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ANATOMISING THE MUSEUM: Contemporary Art & Museum Collections ANATOMISING THE MUSEUM brings together international artists, curators, researchers and museum professionals to probe at the effects of interventions and incisions in museum collections by contemporary artists. Valand Academy, Thursday 26 November 2015 at 09:00-18:30. Why are we encountering increased examples of museums engaging artists to work amidst or from their collections? How critical can artistic interventions in collections be when they most often occur at the invitation of the museum? What forms of critical curatorship are authored when museums engage artists to work amidst it practices? Are the procedures of the museum anatomised or consolidated through such projects? Through convergence of art-criticality and heritage-criticality this seminar investigates interpretation and intervention, critical curating and quasi-curatorial methods as effects and methods of artistic intervention in and through museum’s collections and their practices. Presenters: Lauren F. Adams, artist and Associate Professor, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (USA), Sara Barnes, independent curator (DE), Christine Borland, artist and Professor at Northumbria University (UK), Mary Coble, artist and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art, Valand Academy (SE), Martha Fleming, art and sciences specialist, Reading University (UK), Lisa Sputnes Mouwitz, Director of Gothenburg Medical History Museum, Matty Pye, Curator Adult Programme, V&A Museum (UK), Miranda Stearn, Head of Learning, The Fitzwilliam Museum (UK), and others. ANATOMISING THE MUSEUM is co-organised by the MFA: Fine Art Programme, Valand Academy, University of Gothenburg and Gothenburg Medical History Museum, Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Free but limited places. Book by email: denise.mellion@gu.se For more information: http://akademinvaland.gu.se/aktuellt/e/?eventId=3107746568]]>

Artist Lauren Frances Adams has been awarded a month-long residency in September 2015 at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. Based in the culturally diverse and historic city of New Orleans, the Joan Mitchell Center’s mission is to support local, national, and international contemporary visual artists. The Joan Mitchell Center is an artist residency center developed to offer both time and space for artists to create work in a contemplative environment. In addition to the artist residency and local artist studio programming, the Center curates and produces public programming that serves the broader community of New Orleans, and endeavors to serve as an incubator, conduit and resource for partnerships in the arts. Artists-in-Residence: Fall 2015 Lauren Adams Xenobia Bailey Julie Green Heather Hart Robert Hodge Lavar Munroe Shoshanna Weinberger For more information: http://joanmitchellfoundation.org/center/artist-in-residence PRESS: Artforum, “In New Orleans, Joan Mitchell Center Makes its Debut,” August 26, 2015]]>

I will be in residence at the Montello Foundation in northeastern Nevada in late August 2015. Montello Foundation is a foundation dedicated to support artists who foster our understanding of nature, its fragility and our need to protect it. The full list of artists in residence at Montello this summer: • Lauren Adams, Baltimore • Tyler Beard, Denver • Max Bellamy, New Zealand • Kyla Hansen, Los Angeles • Regin Igloria, Chicago • Katie Miller, Seattle • Soyoung Shin, Los Angeles • Lauren Strohacker, Scottsdale • Annie Varnot, New York • Allison Wiese, San Diego • Letha Wilson, New York]]>

July 18, 2015 through August 22, 2015 Opening reception: Saturday, July 18, 2015, 7pm-10pm Guest Spot @ THE REINSTITUTE, 1715 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD

Guest Spot @ THE REINSTITUTE  and TRANSMITTER (NYC) are excited to announce a collaborative group exhibition titled Self-Organized — Aesthetic Politics of The Artist Run.  The exhibition will be on view from July 17th through August 22nd at Guest Spot @ THE REINSTITUTE, with an opening on Saturday, July 18, 2015 from 7pm-10pm. Self-Organized — Aesthetics Politics of the Artist Run will also be featured at a satellite booth in The Artist Run Fair that will run congruently with the show’s opening weekend. The booth will be on the ground floor at The Artist Run Fair (1714 N. Charles Street, Baltimore) Friday July 17th through July 19th. Hours will be Friday and Saturday, 11am-9pm and Sunday, 11am-6pm. The Artist Run Fair is organized by Open Space and BOPA.

