PERMISSIONS November 18, 2020 – January 9, 2021 The 2020 SHIFT Residency Exhibition On View By Appointment Virtual Opening: Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 6-8 pm Artists Hernease Davis, Asha Ganpat, Guido Garaycochea, Joy Garnett, Gi (Ginny) Huo, Jordan Lord, Shona Masarin-Hurst, Monika Wuhrer. Curated by Maya Suess. *** EFA Project Space is thrilled to present Permissions, an exhibition of new works by the 2019/20 cohort of the SHIFT Residency for Arts Workers, curated by Maya Suess. There is no way to introduce this exhibition without acknowledging the current time of unexpected upheavals and the resulting profound shift to the infrastructure of our lives. During a period when restriction has become our new normal, many of us have been granting ourselves and each other allowances in surprising and mindful ways. From tailoring our movements to ever-changing municipal ordinances, to navigating our closest relationships, we have marked a slippage in the boundary between what is personal and what is public, as agreements of consent are required for even the simplest tasks. As the world moved into a time of global pandemic, economic distress, and a deep reckoning with systemic racism, SHIFT residents – who have been meeting monthly over the past year – channeled their experiences of change, transition, and shifting expectations to create new bodies of work. Permissions emerged from this ground of collective and individual change, born from a need to react, respond, and rest. Within this context, the SHIFT Residents have been engaged in an expansive exploration of accessibility, driven by the collaborative project led by SHIFT resident Jordan Lord. Permissions will be presented in person at EFA Project Space, and through image, text, video and audio made available on Project Space’s website. A special opening reception and online viewing room launch party will be held on December 2, 2020 from 6-8 pm. The works in this exhibition ask us to rest, to escape, to create fantastical worlds, to devise our own symbols, to leave town, to stay home, to choose how we respond to ourselves, to others, and to the systems in which we live. They remind us that we can ask for, offer, take or give ourselves permission.
