'Split Ends' is Hapening!!!

I would like to invite you to a public panel that I'm organizing entitled,
'Split Ends'- artists and places of conflict.
The panel will take place on February 13th, between 4-6 PM.
(Please find information below).




Dumbo Arts Center is delighted to welcome A.I.R. Gallery during the exhibition, PIXELVILLE, by Nivi Alroy and Shirley Shor, curated by Peter Frank.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A.I.R. Gallery presents "Split Ends," a public discussion at the Dumbo Arts Center (DAC)

30 Washington Street, Brooklyn New York
February 13, 2010, 4-6 PM
Moderated by Michael Connor
Organized by Nivi Alroy, 2008-2009 A.I.R. Fellow

Brooklyn NY, February 5, 2010 - A.I.R. Gallery is pleased to announce “Split Ends” a public panel with artists who come from places of conflict and/or whose work focuses on conflict. The panel will be held at the Dumbo Arts Center on Saturday, February 13 from 4pm to 6pm. The event brings together a diverse group of artists to meditate on issues of space and movement - both personal and national - in and across regions of violence and conflict, asking: How do images of space and movement in art manifest identity? Can art create an identity in a constant state of crisis?

The panel will be moderated by Michael Connor, (independent curator and founder of Marian Spore) and will include Neboja Seric Shoba, Mushon Zer Aviv, Hakan Topal, Sean Hemmermelle and Nivi Alroy. These artists work in a variety of media and disciplines: sculpture and installation, photography, new media and activism. In order to initiate a thread of creative exchange and mutual dialog between the artists and the audience the program will be presented in two parts. A brief visual presentation by each artist will be followed by a discussion among the panelists. The artists’ work will be examined in the context of critical issues from their regions including the presence of borders in an age of globalization and the (thin) line between art and activism.

Participating Artists:
Neboja Seric Shoba (http://www.shobaart.com) is a Sarajevo born New York based artist. His work ranges from photography and video to installation and painting. His work has been shown extensively all over the world. DAC will be presenting Shoba's first NYC solo exhibition, Battlefields, curated by Josh Altman, from March 6 - April 26, 2010.

Mushon Zer Aviv (http://www.mushon.com/) is a designer, an educator and a media activist from Tel-Aviv and based in New York. He is the co-founder of Shual.com and ShiftSpace.org two open source layers that function above any website and YouAreNotHere.org a dis-locative tourism agency. Mushon is an honorary resident at Eyebeam. He teaches at NYU and at Parsons, The New School of Design.

Hakan Topal (x-urban collective) (http://www.xurban.net/), is a New York based Anatolian video artist, activist and educator. He is the co-founder of Xurban_collective. His work has been exhibited internationally.

Sean Hemmermelle (http://www.seanhemmerle.com/) is an American award wining New York based photographer. He has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe. His work has been widely exhibited and has appeared on the pages of international Newspapers and magazines.

Nivi Alroy (http://nivialroy.com/ ) an Israeli New York based artist. Alroy is an interdisciplinary artist whose work ranges from sculptor and installation to drawing and performance. This panel was initiated as her mission project as part of her Fellowship in A.I.R gallery.

Michael Connor (moderator) (http:// michael-connor.com) is a writer and curator based in New York. He is the curator of 'Screen Worlds', a permanent exhibition about the history of the moving image in Melbourne, Australia and he is the founder of Marian Spore, an accumulative museum of contemporary art in Brooklyn.

The program will be held at Dumbo Arts Center, 30 Washington Street, Brooklyn New York February 13, 2010: 4-6PM. This panel is a part of PIXELVILLE, a site-specific installation by Shirley Shor and Nivi Alroy in Dumbo Arts Center. The event is a $10 suggested donation and is open to the public. The panel was initiated as Nivi Alroy’s fellowship project at A.I.R gallery. Click here to view images of the exhibition.

Founded in 1972, A.I.R. Gallery is the first all women’s artist-run gallery in the United States. This event is the Fellowship Project of NIvi Alroy. The A.I.R. Fellowship Program for Emerging and Under-represented Artists, in place since 1993, is an 18-month professional development program and solo show opportunity.

For more information contact: nivi@nivialroy.com

Structure

The panel will consist of a moderator, three Israeli
and three Arabartists working in various media, and coming
from diverse political and cultural backgrounds.
The program will be presented in three parts,
incorporating both panel and audience participation.
Following a brief visual presentation by each artist,
the panel will examine the artists work in context of critical
issues from the region.
The evening will finish with a question and answer period inviting
the audience into the conversation. Reception to follow.

By raising these questions, we strive to initiate a thread
of creative exchange and mutual dialogue between the artists.
Our goal is to promote forthright conversation in a challenging
and non-violent environment leading to a deeper understanding
between the Israeli and Arab communities in the United States and Middle East).

Split Ends-mission statement

In an attempt to bridge the gap between pluralism
and extreme ideologies,A.I.R. Gallery is hosting
an evening of public discussion between Israeli
and Palestinian artists.

This event aims to strengthen the ties between
Israeli and Palestinian artists by encouraging
meaningful conversation about the nature of art
and cultural identity in the Middle East.
Participating artists will explore the relationship
between their identities as individual artists
and their national identity as Israelis and Arabs.
How does the social and political environment
impact the artist and how does the art affect the environment?