International Arrivals

A special episode of the International Arrivals Podcast recorded live at Abrons Arts Center. International Arrivals brings together cultural workers to discuss the current political atmosphere and its threat to artists, arts organizations, and artistic freedom: Why is it important right now that arts organizations are focusing on social issues like global conflict, migration, and identity? Participants include: International Arrivals (Anna Khimasia and Emily Lutzker); The Immigrant Artist Biennial (Katya Grokhovsky); IMPULSE Magazine (Jenny Wang); Immigrant Artist Program, New York Foundation for the Arts (Ya Yun Teng); and Artist Erika Harrsch. 

International Arrivals speaks with multi-disciplinary artist Lara Baladi (Egypt/Lebanon) (tahrirarchives.com). Baladi discusses Tahrir Cinema” an influential public pop-up cinema that served as a platform where filmmakers, artists, activists and civilians could share their stories during the 2011 Egyptian uprisings, aka Arab Spring. She talks about the current atmosphere in Egypt and censorship in the arts. Emphasizing the voices of the people, Vox Populi, Tahrir Archives her continuing project, includes a series of artworks and publications. The culmination of which is  Anatomy of Revolution, an ABC and Archive of Revolting. This project (a website and series of installations), offers a visual lexicon of resistance and global protests and speaks to the importance of archiving as resistance itself. This discussion touches on the impact of social media, and artistic strategies employed during times of upheaval.  Baladi's project Anatomy of Revolution, which aims to reinterpret historical narratives through a collaborative platform, involves workshops in the context of art spaces, conferences, and universities, focusing on the importance of visual connections in making complex information accessible to facilitate research, and critical thinking.

International Arrivals speaks with ceramic artist and NYU professor, Linda Sormin (Thailand, Indonesia, China, Canada, USA) (https://www.lindasormin.com/) who discusses her journey from Bangkok to New York, her diasporic heritage, and her work exploring themes of upheaval, migration, and identity.  She reflects on her family's history, along with the erasure of Batak language and knowledge. Sormin's art, which includes large-scale, site-responsive installations, incorporates found objects and traditional ceramic techniques as well as video and VR.  Sormin also explores the physicality of clay as a decolonizing practice and the interplay between language, artistic production, and personal narrative. Her upcoming solo show at the Gardner Museum in 2025 will further explore these themes.  

International Arrivals speaks with artist Hangama Amiri (Afghanistan/Canada) (http://www.hangamaamiri.com/) about her work that incorporates painting and textiles to memorialize her diasporic experience and elevate women's spaces, voices, and experiences. Her journey has had many stops from Peshawar to Kabul, Halifax to New Haven. Amiri discusses glittery fabrics, life in the bazaar, and women's roles in Afghan culture.

International Arrivals speaks with ceramic artist Michelle Im (Korea/USA) (https://ratxchicks.club/) about her work that explores themes of home, displacement, and cultural identity. Her whimsical recent work focuses on the figure of the flight attendant, which she associates with a sense of home. She also explores the tradition of Korean ceramics, particularly moon jars, to symbolize her dual cultural identity. Im's work often incorporates humor and messiness, reflecting her personal experiences and the complexities of her heritage.

International Arrivals speaks with artist Christhian C. Diaz Silva (Colombia/USA) (https://christhiandiaz.com/) about his recent performance at Movement Research and his path from cleaning offices with his mother to his life as an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and legal immigration advocate.

International Arrivals speaks with performance artist Natacha Voilakovsky (Argentina/USA)(https://natachavoliakovsky.com/) about her move to the US and how she uses the materials of her body in her work as a symbol of social struggle, power, and control. 

International Arrivals speaks with interdisciplinary artist Helina Metaferia (Ethiopia/USA)(https://helinametaferia.com) about the Ethiopian diaspora in the US, her use of archives and collage in her work, and what it means to be radical and disruptive. 

International Arrivals speaks with visual artist Arleene Correa Valencia (Mexico/USA) (https://www.correavalencia.com/) about her latest projects, her family's journey from Mexico to California and their former undocumented status. She speaks about her textile work and the shared trauma of border crossing: love and suffering, the visible and the invisible.

International Arrivals speaks with visual artist Jose Campos aka Studio Lenca (El Salvador/USA/UK) (https://www.studiolenca.com/) about his latest projects, his journey from El Salvador to the US, where he and his mother were undocumented, and eventually becoming a citizen of the UK. He speaks about collaborating with local communities and the utopia of El Jardin where multitudes of species and identities can thrive harmoniously.

International Arrivals speaks with artist Nyugen E. Smith (Caribbean/USA) (https://www.nyugensmith.com/) about his use of found objects and maps, along with his interest in Yoruba practices and his first memory of snow.

International Arrivals speaks with intedisciplinary artist Golnar Adili (Iran/USA) (https://golnaradili.com/) about her movement between Iran and the US, her relationship with her father, and the archive.

International Arrivals speaks with interdisciplinary artist Azita Moradkhani (Iran/USA) (http://azitamora.com/) about her exhibition The Real Beneath at Jane Lombard gallery, pleasure, pain, the female body, and her transition to the US.

International Arrivals speaks with Katya Grokhovsky (Ukraine/Australia/USA), interdisciplinary artist and Founding Director of the Immigrant Artist Biennial, about her work, immigration and movement. (https://www.katyagrokhovsky.net)    The second Immigrant Artist Biennial opens in New York on September 8, 2023. (https://www.theimmigrantartistbiennial.com)

International Arrivals in conversation with Korean-Canadian artist David Khang (www.davidkhang.com) about the military and migration, language slippage, wrong places, dentistry, and the law.

International Arrivals speaks with Belarus-American artist Alina Bluimis (https://www.alinabliumis.com/) about the her series Bruises, Tips for New Americans, and her upcoming opening at Situations Gallery in New York's Lower East Side. 

International Arrivals speaks with Palestinian-Canadian artist Rana Nazzal Hamadeh (https://www.rananazzal.com/) about the idea of home, loss and the power of imagination. 

International Arrivals speaks with British artist Harold Offeh (www.haroldoffeh.com) about his latest project, migration, place, and embodied histories at the Van Gogh House in London, England. 

International Arrivals talks with Mexican-American interdisciplinary artist Erika Harrsch (https://www.erikaharrsch.com/) about her path to the United States, ideas of home and rooting. Listen to her elaborate on her recent projects about borders and the notion of belonging.