About this Event
Presented by Open Source Gallery at
When: Saturday, October 17, 6:30pm
Where: St. Lydia's, 304 Bond Street, Brooklyn 11231
FREE and open to the public!
Join us for an insightful conversation on how to collect, value, and protect project-based and social practice art. Artists working at the intersection of visual art, performance, education, and activism will share their own metrics for evaluating the success of community-engaged art projects, considering relationships as a medium of engagement. Case studies will highlight how to factor community participation into public art valuation, the market for objects related to project-based work, the role of appraisers in supporting collectors’ ethical obligation of stewardship and care, and how acts of care that protect monetary value also protect social and cultural value. Panelists include art appraiser and advisor Tema McMillon, interdisciplinary artists Helina Metaferia and Niceli Portugal, and Backyard Utopias co-founder and artist Monika Wuhrer, moderated by curator Alyssa Fridgen.
PANELISTS:
- Tema McMillon is a Brooklyn-based independent appraiser and advisor with over 10 years of experience valuing fine and decorative arts. She provides USPAP compliant appraisals for insurance scheduling, damage and loss claims, estate planning, equitable distribution and collection management purposes. Tema is accredited with the Appraisers Association of America. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Graduate Certificate in Appraisal Studies from New York University. https://www.tmartappraisals.com/about
- Helina Metaferia is an interdisciplinary artist working across collage, sculpture, video, performance, and social engagement. Her work incorporates archival research with embodied practices, highlighting overlooked activist histories. Recent solo exhibitions include the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; RISD Art Museum, Providence, RI; and the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA. Metaferia is an Assistant Professor in the Visual Art department at Brown University, where she teaches Social Practice. https://www.helinametaferia.com/
- Niceli Portugal is a multidisciplinary artist and educator hailing from Arequipa in the Peruvian Andes, now based in NYC, who creates social practice projects exploring the interconnectedness of humans, nature, and collective memory. She collaborates with immigrant communities to creatively explore the challenges of climate change in NYC. Niceli has created educational programs for the Guggenheim Museum, Storefront for Art and Architecture, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, Queens Museum, and American Folk Art Museum. Her work has been shown at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Human Impacts Institute, and Bronx Art Space. Niceli is the Director of Escuelita en Casa, an international initiative in response to the pandemic that connects educators and provides free tutoring and art classes to families in the U.S. and Latin America. https://niceliportugal.com/
- Monika Wuhrer is Co-Founder of Backyard Utopias, a community-driven network in New York City uniting artists, environmentalists, gardeners, and scientists to focus on local sustainability, carbon sequestration, and soil remediation. Monika Wuhrer is also Founder and Artistic Director of Open Source Gallery and KoKo NYC. She received her MFA in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. She has received awards and grants from the Austrian Cultural Forum, Austrian Federal Chancellery, Puffin Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Monika has exhibited in the US, Norway, Austria, Italy, Thailand, Finland, France, Switzerland, and Japan. https://www.backyardutopia.org/
- Moderator: Alyssa Fridgen is an independent curator and art historian based in Brooklyn, and Board member at Open Source Gallery. Previously Curator of Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Alexandria Museum of Art, and Programs Co-Chair and Vice President of the Board at Art for Change in East Harlem, she received a national curatorial award for the exhibition “Immersive Space” and honorable mention for “Unraveling Time, Creative Space” from American Alliance of Museums.
Also at Gowanus Open Studios: Join us Saturday and Sunday for at 281 Bond St., which explores our ecological, historical, botanical, and cultural roots embedded in trees that require our collective care and love to preserve.
Event venue & nearby stays
St. Lydia's, 304 Bond Street, Brooklyn, United States
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