Editor’s note: this article has been updated to fix incorrect information about the dates of “Current Seen.”
Whenever Rochesterians applaud the richness of the arts in
this region, they also tend to loudly lament the lack of resources
dedicated to the arts, the diminishing opportunities for arts writers, and the
fact that so many young artists feel they need to seek better opportunities in
bigger cities. In the past year or so, several groups of culturally-focused
individuals and institutions have stepped up, organizing some new approaches to
inject fresh energy into solving this puzzle. The newest of these hopeful
endeavors, “Current Seen,” kicks off in earnest on October 4, pulling together
loads of artists, curators, institutions, and venues to present more than 25
projects at 16 sites.
“Current
Seen” is the most recent iteration of the many-headed beast that evolved from
the Rochester Biennial. In 2017 Rochester Contemporary Arts Center inherited
the Biennial from the Memorial Art Gallery and immediately restructured its
model. What had long been an invitational showcase of six regional artists
became a multi-venue series of exhibits geared toward encouraging collaboration
between small galleries, promoting challenging work, and exploring new
curatorial models.
This year, with
RoCo as a lead organizer once again, the biennial has further evolved into and
even more complex network of contemporary visual arts exhibitions, pop-ups, and
installations of new public art that will unfold along East Avenue and Main
Street, opening Friday, October 4, and continuing through mid-November. This particular
geographic focus is meant to addresses the corridor as both a dividing line and
a connective thread, Rochester Contemporary Executive Director Bleu Cease tells
CITY.
“Biennials
and Triennials have long been art world touchpoints for big names, grand installations,
and art-market trends,” Cease says. “‘Current Seen’ is intended to support the
region’s growing contemporary art community by bringing new curatorial voices
and new artworks together in Downtown Rochester,” and infusing global conversations
with local voices.
Fostering
collaboration is a smart move, with the potential to increase the impact that
each of the parts has on the whole audience. And participants can also learn
from one another: the exhibitions and events are organized by both experienced
and emerging curators and will be held at well-established and lesser-visited
venues as well as spots that don’t come to mind when you think “art show.”
One “Current
Seen” exhibit opened during the summer at Central Library’s Rundel
Memorial Building. Curated by Rochester Institute of Technology professors
Hinda Mandell and Juilee Decker, “Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and
Activism” presents a collection of subversive embroidery, soft sculpture,
quilts, and other resistance art, and is on view through October 25.
Other
exhibition will open and events will be held at venues that are known for their
cultural impacts, including the Visual Studies Workshop, RIT City Art Space, the
Little Theatre, 540WMain Communiversity, and Joy Gallery. But curators will
also create pop-ups in Parcel 5, where artists will use the site’s gravel to
create a mandala; at Greenwood Books, where visitors can search for artists’
books embedded in the stacks; and at a liquor store at 128 West Main Street,
where experimental video art made from video game footage by dozens of artists
will fill the windows. Public art along East Avenue and Main Street includes
new work by San Francisco-based artist Michael Goldman/Consolidated Studios,
New York City-based artist Stephon Senegal, Binghamton-based artist Colin
Lyons, and Rochester-based artists Megan Sullivan, W. Michelle Harris, Thievin’
Stephen, Shawn Dunwoody, and others.
But “Current
Seen” is meant to be more than just a more inclusive version of First Friday
mass art openings. Yes, there’s a huge emphasis on promoting art exhibits and
installations that tackle crucial issues, but an important goal of the whole
endeavor is to facilitate lasting community discussions about art, public
space, and social engagement.
Toward this
end, “Current Seen” organizers have put together a schedule of events including
a Rochester Art Collectors walking tour on Friday, October 11; an Anti-Racist
East West Walk on Saturday, October 12, with Frederick Douglass Family
Initiatives; a screening of the film “Whose Streets, Our Streets” on Saturday,
October 19 at Douglass Auditorium; and The State of Art Writing panel talk on
Thursday, October 24, at Rochester Contemporary (full disclosure: I am one the
folks on the panel). Additionally, there will be a series of Thursday evening “think
and drink” after parties that will be announced during the run of the exhibits.
Rochester
Contemporary will also host an art community forum with Democratic County
Executive candidate Adam Bello on Saturday, October 7, at 7pm. The event is
meant to be non-partisan, organizers say, and Republican County Executive
Cheryl Dinolfo, who is running for reelection, was also invited.
Ultimately,
“Current Seen” is an experiment, Cease says, posing many questions: “Can the
visual arts connect people across a divided city? Is an art biennial outside of
a major metropolitan area capable of elevating the conversation around
contemporary art and engaging wider audiences? Will visitors and residents come
together in downtown Rochester to learn from curators and discover new visual
artists?”
The
organizers are hopeful, and Cease refers to the “Current Seen” collaboration as
both proof of the community’s abilities, and also, a nudge.
Rebecca Rafferty is CITY’s Arts & Entertainment Editor. She can be reached at becca@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2019.