“The current economic situation and society’s low confidence in its institutions has suddenly demanded artists become more imaginative in the way they organize themselves. If labels such as ‘alternative’, ‘non-profit’ and ‘artist-run’ dominate the self organized art scene that emerged in the late 1990s, the separatist position implied by the use of these terms has been moderated during intervening years. The new anthology of accounts from the front line includes contributions by artists, as well as their institutional counterparts, that provide a fascinating account of the art world as matrix of interconnected positions where the balance of power and productivity constantly shift.” Occasional Table – Self-Organized We are excited for the opportunity to focus our programming around one of the most influential methods of contemporary cultural production, the self-organized initiative. Self-Organized — Aesthetic Politics of The Artist Run is a group exhibition inspired by a published collection of perspectives on this topic, also entitled Self-Organized. The exhibition will feature the work of co-founders and directors of artist run spaces, along with relevant publications from Baltimore, New York City, and beyond. This exhibit module is a survey of influential spaces, examining the aesthetic and political aspirations of the directors’ work and how this influences their galleries’ infrastructure and the broader art community. As Lafuente points out in Self-Organized, “We live in a time when the structures that historically made it possible to develop a critical relationship to artistic practice, together with the social and political models that supported them, are being dismantled. Because of this, it is now imperative to think of new modes of organization that are neither inherited, nor imposed.” TRANSMITTER & GUEST SPOT @ THE REINSTITUTE’s programming seeks to further this active dialogue between multiple artistic disciplines. Artists/ Participants: Arts & Sciences Projects / New York City / Baltimore, MD Lauren Adams / Ortega Y Gasset Projects / Brooklyn, NY Kat Chamberlin /  Common People / Brooklyn, NY Henry Chung / Robert Henry Contemporary /  Brooklyn, NY Mathew Crowther / Crusade for Art / Chicago, IL Hilary Doyle / projekt 722 / Brooklyn, NY Alex Ebstein / Nudashank / Baltimore, MD Robert Alan Grand / Kimberly-Klark / Queens, NY Alexis Granwell / TSA Philly / Philadelphia, PA Tom Griggs / Fototazo / Medellín / Antioquia / Colombia Reid Hitt / projekt 722 / Brooklyn, NY Rhia Hurt / Trestle Gallery / Brooklyn, NY Bonny Leibowitz / Curator / Dallas, TX Mathew Mahler / Small Black Door / Brooklyn, NY Keri Oldham / Field Projects, / New York, NY John M. O’Toole /  Oranbeg Press / Boston, MA Norm Paris / TSA NY / Brooklyn, NY Lauren Portada / Regina Rex / New York, NY Niels Post / Kunst en Complex / Trendbeheer / Rotterdam, Netherlands Trevor Powers / Cat Labs / Easthampton, MA Jacob Rhodes / Field Projects / Brooklyn, NY Joaquin Segura / SOMA / Mexico City, Mexico Ginevra Shay / The Contemporary / Baltimore, MD Conor Stechschulte / Open Space / Baltimore, MD Julie Torres /  Curator / Brooklyn, NY Iemke van Dijk / IS Projects / Leiden, Netherlands Robert Walden / Robert Henry Contemporary /  Brooklyn, NY Guido Winkler / IS Projects / Leiden, Netherlands Patricia Zarate / Key Projects / Queens, NY Hours: Saturdays 1-4pm & Wednesday 5-7pm or by appointment PRESS: ‘Uncertainty in Artist-Run Efforts as Station North Develops,’ Rebekah Kirkman, Baltimore City Paper, August 5, 2015 ‘Brooklyn to Baltimore: A Celebration of Artist Run Spaces,’ Michael Anthony Farley, Art F City, July 30, 2015]]>

a handle, a stem, a hook, a ring, a loop Open Source Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Thursday, June 25 and Friday, June 26, 3-8pm Saturday, June 27, 1-6pm Part of Whitney Lynn’s presentation of Rummage, a series of performative installations at Open Source Gallery in the month of June. Lauren Frances Adams and Christine Wong Yap share interests in how objects and possessions are imbued with meaning. a handle, a stem, a hook, a ring, a loop is a collaborative installation of imaginative objects and paintings that explore desire, loss, and non-attachment. Garages often serve as surplus storage, but the lack of excess space in NYC inspired Wong Yap to make papier-mâché piñatas of objects that she would like to own but cannot store, such as cooking appliances and woodworking tools. The exhibition culminates on Saturday with a ‘non-attachment piñata party,’ where the confetti-filled piñatas will be available for the public to hit and destroy in a gesture of letting go. Adams invites strangers to submit a story of their personal desires and burdens to prompt a painting, resulting in a display of the finished artworks that will be exchanged with their new owners after the close of the show. Inspired by the exchange found at garage sales and on internet websites like Craigslist, Adams performs a ‘service’ to solicit the hidden appreciations and antagonisms between strangers and their possessions. To participate, visit this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/a2BJdQKhpS. Lauren Frances Adams mines the histories of power, labor, and material culture to make surprising connections that resonate with current sociopolitical issues. She is a resident of Baltimore, Maryland. Christine Wong Yap makes sculptures, installations, participatory projects, and drawings to spark and sustain attention to emotional experiences. A long-time resident of Oakland, California, she relocated to Queens in 2010. Lauren and Christine are part of Ortega y Gasset Projects, an artist collective that aims to mount exhibitions that provoke interpretation and dialogue, engaging with a wide forum to disseminate aesthetic experience. OyG works collaboratively over geographical distances to extend beyond local communities and forge larger networks of cultural dialogue.]]>

