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“Miatta Kawinzi: An Alphabet of Unfolding”
June 12 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
“Miatta Kawinzi: An Alphabet of Unfolding” is on display at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts from June 5 through Sept. 13. Opening Reception is June 5 with complimentary libations and light hors d’oeuvres. Bemis Center members may arrive early for an exclusive preview of the exhibitions and Meet + Greet with exhibiting artists, directly preceding the public reception from 6 to 7 p.m. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Thursday is open until 9 p.m.).
Curated by Chief Curator and Director of Programs Rachel Adams, “Miatta Kawinzi: An Alphabet of Unfolding” is a solo exhibition by the Kenyan-Liberian-American artist, whose experimental and multidisciplinary practice explores themes of hybridity, memory, and sustenance. This site-responsive exhibition unfolds through her varied practice that integrates mixed media, sculpture, installation, sound, video, and text.
Currently based in New York City, Kawinzi creates work that draws from personal archives and broader histories of migration, land, labor, and language. Across two galleries, the exhibition unfolds as an intimate-yet-expansive exploration of cultural lineage, ecological interconnection, and the embodied practices through which individuals and communities persist and adapt.
Kawinzi’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and her return to Bemis Center marks a meaningful continuation of a longstanding relationship with the institution: She was a Bemis Center artist-in-residence in 2016 and was later recognized as the recipient of the organization’s first Ree Kaneko Award in 2019.
Related programming:
Programs are free; reservations are encouraged.
- Friday, June 5, 6–7 p.m., Member Preview and Meet + Greet
- Friday, June 5, 7–9 p.m., Opening Reception: Miatta Kawinzi: An Alphabet of Unfolding+ MOTHER TIME: Measuring ourselves within the landscape
- Saturday, June 6, 3 p.m., Tour with Exhibiting Artists Miatta Kawinzi, Rachel Cox, and Rose Marie Cromwell
- Thursday, June 11, 7 p.m., Curator-Led Tour
- Saturday, June 27, 3 p.m., Exhibitions Highlights Tour
- Saturday, July 11, 3 p.m., OMA ARTalks
- Saturday, July 18, 1:30 p.m., Exhibitions Highlights Tour (part of Open House / Open Studios)
- Saturday, July 18, 3:30 p.m., Curator-Led Tour (part of Open House / Open Studios)
- Saturday, August 8, 11 a.m., Exhibitions Highlights Tour
- Saturday, August 8, 2 p.m., Exhibitions Highlights Tour
- Thursday, August 13, 7 p.m., In Conversation: Miatta Kawinzi with Chrislyn Laurore
- Thursday, August 20, 7 p.m., Curator-Led Tour
- Saturday, August 29, 2 p.m., Exhibitions Highlights Tour
- Saturday, August 29, 3 p.m., Panel Discussion: Rachel Cox, Rose Marie Cromwell, and Michelle Millar Fisher
- Thursday, September 3, 7 p.m., Lecture with Yasmina Price, Yale University
