From April 5 to May 15, visitors to the campus will encounter a new, outdoor public art exhibition that stretches along the Lefton Esplanade between downtown Kent and the University Library. ǰ/ǰ” addresses the imbalances and inequalities of global import/export systems. Artists from around the world were chosen based on how their works reflect the impact of these systems on their local spaces. The exhibition sheds light on topics related to migration, tourism, natural resources, agriculture, manufactured goods, digital information and cultural expressions.
Curated by J. Leigh Garcia and Joseph L. Underwood, Ph.D., faculty members in Kent State’s School of Art, this exhibition features the works of 25 selected artists. Each artist’s image is printed onto an 84-by-60-inch canvas and stretched over a metal frame for display throughout campus. The exhibition will be accompanied by a virtual lecture by exhibition juror and artist Dawit L. Petros from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at noon on Friday, April 23.
ǰ/ǰ” is a free, public outdoor exhibition located throughout the Kent State campus spanning the Lefton Esplanade, the pathway that runs through campus and connects the campus to downtown Kent. Public parking can be found in the Kent Student Center visitor’s lot and in downtown Kent.
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The selected artists of the exhibition are:
Alejandro T. Acierto (USA/Philippines), Samar Baiomy (Egypt), Noah Breuer (USA), Nene Aïssatou Diallo (USA/Guinea), Alexis Duque (Colombia/USA), Eric J. Garcia (USA), Lucas Gibson (Brazil), Kelvin Haizel (Ghana), Koon-Hwee Kan (Singapore), Kai Löffelbein (Germany), Jorge López Muñoz (Spain), Firoz Mahmud (Bangladesh), Roberto Torres Mata (USA/Mexico), Kristine Mifsud (Latvia/Canada), Dilara Miller (USA/Turkey), Hend Moaaz (Egypt), Mpho Mokgadi (South Africa), Jonathan Paljor (India), Alice Penda (Cameroon), Jenny Rafalson (Israel), Gisela Ramirez (Mexico/USA), Russel Hlongwane & João Roxo (South Africa & Mozambique), Olya Salimova (Russia/USA), Wendi Valladares (Mexico/USA) and Ge Wang (USA/China).
The ǰ/ǰ” exhibition is sponsored by Kent State’s Global Understanding Research Initiative, which focuses on the impact of globalization, the ubiquity of communication technologies connecting diverse populations and the growing movement of people across national borders.
For more information regarding the ǰ/ǰ” exhibition and lecture, please visit www.kent.edu/guri/importexport-exhibition.
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Media Contacts:
J. Leigh Garcia, jgarci31@kent.edu
Joseph Underwood, junder18@kent.edu