For Freedoms 50 State Initiative

SPACE is pleased to present a work by Christopher Myers in the window gallery as a part of FOR FREEDOMS 50 STATE INITIATIVE project.

Christopher Myers is an artist and writer who lives in New York. While he is widely acclaimed for his work with literature for young people, he is also an accomplished fine artist who has lectured and exhibited internationally. He writes, “I’ve been asking the question lately, ‘What does it mean to be an artist whose work is rooted in the experience of global cultural exchange?”

More than the simple small-world market-driven exchanges that mark some artists, whose practices are rooted in the anthropological or outsourcing models of cultural exchange, he is interested in the aesthetic bridges that have been built organically across cultures, classes, and geographies, and has been creating work in those in-between spaces for years. His practice can be divided into two categories, work by his own hands that lives in the syncretic, the hybrid, and the improvised, and collaborations with artisans from around the globe, extending the conversation of cultural movement across continents and artistic milieus.

He has worked with traditional shadow puppet makers in Jogjakarta, silversmiths in Khartoum, conceptual video artists in Vietnam, young musicians in New Orleans, woodcarvers in Accra, weavers in Luxor and many other artists, who he sees as all being part of one large conversation about the movement of culture, and the ways that languages are borrowed globally, traded from South to South, in order to address the specific local concerns of people that have been thrust into contexts that range far beyond their locality.

Follow Christopher Myers on Instagram – @kalyban

photo credit: Justin Levesque

For Freedoms is a platform for greater participation in the arts and in civil society. For Freedoms started in 2016 as a platform for civic engagement, discourse, and direct action for artists in the United States. Inspired by Norman Rockwell’s 1943 paintings of the four universal freedoms articulated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear— For Freedoms seeks to use art to deepen public discussions of civic issues and core values, and to clarify that citizenship in American society is deepened by participation, not by ideology. For Freedom is part of a rich history of artists employing means of mass communication to provoke political discourse. For Freedom believes art, and artists, play an important role in galvanizing our society towards a more representative and transparent government.

Since 2016, For Freedoms has produced special exhibition, town hall meetings, billboards, and lawn sign installations to spur greater participation in civic life. This year, For Freedoms launched its 50 State Initiative, a new phase of programming to encourage broad participation and inspire conversation around November’s midterm elections.

Building off of the existing artistic infrastructure in the United States, For Free Freedoms has developed a network of over 300 artists and 200 institutional partners who will produce nationwide public art installations, exhibitions and local community dialogues in order to inject nuanced, artistic thinking into public discourse. Centered around the vital work of artists, For Freedoms hopes that these exhibitions and related projects will model how arts institutions can become civic forums for action and discussion of values, place, and patriotism.

For Freedoms believes citizenship is defined by participation, not by ideology. For Freedoms believes art can be a vehicle that broaden participation and deepens public discussions of civic issues and core values. For Freedoms is a hub for other artists and arts institutions who want to be more engaged in public life.

Follow For Freedoms on Instagram – @forfreedoms