Pilot Projects: Art. Response. Now.

Image credit: Kara E. Walker, “8 Possible Beginnings or: The Creation of African-America,” 16mm transferred to video (black and white, sound), 15 mins. 57 secs, 2005, Courtesy of Kadist Foundation and artist.

In March 2020, the museum underwent a hiatus unprecedented in its history with the closure of the state due to Covid-19. At that moment, we found ourselves having to innovate and radically re-imagine the museum's role in the digital realm.

When George Floyd was killed on May 25th, the Black Lives Matter movement mobilized efforts that have been in the works for years, calling for racial justice and accountability across all systems in America. This led to a nationwide reckoning of museums to address racial and social justice within their walls.

We are now living in a world that is questioning what museums will look like in the future. While our museum has had a long-standing commitment to social justice, this particular moment urges us to prototype a series of tactics that can lead to innovative solutions. Pilot Projects is an institutional initiative that emerged from our unique ability as a university art museum to be adaptive and experimental. Our role is to position artists at the center of these conversations. To this end, we are launching a year-long series of interventions called Pilot Projects: Art. Response. Now.

To begin the series, from September to October we will open two galleries for film screenings and weekly conversations. In Gallery 1, we will show eight videos by eight artists whose work addresses racial and social justice issues through their own unique lenses and varying life experiences. In Gallery 2, we looked to our collection and selected two artworks by African American artists Lorna Simpson and Sonya Clark to bring this discussion to our gallery walls. 

Video schedule:

Sept 5–12: Jason De León, “Hostile Terrain 94: A Moment of Global Remembrance"

Sept 15–19: La Morena (Lucinda Yrene Hinojos), “La Morena”

Sept 22–26: Virgil Ortiz, “ReVOlution: Rise Against the Invasion”

Sept 29–Oct 3: Gregory Sale, “Future IDs at Alcatraz”

Oct 6–Oct 10: stephanie mei huang, “yellow porcelain,” “white vegetable,” “the border is a private space” and “the foul lump in my throat”

Oct 13–17: Roberto Lugo, “Without Wax”

Oct 20–24: Kara Walker, “8 Possible Beginnings or: The Creation of African-America”

Oct 27–Nov. 7: Edgar Arceneaux, “Until, Until, Until…”

To ensure the well-being of all our visitors and staff, we ask that you please comply with our new ASU and city guidelines to keep all of us safe. Reserve your free timed-entry tickets and learn more about our new guidelines before visiting.

Image credit: Kara E. Walker, “8 Possible Beginnings or: The Creation of African-America,” 16mm transferred to video (black and white, sound), 15 mins. 57 secs, 2005, Courtesy of Kadist Foundation and artist.

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https://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/
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ASU Art Museum