The Gatherers: Greening Our Urban Spheres Oct 31, 2008–Jan 11, 2009 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Curated by Berin Golonu and Veronica Wiman The Gatherers is an exhibition and series of public programs exploring questions of sustainability and social justice in the urban environment. It brings together artists from various cultures who, through research and practice, examine how different populations address and define sustainability. Many of these artists work in a collaborative vein, teaming up with activists, grassroots organizations and members of the public to realize their process-oriented projects. A range of concerns are addressed, and topics range from a study of how to preserve the urban commons, to remedies for displacement from gentrification, to experiments in urban agriculture, to an investigation of food deserts, to architectural prototypes for cities recovering from natural disaster. A chronological timeline runs throughout the exhibition, linking the various gallery spaces and revealing the artists' and curators' research process. The timeline's dates were collected from all of the exhibition participants and present common nodes and divergent paths for various narratives for change. The timeline converges at a critical present moment and urges us to articulate an imagined future. Artists in The Gatherers include: Fallen Fruit (Los Angeles), Amy Franceschini (San Francisco) with Wilson Diaz (Cali, Colombia), The National Bitter Melon Council (Boston), Oda Projesi (Istanbul), Marjetica Potrc (Ljubljana/Berlin), Public Matters (Los Angeles), Ted Purves and Susanne Cockrell (Oakland), Rebar (San Francisco), Åsa Sonjasdotter (Tromsø/Berlin), and roomservices (Istanbul/Stockholm). For more information about the exhibition, see the bulletin for The Gatherers. Public programs: Friday, October 31 Gallery 3, noon to 5 PM Free with Gallery Admission In-session with the collective Fallen Fruit about their “History of Colonial Fruit” project. Saturday, November 1 Location/time: YAAW Lounge, noon to 5 PM Free Ticketed event Public Jam with the collective Fallen Fruit Sunday, November 2 Neighborhood walk starts in YBCA’s terrace galleries at 2 PM Free Ticketed event “A Salt Apology,” a South of Market Neighborhood walk hosted by the National Bitter Melon Council and SOMCAN Friday, November 7 Gallery 3, noon to 5 PM Free with Gallery Admission In-session with the collective Fallen Fruit about their “History of Colonial Fruit” project. Saturday, November 8 Tour starts in YBCA’s Grand Lobby at noon Free Ticketed event Rebar hosts a public tour with Bushwaffle, a modular inflatable outdoor furniture piece, demonstrating the power of Bushwaffle to soften any urban surface and provide space for freedom and play Thursday, November 13 Gallery 3, 6:30 PM Free with Gallery Admission Talk with John Bela, designer of the Civic Center Victory Garden Thursday, November 20 Gallery 3, 6:30 PM Free with Gallery Admission Conversation between Amy Franceschini, Ted, Purves, Susanne Cockrell, the My Villages collective and gallery visitors. Saturday, November 22 Gallery 3, 2 PM Free with Gallery Admission The Public Matters collective in conversation with the Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) Youth Ambassadors from Los Angeles about their efforts to combat urban “food deserts” with “Market Makeovers. Ted Purves and Susanne Cockrell conducting interviews with gallery visitors for My Meadow Network Terrace galleries, noon to 5 PM Free Ticketed event Thursday, December 4 Offsite location TBD Free Ticketed event Amy Franceschini in conversation with Wilson Diaz Wednesday, January 7 Tour starts in YBCA’s Grand Lobby at noon Free Ticketed event Rebar hosts a public tour with Bushwaffle, a modular inflatable outdoor furniture piece, demonstrating the power of Bushwaffle to soften any urban surface and provide space for freedom and play Thursday, January 8 Gallery 3, 6:30 PM Free with Gallery Admission Conversation between The Gatherers artists and gallery visitors, hosted by Ted Purves and Susanne Cockrell. |
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