#baseera khan
More than a selfie surface. In Baseera Khan’s “Privacy Control,” a two-way mirror divides the seen and unseen, creating a metaphor for observation and interrogation in society.
Mirrors like these are associated with stereotypical interrogation scenes from procedural TV shows. They are also commonly used to separate gendered prayer halls in mosques, where women can look out, but remain unseen by men.
Our privacy is a fragile concept that is in question with the rise of technology. By photographing ourselves standing in front of the two-way mirror, we play a part in the tracking and surveillance inherent to smartphones. Combined with the English excerpts of the Qur’an, which Khan altered to remove racialized and gendered associations from the English translation, we are left to question the implications—both positive and negative—of visibility.
✍️ Anjali Seegobin, EASCFA intern
Jonathan Dorado
Post link
This week, our American Sign Language (ASL) Tours are back and in-person at the Museum!
We’ll explore the multilayered installations, sculptures, photographs and textiles that fill “Baseera Khan: I Am an Archive.” Discover how Baseera Khan uses their own body to visualize the lived experience of people at the intersection of Muslim and American identities.
Guests from the D/deaf community are invited to join us for this tour on March 26 at 2 pm. Register here: https://bit.ly/3ccftZk
Jonathan Dorado
Glee all through the galleries.
If you’re heading to the Museum this weekend, be sure to capture your joy or strike a pose and share it with us by using #MyBkM.
Take a look at what’s currently on view and which events are around the corner: https://bit.ly/3hiILZx
(on Instagram) @epmoody, @skyy.forcer, @billythefnkid, @danverhey, @michaelsshome, @vivisternick, @__________rav, @doule28
Post link
How do we call attention to humanity?
During the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968, Black sanitation workers carried signs of protest with bold, red text that declared, “I AM A MAN” after two men died while working in dangerous and exploitative conditions.
Those signs are one point-of-reference in Baseera Khan’s Psychedelic Prayer Rugs series, where the words “I AM A BODY” are woven prominently across the textile. In this work, Khan honors the social justice movements created by African Americans that continue to pave the way for other social and liberation movements.
You can see these wool rugs, handmade in Kashmir and custom-designed by the artist, in “Baseera Khan: I Am an Archive” on view through July 10.
✍️ Anjali Seegobin, EASCFA intern
Jonathan Dorado
Post link
Teen Night: Art of Healing
In these troubling times where it feels like you can never get a break or have a place to just breathe, this Teen Night offers you just that. Join us Friday April 29 at 5–7:30pm for a soul-enticing experience.
What to Know
Brought to you by BkM Teens and inspired by Guadalupe Maravilla: Tierra Blanca Jovenand Baseera Khan: I Am an Archive, this evening is focused on the Art of Healing.
Explore these two artists’ work and how they integrate their culture, community and personal spiritual awakenings. Guadalupe Maravilla: Tierra Blanca Joven features new sculptures, retablo paintings, tripa chuca drawings, and sound works, as well as a Healing Room, a community space for collective care designed by teen staff. Baseera Khan: I Am an Archive displays rich and multilayered sculptures, installations, collages, drawings, photographs, textiles, and a video in which Khan investigates othering, surveillance, cultural exploitation, anti-blackness, and xenophobia within our public and private spaces.
What to Expect
First we’ll have “What is Healing? A Community Discussion” with artists and healers Charlie L'Strange and The Brooklyn Bruja. Then, throughout the night you can take cute photos in our photo booth, create your own mood board surrounding the themes of healing, decorate candles in connection with the colors associated with the 7 chakras (which are the main energy points of the body), and lastly taking inspiration from Guadalupe Maravilla’s exhibition, play the Tripa Chuca game!
Of course we can’t end a Teen Night without a dance party and performers! We will be having SHAMIQUA serenading us through her magical voice, an open mic, and UPTWN spitting fire bars of rhyme and rhythm through rap. Lastly, we’ll have DJ SYNCHRO setting the vibe throughout the night!
This program is free, open to all youth ages 14-22, and to register click here.
Art of Healing is organized by the Teen Night Planning Committee, our paid teen internship in public programming.
Posted by Shanice Baptise-Peters, Senior Teen Night Planning Committee member.
