Finding & Feeling: Encounters in the Archive
Themed Portfolio Exchange organized by Amy Cousins and Ruben Castillo
Description
Historically, the lives of queer people were primarily self-documented. They produced and preserved their own archives without institutional impetus or support. Beloved memories, photographs, dogeared pamphlets, and flyers were tucked into drawers for a curious hand to one day reach into to help us feel our way backward. In 2022, as the greater queer archive continues to expand, the intimacy of this gesture remains. The power of print is the power of connection––of holding a fifty-year-old hand printed flyer that has been folded and refolded in its early life and later handled gingerly by future generations who look at it to look back.
This exchange invites artists to consider the queer archive, to encounter it and exchange within it. How do you engage with the archive? What objects or documents hold significance to you? Are you creating your own archive of meaningful history?
Artists interested in applying will submit a high-res image (either a photograph or a scan) from the archive--whether from their own lives or from their research, whether it is a document or a
documented object. These artifacts will be anonymously shared with someone else in the exchange, who will then make an original artist print responding to that object/document. Each of the submitted artifacts will be translated into a single color risograph by the portfolio organizers and presented with the final portfolio. The contents will include both the original artist prints and a risograph of the artifact that inspired it. This portfolio will collectively explore the reciprocity, queerness, and intimacy of archives as we pass over our objects into a new archive, opening a door to new potentials and translations through print.
All print processes are welcome, as long as the materials are produced with archival methods and materials. Keep in mind that the image assigned to you will be printed separately as a risograph.
About the organizers
Amy Cousins is an artist from Houston, Texas who currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She holds an MFA in Printmaking from the Tyler School of Art and a BFA in Printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been exhibited nationally and was a long term visiting artist at Illinois State University in 2018 and a resident at ACRE Residency in 2019.
Ruben Castillo is a visual artist and educator born in Dallas, TX and currently working in Kansas City, MO. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and is included in numerous national collections. He received an MFA in visual art from the University of Kansas and a BFA in printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute. At the 2020 MAPC Remote Symposium, Castillo and Cousins co-chaired the panel “Queer Ephemera, Et Cetera: Encounters in the Archive”, organizing a conversation between five artists on queer archives and printmaking.
Participants
Amy Cousins, Becci Spruill, Belle-Pilar Fleming, Corinne Teed, Daniel Luedtke, Emily Orzech, Erin Moore, Erin Wohletz, Gaby Hurtado-Ramos, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Henry Gepfer, India Johnson & Aiden Bettine, Jake Lahah, Lauren Cardenas, Peri Law, Ruben Castillo, Veronica Ceci, Vin Caponigro
Special Visiting Hours
October 14–16
Friday: Noon–9pm
Saturday: Noon–5pm
Sunday: 10am- 5pm
Location
Reinberger Gallery
Cleveland Institute of Art ground floor
11610 Euclid Ave, Cleveland
Wearing face coverings at this location is strongly recommended, and official protocols are determined by the CDC’s community level spread for Cuyahoga County. When community spread is low or medium, masks are optional. When community spread is high, masks are required. As of 10/08/2022, community spread is medium and masks are recommended. Being up-to-date on Covid-19 vaccinations is also strongly recommended at this location. More information here: https://www.cia.edu/about-us/safety-security/smart-return-to-school