Nov. 28th – Jan. 7th
¿Qué Pasa, USA? features the work of eleven national artists that considers a broad spectrum of experiences reflecting and responding, specifically through humor, absurdity, and joy, to what it means to be a citizen in this country today. Taking its title from the late 1970s bilingual sitcom of the same name, and in the ethos of culturally specific sitcoms, the artists in this exhibition challenge dominant narratives through lightheartedness and candor to highlight nuanced experiences of difference, and expand definitions of identity in relationship to our American citizenry.
Informed by their lived experience in the U.S., each artist in the exhibition presents a different approach to addressing and deepening identity. Through abstracting and translating cultural symbols and materials they reflect on the “Other” in a society that values and privileges Whiteness above all. From video installation to site-specific fiber works, the exhibition weaves a range of narratives together to complicate our collective story.
For photos of the event, check out our flickr.
Additional Exhibition Programming
POC Arts Alliance, Meeting 1 and Listening Roundtable
Saturday, December 3, 2016, 2PM – 5PM
la Esquina (1000 W 25th Street)
Roundtable Discussion: Visibility / Invisibility: Issues Around Representation
Led by Lynnette Miranda, Silvia Beatriz Abisaab, and special guests
Saturday, December 10 2016, 3-4:30PM
la Esquina (1000 W 25th Street)
POC Arts Alliance Meeting 2, Closing Potluck + Roundtable Discussion – Facilitated by Lynnette Miranda
Saturday, January 7, 2017, 2 – 5PM
la Esquina (1000 W 25th Street)
¿Qué Pasa, USA? hosts a monthly meet-up for self-identifying POCs working in creative fields to address critical issues at the intersection of art and social change, share resources, support one another, and grow community together.
In addition, commissioned essays by the following respected writers accompany the exhibition:
Don’t Tread On Us — Disrupting Symbols of Cultural Assimilation
Patricia Bordallo Dibildox, Artist and Writer – Kansas City, MO
Managing Editor, Informality Blog; Partner, Sight Review
Between Here and There — Personal Histories and the Anxieties of Existing at the Margins
Derek Macario, Artist and Writer – San Francisco, CA
Founder, San Francisco Art & Culture Channel
Making Space for Magic: Joy as a Vehicle for Survival
Anthony D. Stepter, Curator and Organizer – Chicago, IL
Graduate Program Coordinator for Museum and Exhibition Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
Loose Threads — Weaving Latinx narratives of Hybridity and Multiplicity
Charlie Tatum, Curator and Writer – New Orleans, LA
Editorial and Communications Manager, Pelican Bomb
Carlos Ortiz-Gallo on Memory and Loss in Immigrant Narratives
Mary Kuvet, Writer
Jacquelyn Carmen Guerrero (Re)discovers Her Afro-Caribbean Roots through Spirituality and Ritual
Amy Hixon, Writer
Maya Grace Misra on Decentering American Emblems and Iconography
Isaac Logsdon, Writer
Melissa Leandro Constructs Narratives of Hybridity Through Experimental Textiles
Natalie Spicker, Writer
Silvia Beatriz Abisaab Uses Portraits and Conversation to Uncover Personal Stories
Sam Stevens, Writer
