Director, Mana BSMT
In 2016, I spearheaded the launch and development of Mana BSMT: a collaborative environment that combines artist-driven programming with 80+ studios and open workspaces. It is also home to the New Media Program (NMP) and Mana Residencies.
As Director, I organized monthly public programming, hosting up to 500+ attendees at each event, showcasing the work of BSMT residents throughout the 100,000-sq-ft space.
BSMT Programs (a selection)
︎ BODY + CAMERA
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
September 23, 2017
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
September 23, 2017
Claudia Hart, The Dolls, 2017
Mana BSMT presented the second iteration of Mana Contemporary Chicago’s inaugural Body + Camera festival, an annual event featuring films, installations, and live performances that explore the intersection between the body and the moving image.
︎ manacontemporary.com/bodycamera
︎ OPENING THAT’S NOT IT
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
August 19, 2017
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
August 19, 2017
Alex Czetwertynski, Photoperiod, 2017
Opening event for That’s not it, a group exhibition curated by NMP resident Alex Czetwertynski, featuring live performances.
︎ manacontemporary.com/thatsnotitopening
︎ Watch video recap
︎ TABACI MEMORIAE
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
June 24, 2017
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
June 24, 2017
Michael Clemow, Tabaci Memoriae installation
A symposium and installation presented by BSMT resident Michael Clemow that explores our relationship with tobacco from the pre-colonial era to the present day.
︎ manacontemporary.com/tobacco
︎ Watch promo video
︎ OPENING SURFACE
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
January 21, 2017
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
January 21, 2017
Zolloc, Untitled, 2016
The opening reception of Surface, a group exhibition featuring work by five Mana BSMT Residents who work primarily as GIF artists: Matthias Brown (Traceloops), Sam Cannon, Julian Glander, Thoka Maer, and Hayden Zezula (Zolloc). This was their first exploration into creating work that can only be experienced in a physical space: sculpture, installation, performance, and gaming. By eliminating screens and creating site-specific experiences, the exhibition illustrated a collective surfacing from the digital to the physical realm.
︎ manacontemporary.com/surfaceopening
︎ Watch video recap
︎ BSMT NIGHTS: THE MYTH OF LAYLA
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
October 15, 2016
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
October 15, 2016
Amy Khoshbin, Gold Lady: Terror Level Five, Eyes Open. Photo by Corbin Ordel
BSMT resident Amy Khoshbin presented the final performance of The Myth of Layla, followed by a Q&A with Carmen Hermo, Assistant Curator at the Brooklyn Museum.
︎ manacontemporary.com/2016-1015-bsmtnights
︎ Watch video recap.
︎ ARTIST TALK WITH AZIKIWE MOHAMMED AND KIMBERLY DREW
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
October 15, 2016
Mana Contemporary, Jersey City
October 15, 2016
Azikiwe Mohammed and Kimberly Drew
A conversation between BSMT resident Azikiwe Mohammed and Kimberly Drew, founder/curator of the Black Contemporary Art Tumblr. The discussion revolved around Mohammed’s recent work, Jimmy’s Thrift, a presentation of found and artist-made items located in the fictional town of New Davonhaime, through which Mohammed contemplates a lost collective past and a new contemporary ideation of blackness.
︎ manacontemporary.com/jimmysthrift
︎ Watch video recap