“We will not go back to normal. Normal never was…”Sonya Renee Taylor
The Viral and Racial Pandemic confirms that the structures established for collective order in the United States of America failed. Colleges are run like companies and the criminal justice system like corporations. Corporations are bailed out with trillions of tax-payer’s dollars while citizens are made homeless by eviction. At our nation’s border desperate families are separated, and children caged. Hospitals struggle with depleted resources during a global pandemic, and police continue to brutalize black citizens. All this while the U.S. elected President orders the use of clubs and tear gas on peaceful protesters to enable a quick photo shoot with a bible.
Many in the United States of America clearly do not have the inalienable rights promised to them by the Constitution. The ‘Great American Dream’– championed as the right of every citizen– is a sham. Hard work does not guarantee success for all. Racism, classism, xenophobia, islamophobia, and homophobia are deeply rooted in our democracy. The American Normal is a culture steeped in severe inequities and greed.
Curated by Furusho von Puttkammer, the sixteenth annual Art in Odd Places (AiOP): NORMAL is a public art and performance festival taking place from Avenue C to the Hudson River along 14th st in Manhattan, NY. Innovative multi and interdisciplinary hybrid projects that explore & expose the American Mythos, and actively engage the public, including installation, sculpture, and performance will be presented in the public realm.
Furusho von Puttkammer (Curator): Furusho von Puttkammer is a multimedia artist, independent curator, and music video director whose practice highlights the lives and work of marginalized people. She has worked with artists such as Gavin Rayna Russom (Black Meteoric Star, LCD Sound System), Lanee Bird, Albert Diaz (SAMOS), Zachery Allan Starkey, The Lesbian Herstory Museum, and Bernard Sumner (New Order). von Puttkammer is also the founder of the nomadic performance art night No Material, which showcases emerging artists of all genres in NYC. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA and Honors in Fine Arts. This will be her third year working with Art in Odd Places, her first as a curator.
Yasmeen Abdallah (Curatorial Assistant): Yasmeen Abdallah is an independent curator, interdisciplinary artist, and adjunct professor, navigating socio-political issues within contemporary culture. Abdallah’s work is in public, private, and traveling collections in the U.S. and abroad, and has been a visiting artist at Sarah Lawrence College, Parsons School for Design, Columbia University, Children’s Museum of NYC; University of Massachusetts, Pratt Institute, El Barrio Art Space, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Free City Radio, and Transborder Art. Abdallah is a collective member of ABC No Rio, Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, and The Hive. She holds degrees in Anthropology, Studio Art with honors, and Gender Studies from University of Massachusetts, and an MFA in Fine Arts with distinction from Pratt Institute.
Lorelle Pais (Curatorial Assistant): Lorelle Pais is a multidisciplinary artist in Brooklyn NY. Her work centers around her community and her passion for equality and autonomy. She is heavily involved in the community fridge movement and in organizing the community through informative art and educational workshops. She works with children ages 6-14 in digital art education, specializing in photography and animation, and uses her classical piano training to experiment with instrumental sound art and unconventional music making on the side. Her personal art involves a lot of photographic, video, and sound elements, drawing heavy inspiration from artists like Nam June Paik and Pipilotti Rist. Her current project is to facilitate a free community studio space in Brooklyn for QBIPOC, functioning like a library for marginalized musicians and artists to experiment with otherwise inaccessible equipment. This is Lorelle’s first year at AIOP.
Natalie Ortiz (Curatorial Assistant): Natalie J. Ortiz is a visual artist and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. She works with young students in under-served communities, striving to bridge the gap with culturally responsive arts education. She has exhibited at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Southern Exposure in San Francisco, The Greenpoint Gallery, and at Ground Floor Gallery in Brooklyn. She has had a number of curatorial projects including a group show containing works by Charles Griffin Farr and Civil Rights Photojournalist Matt Herron at the Sesnon Gallery. She is involved with NYC Crit Club, working alongside co-directors Hilary Doyle and Catherine Haggarty as a social media coordinator. She graduated from the University of California – Santa Cruz, with a BA in Art with Honors. This is her first year at AiOP.
Amanda Wu (Social Media Manager)
Taylor Ryan (Public Relations Manager and Press Coordinator)
Laurie Waxman (Graphic Designer)
Anglea Liao (Photography and Video Manager)
Hannah Waskowitz (Volunteer Coordinator)
Clara Grusq (Admin Assistant)
Ed Woodham (Founder)
