November 8, 2009 -January 24, 2010
Participating Artists: Daniel du Bern (NZ), Tania Bruguera (US/Cuban), Walter Hood (US), Truman Lowe (US), Maddie Leach (NZ), Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle (US), Lisa Reihana (NZ), Wayne Youle (NZ)
Close Encounters will feature exclusively new work by eight leading artists from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and the U.S. The aim of the project is to explore social/cultural gatherings and their venues with the objective of encouraging new forms of engagement between artists, art institutions and communities.
Close Encounters will begin May 15th, 2008, with a traditional Māori gathering, called a hui, in which artists will discuss how place, art, and community can intersect. The hui will be held within a sacred 19th century Maori marae (meeting house) called Ruatepupupke II that is on permanent display at the Field Museum. The project is curated by Chuck Thurow, Executive Director of the Hyde Park Art Center, and Bruce E. Phillips, an independent curator from New Zealand. They have selected four artists from New Zealand and four artists from the U.S. who will develop projects inspired by the hui discussions that will be shown at the Hyde Park Art Center in 2009 - 2010.
The Hyde Park Art Center acknowledges the integral support and guidance from Te Whanau-A-Ruataupare (the ancestral sub-tribe of Ruatepupupke II) and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) for their part in facilitating the Close Encounters hui. The project is also supported by Creative New Zealand, the arts agency of the New Zealand government, and the Illinois Arts Council.
The Hyde Park Art Center is collaborating with six major Chicago institutions who will work with the artists to realize their projects. Collaborating institutions include the American Indian Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, the University of Chicago, City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Field Museum.
Image: Wayne Youle, 12 Shades of bullshit, 2003, laser cut acrylic and spray paint, 23 × 55 inches