio River Walk, it is a central highlight between the bustle of the downtown and the UNESCO World Heritage San Antonio Missions. The organization has remained true to its artist-centric foundation throughout this fiscal and programmatic growth. The Contemporary is San Antonio’s first WAGE-certified organization, committed to transparent and equitable payments to artists for their creative contributions to its exhibitions and education outreach programs. Through its commitment to artists with a social message, tuition-free youth arts education programs, and community-centric fundraising, the Contemporary is dedicated to equity and social justice in all its endeavors.
In addition to welcoming visitors to its gallery in Southtown, the Contemporary presents traveling exhibitions at Texas State University and partners with area organizations like University Health, Ruby City, and the San Antonio Public Library system. Public artworks produced by Contemporary’s MOSAIC Student Artist Program delight audiences along the River Walk, at Hemisfair Park, and along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. The Contemporary’s Berlin Residency Program also recently expanded to include a mini-residency in Darmstadt, Germany for the participating San Antonio-based artists.
To extend the reach of its exhibitions, a variety of complementary programs are offered: Open Studios, a film series which goes behind the scenes at artists’ studios; the Art Education Lab, which offers hands-on programming and education content; and outreach events, including workshops, artist talks, panel discussions, Family Saturdays, and film screenings.
Image: IRMANDADE: The Shape of Water in Pindorama, 2018. Video HD, Single Channel Sound. 00:16:13. Courtesy SMAC Gallery and the artist.”
Reception: June 2, 2023 | 6–9 pm
116 Blue Star
San Antonio, 78204 TX
(210) 227-6960
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