THE UNITED EXHIBITION OPENS OCTOBER 2
12 Artists from Belgium, Northern Ireland, Russia and the US Explore Immigration Issues
“The United," a new exhibition opening on October 2 at Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC), examines the complicated topic of immigration which is affecting many people closely, as members of diverse communities, as descendants of immigrants, or as immigrants themselves. The exhibition with artwork from 12 artists from Belgium, Northern Ireland, Russia and the US explores the possibilities for proactive engagement with immigration issues and offers a message of resilience, hope and resistance.
The exhibition is curated by Johanna Lasner, an independent curator and artist based in White Rock, Canada. Artists were selected by a jury which included Karla Lamb, a multidisciplinary Chicana poet and artist based in Pittsburgh and Jaime Guerrero, a glass sculptor and mixed media artist from Los Angeles now living in Pittsburgh.
"The United" is on view in person at Pittsburgh Glass Center Tuesday - Thursday 1 - 7pm and Saturday 10am - 4pm and onlineOctober 2, 2020 - January 24, 2021. A virtual live gallery opening with curator Johanna Lasner and the artists will take place October 2 at 7pm EST.
"We hope to inspire and come together as an interconnected active community through participation, by being responsive to current concerns; and even more so, by supporting and celebrating diversity...This project, 'The United,' delves into the question of how critical art may answer to the fabrication of an immigration system that addresses inequality, human rights violations, and exclusion,” said Lasner.
"The subject of immigration is timely and essential if art is to remain among the few public hubs where differences in culture, ideology and history can coexist. Information and exchange on immigration issues must be honest conversations, where interests, agendas, and concerns of all members of the affected communities are addressed in the context of the collective humanity. We hope to create opportunities for reflection, dialogue and discovery, where awareness can become a form of resistance and luckily generate new content and propositions for more robust, fair and reality based immigration legislation, which leads towards a more equitable society to improve human dignity, social justice and planetary wellbeing,” expressed Lasner. Read more from curator Johanna Lasner.
