Tuesday 7 February, 2017, from 7 pm, at Alice Yard
Puerto Rican artist
Sofía Gallisá Muriente, co-director of the art space Beta-Local, is currently artist in residence at Alice Yard, where she has been in conversation with curator and writer
Nimah Muwakil-Zakuri. On 7 February, 2017, they will share their respective projects that engage with complex personal histories through affective archives. The evening’s events will include an installation of archival, visual, and video materials, and a public conversation.
All are invited.
About the projects:
Sofía Gallisá Muriente’s
Searching for The Shadow (
Buscando La Sombra) is a long-term effort to recover the historical and affective memory of Carlos “La Sombra” Torres Meléndez, founder of the Pro-Inmates Rights Association, or los “Ñetas”, organised in prisons throughout Puerto Rico and the world. The investigation is rooted in the memories of people who knew him, combining their stories and personal archives with documents from formal archives and video works produced during the research process to generate a portrait that incorporates subjectivities, languages, and forms. Through public events, exhibitions, publications and conversations, the project serves as resource and reference, while also amplifying the implications of the subject matter and form, from a current perspective.
Gallisá Muriente is a visual artist who works mainly with video, photography, text, and installation. She earned a BFA at New York University (2008) and has participated in experimental pedagogical projects such as Anhoek School and La Práctica at Beta-Local as student, tutor, and fellow. She was awarded an emerging artist grant from TEOR/éTica in Costa Rica, where she had a solo show in 2015. Her work has also been shown in the Bronx Latin American Art Biennial; San Juan Polygraphic Triennial; at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions; the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires; and the Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis. She is currently one of the co-directors of Beta-Local, an organisation dedicated to supporting critical and aesthetic thought and practices in Puerto Rico.
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Nimah Muwakil-Zakuri writes: “Twenty-seven years ago, a group of young Muslim men attempted to overthrow the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Their story, that story, has been told and retold and told again, but always through the voices of the men involved (on both sides). These men, however, had wives whose stories have never really been told. They are a voiceless group who do have a story to tell. I want to explore ways in which that story can be explored and shared. How can this side of the story be told in a constructive and reconciliatory manner? What methods and approaches are best suited to exploring these difficult topics?”
Muwakil-Zakuri is an art history graduate from the Universidad de Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, and also holds an MPhil in cultural studies from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. She held the post of Head Curator at Trinidad and Tobago’s National Museum and Art Gallery for three years, and is now the Curator of the Central Bank Money Museum and Art Collection (2013-present). She has an interest in art archiving as well as the development of museum and art education programmes that may be used to approach difficult social topics and histories.
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