Oct 7 – January 7, 2016 | 2016 Casita Maria – NICOLÁS DUMIT ESTÉVEZ Solo exhibition “PERFORMING THE BRONX”
Nicolás Dumit Estévez, Born Again: A Lebanese-Dominican Dominican York is born again as a Bronxite, 2011. Susan Newmark Fleminger and William Aguado baptize Nicolás as a Bronxite with the water from The Bronx River. Photo: Alex Villaluz © 2011 Nicolás Dumit Estévez
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
EXHIBITION DATES
October 7, 2015 – January 7, 2016
ARTIST RECEPTION
Wed., October 7, 2015 for 6 – 8 PM
WORKSHOP WITH ARTHUR AVILÉS: Young Men Being Kind to Each Other [Part of Performing The Bronx] Wed., November 18, 2015 from 4 – 6 PM
“Becoming Puerto Rican:” NICOLÁS DUMIT ESTÉVEZ IN CONVERSATION WITH PAPO COLO
Wed., December 2, 2015 from 6 – 8 PM
ALL PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE
CASITA MARIA CENTER FOR ARTS & EDUCATION | 928 SIMPSON ST. BRONX, NY 10459
6 train to Hunts Point Ave. or 2 / 5 train to Simpson St.
BRONX, NY – (September 2015) Casita Maria is proud to present Bronx artist NICOLÁS DUMIT ESTÉVEZ’s solo exhibition “PERFORMING THE BRONX and other home-based actions,” curated by Christine Licata. Representing a survey that spans the last 10 years of his interdisciplinary work, the show includes ephemera, video and photographs from his in-progress and past projects. Estévez’s practice relies on performance as both a methodology and analytical tool to investigate, challenge and in some cases, preserve and celebrate, the socio-political practices of everyday experiences. He explores the common roles and rituals that shape our identities as both individuals and as part of the collective scenarios that define culture and society.
Throughout Estévez’s work, he embodies the theatricality inherent in human behavior. Within sociology and humanities studies, this dramaturgy of life is referred to as the “performative turn.” Meaning that we “perform” our daily activities and routines in society, whether social, political, economic or spiritual. We define who we are and where we belong through the enactment of learned conventions. For the artist, it is within this performative space that art and life are inherently intertwined.
CURATORIAL QUOTE ON EXHIBITION
“Seamlessly integrating art and life, Nicolás Dumit Estévez is a complex combination of anthropologist, archeologist, sociologist, theologist, linguist, activist and artist. As an interactive catalyst, he empowers us to examine, understand and see the potential for change and agency in the roles we play as citizens, family members and community members.” explained Christine Licata, Curator and Director of Performing and Visual Arts at Casita Maria.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
NICOLÁS DUMIT ESTÉVEZ was born in Santiago de los Treinta Caballeros, Dominican Republic and was baptized as a Bronxite; a citizen of The Bronx in 2011. He has exhibited and performed extensively in the U.S. as well as internationally at venues such as Madrid Abierto/ARCO, The IX Havana Biennial, PERFORMA 05 and 07, IDENSITAT, Prague Quadrennial, NYU Cantor Film Center, The Biennial of Pontevedra, Queens Museum, MoMA, Printed Matter, Inc., P.S. 122, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Anthology Film Archives, The Institute for Art, Religion, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary, The MacDowell Colony, Provisions Library, El Museo del Barrio, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, The Center for Book Arts, Longwood Art Gallery/The Bronx Council on the Arts, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Franklin Furnace, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, among others. During the past seven years, Estévez has received mentorship in art in everyday life from Linda Mary Montano, a historic figure in the performance art field. Montano and Estévez have also collaborated on several performances. His awarded residencies include P.S. 1/MoMA, Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. He has received grants from Art Matters, Lambent Foundation, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, Printed Matter Inc., and The Puffin Foundation. Estévez holds an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, where he studied with Coco Fusco; and an MA from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. Estévez has curated exhibitions and programs for El Museo del Barrio, The Institute for Art, Religion and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary, and Longwood Art Gallery/The Bronx Council on the Arts, and for the Filmoteca de Andalucía, Córdoba, Spain. Publications include Pleased to Meet You, Life as Material for Art and Vice Versa (editor) and For Art’s Sake.
ABOUT CASITA MARIA CENTER FOR ARTS & EDUCATION Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education is an 80-year old South Bronx-based community arts and educational organization that presents diverse, contemporary visual and performing arts and education programming for all ages.
www.casitamaria.org
CASITA MARIA is supported by The Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts.
