By Long Beach State will be co-hosting the series “Platform” on Thursday, Sept. 24, the first of six live virtual conversations featuring socially engaged artists, collectives and curators.
“Platform” is the inaugural series presented by ConSortiUm, “a collaborative project born out of the Directors Council of CSU museums and galleries,” according to Amandra Fruta, public affairs and communications specialist at the Carolyn Campangan Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum.
Rebecca Sittler, School of Art graduate advisor, explained how ConSortiUm came together after California State University galleries and museums could create programs for students during the pandemic.
“I think a lot of CSUs are really looking at building more inclusive practices for our students,” Sittler said. “And this is a particular moment too that we feel is important to connect with students in this way.”
According to Sittler, over 150 artists and art collectives were nominated for this series by CSU art galleries and museum directors.
“We took multiple votes to narrow our selections down to 6 artists and curators or collectives that could spark timely and engaged conversation and also touch upon issues that are highly important to the wide range of interests, backgrounds, and lived experiences across the CSU,” Sittler said in an email.
Thursday’s conversation, co-hosted by Cal Poly Pomona and California State University Northridge, will feature Erin Chirstovale, an associate curator at the University of California Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum and co-founder of the experimental film program Black Radical Imagination, as well as artist and CSUN professor Beatriz Cortez.
“Art gives us an invitation to imagine other possible futures, other possible identities, other possible scenarios. I see my practice as a teacher and my practice as an artist completely connected and informing each other,” Cortez said in an email.
Cortez was born in El Salvador and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work is currently on display at the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, California College of the Arts Wattis Institute and the Museum of Art of El Salvador.
“My work is about the experience of migration, about the ways in which it allows one to live in different timeframes, spaces, worldviews, be proficient in different technologies, speak different languages, and understand different cultures all at once,” Cortez said. “So my work is about simultaneity and time-travel as ways to de-center Western reason.”
“Platform’s” first event will take place Thursday, Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. People can register for this event or watch it stream live on YouTube or FaceBook through the links on the website.
