Transcommunality: Laura Anderson Barbata, Collaboration Beyond Borders was an exhibition that documented the work of Mexican-born, New York-based artist Laura Anderson Barbata; focusing on the decade-long project she has pursued with stilt-walking communities in Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and Brooklyn. Her project highlights the vitality of the moko jumbie stilt walking tradition and demonstrates the possibility of using this storied art form as a platform for social contemporary performance, group participation and protest. Spanning from 17 feet tall to just 11 inches small, the works presented in the exhibition range from textile-based to sculptural objects, as well as photographs, videos, and projections that document the collaborative projects. Overall, the exhibition was comprised of approximately 60 pieces including over 20 towering dressed figures and 23 alebrijes (miniature wooden figures). A traveling exhibition, the presentation of Transcommunality at BRIC House will be the inaugural showing in the United States.
Laura Anderson Barbata is known for her participatory, collaborative art, often involving partnerships with local artisans. The relationships forged with collaborators and the cultural exchanges that take place are the most important components for the artist. Transcommunality encompasses community art, public art, social intervention, performance and sculpture, focusing on an artist who has dedicated her practice to confronting the hierarchies of so-called “fine art” and popular art, craft and folk traditions. In 2011, she designed a performance with the Brooklyn Jumbies called Intervention: Wall Street, engaging in the Occupy Wall Street movement and the social and economic issues it raised.
Transcommunality: Laura Anderson Barbata, Collaboration Beyond Borders has previously been presented at the Centro de las Artes de Nuevo León, Monterrey; Museo de la Ciudad de México, México, D.F.; and Museo Textil de Oaxaca, México. The exhibition at BRIC House will be the first showing in the United States, after which it will travel to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where the project will be part of the spring 2015 Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program. It will subsequently continue in Europe.
BK Live 7/8/14: Transcommunality from Brooklyn Independent Media on Vimeo.
Generous support provided for this exhibition by Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Centro de Diseño de Oaxaca, La Curtiduría, Conaculta-Fonca, and Fomento Cultural Banamex.
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Venue Information:
The 3,000 square-foot Gallery in BRIC House has soaring 18-foot ceilings that permit major exhibitions focusing on emerging and mid-career artists and curators.
Beginning Nov. 1, 2022, attendees of any BRIC House programming will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the building. Masks are encouraged but not required in all BRIC operated spaces. If you have questions regarding this protocol, please email Safety@bricartsmedia.org