In the first of two long-form conversations contextualizing​ Platform 2016:​ Lost & Found, curators Ishmael Houston-Jones and Will Rawls host a discussion of the Platform’s origins in an afternoon interspersed with performa​nce. In search of an intergenerational discussion around artistic influence, portraiture, and performed history, Lost ​& Found has provided four performers with “dossiers” consisting of images, flyers, biographies, documentation, and other ephemera​ to explore the act of reconstructing, or responding to, the life, work, and mythology of​​ artists who have passed away.

1:30-2:30pm: LOST: Curating Absence​:​ an overview of Platform 2016: Lost & Found with Ishmael Houston-Jones and Will Rawls moderated by Judy Hussie-Taylor. Curators discuss the late John Bernd and his work as the original impetus for the Platform, and address the evolving curatorial process of the last three years.

2:45pm: “Life Drawing” Response #1: Mariana Valencia responding to the work of Assotto Saint (1957-1994)​.

3-4pm: FOUND: Feminism, AIDS, and History​: Heidi Dorow, Muna Tseng, Lucy Sexton, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, moderated by Ali Rosa-Salas. In her article “Doing Queer Love,” Lisa Deidrich writes about the relationship between feminism and AIDS activism, trying “to think through the ways that the coming together of these two struggles in a particular place and time—New York City in the 1980s—created particular practices that might be effective in other times and places.” This conversation brings together four artists who will discuss their relationships to feminism, queer activism and AIDS activism from the 1980s to the present.

4:15pm: “Life Drawing” Response #2: Raja Feather Kelly responding to the work of Ethyl Eichelberger (1945-1990)​.

4:30-5pm: Lecture/performance by Darrell Jones.

5:30-6pm: Wrap-Up with Mariana Valencia, Darrell Jones, Raja Feather Kelly, and all panelists.

“Life Drawings” Responses propose an intergenerational discussion around artistic influence, portraiture, and performed history, Lost and Found has provided four performers with “dossiers” consisting of images, flyers, biographies, documentation, and other ephemera. Responding to these dossiers, Raja Feather Kelly, Mariana Valencia, Narcissister, and Katy Pyle explore the act of reconstructing, or responding to, the life, work, and mythology of Ethyl Eichelberger (1945-1990), Assotto Saint (1957-1994), Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), and Greer Lankton (1958-1996). Considering these live events as a cross between performance and presentation, the Platform encourages these artists to approach the embodiment of widely-known or unsung artists through an exploration of their own artistic questions.

Part of PLATFORM 2016: Lost and Found
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