Curated by REFRESH collective members Heather Dewey-Hagborg and Dorothy R. Santos, the exhibition title is inspired by artist Morehshin Allahyari’s work defining a concept of “refiguring” as a feminist, de-colonial, and activist practice. Informed by the punk ethos of do-it-yourself (DIY), the 18 artists featured in Refiguring the Future deeply mine the historical and cultural roots of our time, pull apart the artifice of contemporary technology, and sift through the pieces to forge new visions of what could become.

The exhibition will present 11 new works alongside re-presented immersive works by feminist, queer, decolonial, anti-racist, and anti-ableist artists concerned with our technological and political moment including: Morehshin Allahyari, Lee Blalock, Zach Blas*, micha cárdenas* and Abraham Avnisan, In Her Interior (Virginia Barratt and Francesca da Rimini)*, Mary Maggic, Lauren McCarthy, shawné michaelain holloway*, Claire and Martha Pentecost, Sonya Rapoport, Barak adé Soleil, Sputniko! and Tomomi Nishizawa, Stephanie Syjuco, and Pinar Yoldas*.  

Names with asterik denotes participation in the conference.  

Read the full curatorial statement here. 

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LIVESTREAM DAY ONE

LIVESTREAM DAY TWO 

Following a public reception on February 8, Refiguring the Future will open with a two-day conference highlighting over 20 speakers and workshop leaders, including special keynotes by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Zach Blas. Providing space to unpack the key themes in the exhibition through keynotes, panel discussions, and community engaged programs, the conference will grapple with marginalizing states of technology by propelling us to a future in becoming. With conditions of ecologies, humanities, and sciences being implicated by technological biases, what possibilities arise when this accelerated force is paused and worldbuilding is privileged anew? As technical powers have perpetuated systemic cultural and economic oppression, the ways in which we exist, navigate, and project are seemingly dictated and undermined.

The Refiguring the Future conference convenes artists, educators, writers, and cultural strategists to envision a shared liberatory future by providing us with collective imaginings that move beyond and critique oppressive systems to offer alternative possibilities. Additional participants include: Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Zach Blas. Featured participants include Morehshin Allahyari, Ruha Benjamin, micha cárdenas, Taeyoon Choi, Bojana Coklyat, Sofía Córdova, Hayley Cranberry, Jaskiran Dhillon, Shirin Fahimi, Kadija Ferryman, Shannon Finnegan, Aljumaine Gayle, Anneli Goeller, Kathy High, shawné michaelain holloway, In Her Interior (Virginia Barratt and Francesca da Rimini), Cori Kresge, Yo-Yo Lin, Cynthia Malone, Maandeeq Mohamed, Claire Pentecost, Rasheedah Phillips, Legacy Russell, Tiare Ribeaux, Ladan Siad, stud1nt, Sofía Unanue, Alexander Weheliye, and Pinar Yoldas.

Read the conference curatorial statement here. 

For more on the conference, go here. 

The Refiguring the Future conference is curated by Eyebeam/REFRESH Curatorial and Engagement Fellow Lola Martinez and REFRESH member Maandeeq Mohamed.  

REFRESH is a collaborative and politically engaged platform established in 2016. As a collective, they begin with inclusion as a starting point for pursuing sustainable artistic and curatorial practices across the fields of art, science, and technology.

Hunter College Art Galleries provide a space for critical engagement with art and pedagogy, bringing together historical scholarship, contemporary artistic practice, and experimental methodology.

Knockdown Center is an art center and performance space dedicated to unusual projects and collaborations.

Kaye Playhouse hosts internationally-acclaimed artists and music, dance and theatre companies for New York audiences, as well as serving as the centerpiece for the performing arts at Hunter College.

Refiguring the Future is supported by grants from the Open Society Foundations and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as part of the NetGain Partnership. This partnership is a philanthropic collaboration seeking to advance the public interest in the digital age.

Additional support for the presentation of Refiguring the Future at the Hunter College Art Galleries is made possible by the David Bershad Family Foundation, the Susan V. Bershad Charitable Fund, Inc., Carol and Arthur Goldberg, Agnes Gund, Joan Lazarus, and the Hunter College Foundation.