ArtChangeUS Presents Art + Activism Group Exhibition at CalArts

An Art ChangeUS exhibition begins at CalArts on Thursday. | Photo: Courtesy of Art ChangeUS

This Thursday, Dec. 5, ArtChangeUS and the CalArts Student Union present the opening of Art + Activism, a group exhibition in the Main Gallery celebrating selected work from CalArts students.

The featured artists are: Carlos Rene Castro, Woohee Cho, Jorge Luis Figueroa, Salmah Beydoun, Omar Madkour, Carlie Daggett, Clare Morrissey, Courtney Loi, Oscar Ochoa, Hannah Rubin, Hector Salas, Kensaku Shinohara, Danielle Trent, Seok-Young Yang and Tom Zhang.

This event was conceptualized by the current team of ArtChangeUS fellows and features work in several mediums from both the BFA and MFA level. ArtChangeUS began by sending out an open call to the CalArts community, which asked four guiding questions around art-making, marginalized voices, culture, change and protest. 

The jury, composed of ArtChangeUS fellows and core staff as well as members of the CalArts Student Union, carefully selected 12 projects to be featured in the exhibition. In a statement, the ArtChangeUS team notes:

The pieces from these artists respond to our contemporary moment, engaging with themes such as predatory lottery ticket practices in Latinx communities, gender and femininity in present-day Korea, the need for decriminalization of sex work, and the healing power of communal grief. The works take shape as multimedia installations, visual art, video pieces, durational and site-specific performance, writing and more.

Each artist will each receive a $100 prize towards the completion of their proposed project or performance. After the conclusion of the exhibition, one artist will be awarded a grand prize of $500.

The pieces in Art + Activism will be on view from Dec. 1 – 7. The official opening, during which select performances will be realized, takes place on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 8 – 10 pm, also in the Main Gallery.

Lead by Roberta Uno, ArtChangeUS is a five-year initiative housed at CalArts dedicated to embracing the cultural assets of demographic change. Its fellowship is offered to several MFA students at CalArts and gives them the opportunity to take on roles in development, curation and organizing.