Oprah recently gave an inspiring speech, and suddenly people began calling for her to make a 2020 bid and fix this nation’s ills. With this in mind, Rachel DeGuzman of 21st Century Arts has continued her crucial “At the Crossroads: Art + Justice” programming this month with a four-part series, “Black Magic Slays Magical Negro,” […]
Art
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What about the survivors?
Tina Starr’s multimedia exhibit and performance ‘Like a Kiss’ confronts the epidemic of rape and assault
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Artists reflect on Frederick Douglass’s words and legacy in ‘No Soil Better’
Americans spent a chunk of 2017 grappling with taking down monuments to Confederate figures. As the US commemorates the 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass’s chosen birthday this year, many of Rochester’s discussions are centered on the 1899 Stanley Edwards monument of Douglass that has served as a tribute of his potent words and tireless work. […]
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Lumiere Photo is back; The Yards winter art residency kicks off
Following a heart attack in February 2017, Lumiere Photo founder Bill Edwards came to the grim conclusion that he had to close up shop in the end of March. Lumiere remained partially operational for months while Edwards focused on healing and discussed selling the business to potential buyers. Throughout 2017 Lumiere still offered digital printing […]
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‘NARTCAN’ addresses the pain and oblivion of addiction
Sorrow and angry grief smacked my brain when I saw the work in the addiction-themed group show currently up at AXOM Gallery. This past summer, when I was moving the last of my belongings into the house I currently live in, I paused setting things up to gather around a backyard fire with my new […]
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‘And, Ain’t I a Woman’ conversation focuses on intersectionality
While there are a limited (but important) amount of concrete things we can do to challenge racist and sexist national policies, our ability to creatively tackle inequity on local levels is just about boundless. Arts community organizer Rachel DeGuzman is continuing her series of creative forums, “At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersection of Art and […]
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RoCo marks 40 years with Members Show, lights mortgage on fire
Rochester Contemporary Art Center this weekend will celebrate 40 years in operation with its 27th Annual Members Exhibition, opening Friday, December 1, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and with a Mortgage Burning Bash to be held on Saturday, December 2. The organization began as Pyramid Arts Center in 1977 and became Rochester Contemporary in 2000. This year’s […]
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VSW stages John Cage’s open-ended ‘Variations III’
Twenty-five years after his passing, John Cage remains an enigmatic and largely misunderstood musical and artistic figure in the public consciousness. The trailblazing composer is often seen as a solitary, almost shamanic philosopher-artist, perhaps best known for his highly conceptual “silent” composition “4′ 33”,” written for a single performer who never plays a note. Visual […]
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Indigenous Environmental Activism in Art
MCC’s Mercer Gallery hosts exhibit of Indigenous visual activism to raise awareness about threats to the environment
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No guidebooks, no masters
Shawnee Hill, Patrick Kinz-Thompson, Rebecca Lomuto, and Margaret Storms push their artwork outside conventional bounds
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2 Loud Cows turns an acre and a barn into DIY space
When artist Aaron Delehanty relocated from Chicago to Rochester last autumn, he immediately wanted to get acquainted with other makers in the art scene. Though his bread-and-butter occupation was familiar — he had been an artist on staff at Chicago’s Field Museum, and moved to take a job as a staff artist at the Rochester […]
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Cthulhu and Krampus and Kaiju, oh my
When Matt Roberts proposed a monster-themed group show to some of his art homies, “unadulterated overkill” was the aesthetic directive he gave them. The resulting exhibit is a week-long pop-up show at Makers Gallery and Studio Space. The show is bookended by an opening party, which took place last Saturday, and a closing reception and […]
