“OTHER, Other… High Visibility” Art Show Addresses Varying Degrees of Diversity


Other, Other… High Visibility, art show at Bronx Council on the Arts and curated by Wanda Raimundi-OrtizMany of you have probably had this experience… you’re filling out an application with your personal information and then you come across the dreaded (at least for me) section where you’re asked to fill in your “background” or racial identity. It used to be a dreadful experience for me because until I reached my late teens/early 20s, I could never simply check off Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic (non-white), Asian or White/Caucasian, etc…

And then there appeared the seemingly all-encompassing “Other” check box. Yes! Finally I had a box for me – but what the f*ck did “Other” really mean? To answer the question (for those handling my applications), I checked this box and then took the liberty of writing in on the side: half Panamanian and half Croatian. To this day, I fill out all my applications the same way and will continue to do so until the identity boxes offer the choices of human vs. cyborg! LOL

Using fine art to address unresolved social issues surrounding identity, the Other, Other… High Visibility art show was curated by Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz and features photography work by En Foco’s Nicole Frocheur, Xaviera Simmons (video), among other artists. The show will be complemented by a panel discussion (on February 5th) that “will focus on the culture, class, access as well as other social factors that may unintentionally preclude support for artists, representing communities of color.”

An opening will be held on Thursday, January 29, 2009 – RSVP via the Facebook invitation.

Nathan Cummings Foundation Gallery, located on the 14th floor of 475 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY. Other, Other…High Visibility is funded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation. Viewing is made by appointment ONLY by calling 646-485-1284.

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    Eric J

    Thanks for putting this in relief. I once checked white on the box, despite being phenotypically black as far as my interviewer could see. There was a silence, then a stutter when she got to that part and asked, “Um, you checked…” I said, “If one drop makes me Black, then today I’m using my other drop.” Biology, Genetics, and Experience don’t fit in a box. Now if she were to ask my culture, well that might be an easier box to check, being of my own volition, not an artificially determined separation of humans based on sordid history. Much peace,

    E

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