The Nothing That is: a drawing show in five parts June 5 – September 7, 2015 Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh Warehouse District 409 West Martin Street Raleigh, NC 27603 CAM Raleigh is pleased to present The Nothing That Is: a drawing show in five parts curated by Bill Thelen. This extraordinary exhibition includes more then 85 local, national and international artists all exploring contemporary approaches to drawing, mark making and gesture. The Nothing That Is will be presented in five parts throughout the museum and also includes drawing projects in the community. Chapter 1 DDDRRRAAAWWWIIINNNGGG in the Main Gallery curated by Bill Thelen and Jason Polan features a “do it yourself” approach to drawing with an emphasis on emerging artists, illustration, zines, economy, and building community through drawing. These artists’ works all utilize drawing as a prime strategy in their art-making process. Artists will be exhibiting collaborative and singular works embedded with their own unique drawing practices including Tedd Anderson, Joana Avillez, Amanda Barr, Chris Bogia, Elijah Burgher, Richard C., Robin Cameron, Ryan Travis Christian, Casey Cook, Daniel Davidson, Louise Despont, Mollie Earls, James Esber, Joy Feasley, Bill Fick, Nancy Ford, Sarah Gamble, Nathan Gelgud, Lincoln Hancock, EJ Hauser, Harrison Haynes, Kathleen Henderson, Jordin Islip, Rich Jacobs, Spencer Jacobs, George Jenne, Ken Kagami, Tricia Keightley, Thad Kellstadt, Victor Kerlow, Jeff Ladouceur, Matt Leines, Lump Lipshitz, Ryan Martin, Stefan Marx, Rich McIsaac, Hazel Meehan, Allyson Mellberg, Tristin Miller, Lee Misenheimer, Lavar Munroe, Kymia Nawabi, Tucker Nichols, Paul Nudd, Jason Osborne, Jason Polan, Tal R, Fernando Renes, Josh Rickards, Steve Reinke, Louis Schmidt, Christopher Schulz, Stewart Sineath, Damian Stamer, Paul Swenbeck, Megan Sullivan, Jeremy Taylor, Christopher Thomas, Derek Toomes, Michael Worful, James Ulmer, Todd Webb, Neil Whitacre, Eric White, Laura Sharp Wilson and Tyler Wolf. Chapter 2 Conceptual Approaches in the Independent Weekly Gallery focuses on artists employing contemporary drawing strategies with nods to conceptualism, feminism, queer theory, formalism, video, performance, photography and art history featuring: Lauren Adams, Becca Albee, Leah Bailis, Lucas Blalock, Kellie Bornhoft, Blake Fall-Conroy, Joy Drury Cox, Steven Evans, Ray Johnson/Richard C, Alex Jovanovich, Gary Kachadourian, Pedro Lasch, Stan Shellabarger, elin o’Hara slavick, Deb Sokolow, Stacy Lynn Waddell and Amy White. Chapter 3 Movement in the Independent Weekly Gallery will show video that reflects the principles of drawing. Videos will all be based on drawing and range from animation to performance. There will be several special screenings throughout the summer. Featured artists include David Colagiovanni, Jerstin Crosby and Fernando Renes. Chapter 4 Locals Only will feature capsule solo exhibitions by North Carolina artists. These “locals only” exhibitions will rotate throughout the exhibition space and feature regional artists that utilize drawing as a prime strategy in their art-making process including Carol Cole (June), Barbara Campbell Thomas (June), David Eichenberger (July), Chris Musina (July) and Tedd Anderson (August). Chapter 5 Open Source explores social engagement by featuring projects that utilize collaborative art strategies that extend beyond the museum’s walls. Through community outreach and social practice, there will be opportunities for the community to be involved in the exhibition. Such projects as Jason Polan’s ongoing “Taco Bell Drawing Club” will unite artists of all abilities to draw in a non-hierarchical, non-judgmental setting. Other projects will include the CAM Young Artists Advisory Panel, The Drawn, Elsewhere, Pedro Lasch, Vegan Snake Club and Lee Walton. PRESS RELEASE Press: Frieze Magazine, “The Nothing that Is,” by Mimi Luse, Issue 174 November/December 2015]]>

