Hosted by the CalArts Writing Center and led by malavika rao, CalArts alum (Art MFA 23) and former Writing Center tutor, this workshop explores the process and strategies for voicing solidarity and political advocacy in the context of individual and collective artist statements. The goal of the workshop is to identify principles and strategies of effective writing that can guide artists when they choose to speak up about difficult and urgent social and political issues.
By looking at a range of recent examples of political artist statements, we will explore the following questions: how do we translate our political convictions clearly and succinctly into words? How do we ensure the message is meaningful and addressed to the specific context of the art work and the exhibition space? How do we assess and navigate the risk of censorship for such statements, and why might we speak even when reprisal is all but certain? malavika will share her experience, along with a group of students from her cohort, of writing both collective and individual statements of solidarity with Palestine that were then singled out for exclusion from the MFA post-graduate show at UTA gallery in January 2024.
Workshop is FREE to attend and open to CalArts students, staff, faculty, and alumnx.
RSVP here.