5/1/19
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ (MCLA) Gallery 51 is pleased
to announce that “The Rhythm of Hybrid Interactions” will open on Thursday May 23,
2019. The public is invited to attend a free opening reception on Thursday, May 23,
from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gallery 51.
“Bahamian-born artist Anina Major looks to have us think about one’s cultural identity through her work. Her work combines weaving, mixed media with the creation of clay objects that uphold the traditions and rituals of her background but puts a modern/contemporary take on the work,” said Arthur De Bow, curator of MCLA’s Gallery 51.
“There are ideas and traditions that are becoming lost over time, so I’m looking for ways to make those things anew” says Major, “Not as a way of mimicking the past, but as a way of involving the past in the present and nodding back to it, through my art.”
“The Rhythm of Hybrid Interactions” will run at Gallery 51 from Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, June 22, 2019.
Artist Statement: THE RHYTHM OF HYBRID INTERACTIONS
To trace, connect and comprehend the movement of self across boundaries within this world, inevitably influences our concept of self. In the formation of identity, the expansion of our narrow understandings of self offers lessons in unresolved tensions of belonging. Layered personal investigations into history, memory, temporality and aesthetics often transcends beyond diaspora borders. Contemplating the ways in which inherited craft embodies culture and the act of making contributes to thoughts of belonging, I carry forward the plaiting taught by my grandmother and the universal languages of weaving learned along my journey. The weaving traditions based on anthropological research, as well as contemporary practices employed reflect on migration, national identity and agency through materiality. By uncovering connections among geographically and culturally distinct places, I dismantle and rebuild commonplace understandings that compose our sense of community. Tapestries act as subjective record keeping and sculptural objects hold tradition and transformation by absorbing and processing the world around me. Each captures the essence of human connections through shared experiences by honoring ancestral legacies and celebrating the poetics of inter-cultural relations. -Anina Major
MCLA Gallery 51 is a program of MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center. The gallery is open Monday- Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 413-662-5320 or go to www.mcla.edu/gallery51.
MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC) provides opportunities, resources, and support to the Northern Berkshire Community. BCRC brings together the Northern Berkshire , MCLA and greater Creative Communities through its cultural programming including: MCLA Gallery 51, Downstreet Art, B-Hip, and MCLA Presents! We will promote, facilitate, and encourage a dialogue in order to foster a sustainable creative community. BCRC is a collaborative project of MCLA, MASS MoCA, and the City of North Adams.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is the Commonwealth's public liberal arts college and a campus of the Massachusetts state university system. MCLA promotes excellence in learning and teaching, innovative scholarship, intellectual creativity, public service, applied knowledge, and active and responsible citizenship. MCLA graduates are prepared to be practical problem solvers and engaged, resilient global citizens.
For more information, go to www.mcla.edu.