Thanks to the PUFFIN FOUNDATION for studio support in 2015. The Puffin Foundation supports “projects that seek to enrich and inform the public on important subjects such as the environment, social justice, civil rights and other contemporary issues facing the country (and the planet), that some organizations might hesitate to fund.”]]>

Leaving Home at Contemporary Applied Arts 89 Southwark Street, London SE1 0HX April 17 – May 31, 2015

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A multimedia group show that explores historical and social issues surrounding the availability, use, and impact of guns in our culture. SPACE GALLERY, 812 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA February 13 – April 26, 2015 For more info: http://www.spacepittsburgh.org/portfolio-view/unloaded/ On view through April 26, 2015 with a closing reception during the April 24, 2015, Gallery Crawl. UNLOADED includes the sculpture Cross for the Unforgiven by Mel Chin that configures eight AK-47s as a Maltese cross. Frozen in perpetual opposition, they are rendered dysfunctional, unable to exact a drop of blood. With ironic sentimentality, the assemblage Baby’s First Gun by Renee Stout commemorates a developmental milestone, while James Duesing’s Dog—a projected video of a hot dog holding a gun—offers a wry rendition of machismo. For the Homeland series, Nina Berman travelled the country photographing military weapons displays, SWAT team training, and drills designed to prepare for hypothetical terrorist attacks, in order to portray the evolution of the “American security state.” Resistance to the power of guns is embodied in Vanessa German’s sculptures, signs, and spoken word performances and in Jessica Fenlon’s ungun, a video composed of degrading glitched images of instruments of violence. The exhibition features work by local and national artists, as well as artists working in China and Germany. Artists include Lauren Adams, Nina Berman, Joshua Bienko, Casey Li Brander, Anthony Cervino, Mel Chin, Cathy Colman, Dadpranks, James Duesing, Jessica Fenlon, Vanessa German, Jinshan, Andrew Ellis Johnson, Jennifer Nagle Myers, Adrian Piper, Don Porcella, Susanne Slavick, Renee Stout, and Stephanie Syjuco. Curated by Susanne Slavick]]>

Animalia Agitatus, a group exhibition at Edinboro University, curated by Susanne Slavick On exhibition in the month of February at Bruce Gallery in Pennsylvania.

Flora and fauna is an expression that usually evokes images of the bucolic and benign. The artists in Animalia Agitatus have other ideas, veering from the pathetic to the provocative to the playful. Anthropomorphized or annihilated, modified or commodified, the fauna in Animalia Agitatus bear  witness to the heights and depths of human experience.

Portrayed  in  an  array  of  predicaments  and  pleasures,  creatures  cavort  around  calamity  and  potential  captivity,  enacting  fantasies  both  farcical  and  ferocious.  They  strain  toward  the  unattainable  or  under  their  own  weight.   Contorted  or  bloated,  they  survey  themselves  and  their  terrain.   Distorted,  they  lose  or  gain  agency  across  historical  generations.  Lauren  Adams’  colonizing  birds,  in  all  their  Elizabethan  finery,  peck  at  “Indian”  corn  or  perch  above  their  territory.  Chimerical  beings  advance  and  retreat  on  Marian  Barber’s  Civil  War  battlefields,  where  soldiers  ride  possums  and  hunters  are  crowned  with  ram  horns.  Monkeys  play  multiple  roles,  challenging  creationism  in  Patricia  BellanJGillen’s  installation  and  critiquing  consumerism  on  the  soles  of  Josh  Bienko’s  Christian  Louboutin  stilettos.  James  Duesing’s  animated  faun  is  born  of  a  genetic  experiment  gone  awry  while  Andrew  Ellis  Johnson’s  hairy  pig  reflects  an  economy  run  amok.  Stephanie  Ross’  costumed  performances  as  animals  explore  the  fluidity  of  gender  and  embody  “ecstatic  failure.”  And  Susanne  Slavick’s  ibises,  both  scavengers  and  survivors,  strut  amongst  political  failure,  the  ruins  of  the  Egyptian  Revolution.   Whether  aggressive  or  passive,  fetishized  or  feared,  the  animals  portrayed  invite  speculation,  revealing  the  vagaries  of  contemporary  socioJpolitical  realities. Initially,  this  menagerie  may  seem  merry,  occasionally  soothing  with  its  decorative  impulses  and  careful  execution.   But  these  works  are  meant  to  exact  a  response.   These  creatures  of  the  sea,  land  or  air  are  agitated  or  agitating,  inviting  us  to  figure  and  fathom  our  own  condition,  to  animate  our  own  stance  in  the  world. Above statement by curator Susanne Slavick]]>