SOLD OUT – Art Illuminating Human Rights: Gallery Talk & Performance

 

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Mia and the Advocates for Human Rights are collaborating this fall to present the series Art Illuminating Human Rights. This partnership was born out of both organizations’ shared commitment to bring greater awareness to human rights issues. Inspiration for the program’s format arises from the function of the kaleidoscope, which depends on light to create reflections. Just as tapping and twisting a kaleidoscope brings multi-faceted reflections into focus, Art Illuminating Human Rights will challenge participants to wrestle with the human rights issues of our day by considering the diversity of opinions brought to light in this forum.

In the second program of the series, poetry and storytelling activate the galleries in this progressive performance that explores and interprets objects addressing human rights:

• Fres Thao will perform his original work in response to themes present in Cy Thao’s evocative Hmong Migration painting series. About the Artist: Fres Thao is a Hmong American Hip Hop/Spoken Word artist, and has been a writer, producer, and performer for over years.  He is also the Executive Director of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT), the first and only multidisciplinary Hmong arts organization in the world.
• Essma Imady will present a reading on “The Feminine Divine within Islamic Mythology” examining Maimouna Guerrisi’s intriguing sculptural piece Supha on view in Mia’s contemporary galleries.  About the Artist: MCAD MFA candidate, filmmaker, and installation artist, Essma Imady grew up in Damascus, Syria and left to study art in the United States in 2011. Her work explores the missing narratives within the art world.
• Abdi Phenomenal will perform his spoken word which invites the audience to reflect and explore themes on view in the African galleries, including a Somali wedding basket. About the Artist: Somali spoken word artist, teaching artist, actor, and community activist Abdi Phenomenal been featured at the The White House, Nobel Peace Prize Forum, New York times, and AL-Jazeera. He is dedicated to impacting literacy and youth leadership through the art of spoken word.
  

After the performance, the artists and subject experts from Advocates for Human Rights will facilitate a conversation and Q&A session about the connections made in the galleries between art and human rights.