Bronx River Art Center presents:

Katrina and the Waves
of its Diaspora
New Orleans and Gulf Coast artists
in New York City

Exhibition Runs
May 12th- June 17th, 2006

Opening reception
Friday May 12th 6-9pm

Closing reception
Saturday June 17th 3- 5pm.

Gallery Hours
Monday-Friday 2:30-6:30
Saturday 11-5

Bronx, NY……. The Bronx River Art Center is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by 13 transplanted New Orleans and Gulf Coast Artists. This group exhibition, curated by Aristides Logothetis, brings focus to the fervent, diverse, and ongoing community responses to Katrina through new paintings, photographs, sculptures, video and installations. The exhibition will open to the public with a reception from 6 -9 PM on Friday, May 12th.

The devastation caused by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has caused many Gulf
Coast artists to be without homes and studios. In response, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council has created a one-time, emergency residency providing studio space, living stipends and funding to 14 artists from the region. This significant response enables these artists to continue making art in a supportive environment and provides an opportunity to rebuild their Gulf Coast community in TriBeCa

“Katrina and the Waves of its Diaspora” brings New Yorkers and Bronx residents an opportunity to see this excellent group of artists and the work they made in New York City. This very same area that suffered so profoundly during 9/11 is now in turn offering aid and nurture to artists from New Orleans. Just as the nation opened its heart to us, New York City has responded quickly and significantly to the needs of Katrina survivors.

This exhibition supports the cross-pollination of ideas and furthers the dialogue about how individuals respond to disasters and how we collectively as a nation take in and respond to disasters and recovery. This select group of artists is making innovative and compelling works. Works that signify memory, sadness, skepticism, and loss, but also hope. Using a variety of media, these artists are making works profound in their craft, poignant in their depth, and telling in their urgency.-A L

The Artsists:

• Elizabeth Bick is a conceptual documentary photographer. 'The Sacred', completed in New Orleans in 2005, is a noted body of work surrounding themes of divine intervention and possession.

• Christine Catsifas received her MFA, in Transmedia, from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. She continues to work between media including 3D modeling, video, photography and information-based works. She also participates in extensive collaborative efforts with artist Kyle Riedel.

• Stephen Collier received his BA from the University of New Orleans. He lives and works in New Orleans and New York. His video piece Roshambo: A Game of Honor No. 1 won first place in the 2004 20" x 20" x 20" A Compact Show held at Louisiana State University.

• Beth Dary is a mixed media artist originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She has a BFA from Syracuse University and an MFA from Memphis College of Art. Beth has exhibited throughout the United States and was most recently curated into the "Louisiana Contemporary Art" exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

• Clifton Faust After receiving his BFA in photography from the Academy of art in San Francisco he returned to New Orleans. While living in Louisiana during the past 7 years, Clifton has exhibited his work in galleries, museums and art festivals.

• Shawn Hall received her MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art where she was a Patricia Harris Fellow. Exhibitions include the Contemporary Art Center, Barrister’s and Jonathan Ferrara in New Orleans, Wolfson Gallery at Miami Dade, N.A.M.E. and Christopher Stokes in Chicago.

• Chris Jahncke was born in New Orleans 1972, he studied at the Atlanta College of Art for his BFA and then went on to receive a Louisiana State Fellowship to study at the University of New Orleans where he recieved his Masters.

• Vidho Lorville moved to New Orleans from Haiti (via New York) in 2001. His work contains social and political comments in response to the development of contemporary urbanization and its indirect effect on subcultures within urban environments.

• Rachel Perkoff was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She moved to NYC to study theater at NYU and Hunter College. She worked professionally for many years as an actor in the Obie award winning, multi- media theatre Co. “Ridge ”.

• Julie Anne Pieri received her BFA from the University of New Orleans and had begun working on her MFA at the her Alma-Ata until Hurricane Katrina swooped her up to the Gulf Coast Artist in Residency Program. Her performance-based videos have screened at the New Orleans Film & Video Festival and the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.

• Christopher Saucedo was born in Brooklyn, New York where he grew up. He received his BFA from New York’s School of Visual Arts and his MFA from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Saucedo has exhibited his artwork throughout the United States and abroad, with recent exhibitions at the Ormeau Baths Gallery in Belfast, The Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Missouri and the New Orleans Museum Of art.

• Christy Speakman was born in New Orleans, spending her childhood between Louisiana and her mother’s home in Caribbean Honduras. She recently received her M.F.A. from Ohio University resulting in a photographic and video installation dealing with post-colonial and feminist views of the landscape.

• Dan Tague attended grad school at the University of New Orleans where he received his MFA. After graduate school, he remained in New Orleans where he established his studio and curated exhibitions throughout the city. Tague has shown around the country as well as Austria and Italy.

Bio's for all artists available upon request .

Space for LMCC’s Gulf Coast Residency is generously donated by Trinity Real Estate. LMCC’s Gulf Coast Residency is made possible through a lead grant from American Express Company. Additional support provided by Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Sanford Smith and Jill Bokor, Surdna Foundation, Time Warner Inc., and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Digital Photographs are available upon request to llessner@bronxriverart.org

Travel Directions:
Train: IRT # 2 or 5 to East Tremont Ave. Walk one block east.
Bus: #s 9, 21, 36, 40, 42, or Q44 to East Tremont and Boston Road.
Car: Bruckner Expressway to the Sheridan Expressway and exit at Tremont Ave., or Cross Bronx Expressway to Rosedale Ave. Exit.

Credits:
This program is made possible with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts a state agency. Additional support is provided by The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development and the Department of Cultural Affairs and it’s Material for the Arts program; Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. and The Bronx Delegation of the City Council. Corporate and foundation support includes: Time Warner; Youth Media and Arts Fund; The Carnegie Corporation; The New York Community Trust and The Helena Rubinstein Foundation. Additional support is provided by JP Morgan Chase through the New York State Multi Arts Consortium (NYMAC); the Ford Foundation through the Bronx Council on the Arts and the generosity of our patrons. This exhibition is supported in part with funds from the Strategic Opportunity Stipends Program through NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS and NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS, administered in Mid Hudson by Garrison Art Center.


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