'Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora' | MCASD
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego will open a major exhibition of art that is connected to the Caribbean during the globally transformative and volatile 1990s. The exhibit is divided into a series of sections — Territories, Formal Rhythms, Exchange, Image Making, Landscape and Traces — drawing on issues and ideas of geography, movement and migration, cultural exchange, memory, nature, violence and legacy.
Exhibiting artists include Félix González-Torres, Julien Creuzet, Alia Farid, Jeannette Ehlers, Tomm El-Saieh, Christopher Cozier, Lorraine O'Grady and many more. The exhibit is organized in San Diego by Isabel Casso, MCASD's associate curator. Casso worked on the original exhibit when it opened at MCA Chicago, alongside the curatorial team of Carla Acevedo-Yates, Iris Colburn and Nolan Jimbo.
Details: "Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora." On view April 18 through July 21. Free public opening on April 18. MCASD, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. $0-$25.
'The Artist Speaks: Cara Romero' | MOPA
Indigenous photographer Cara Romero will present the keynote lecture at the 2024 Medium Festival of Photography on April 26, and that same weekend, will open a solo exhibition at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA @ San Diego Museum of Art) in the original MOPA space.
Romero's photography is fascinating, intensely colorful, powerfully staged and steeped in symbolism, merging modern and traditional aesthetics in a way that seems seamless and intuitive. Her Chemehuevi background and upbringing in the South West influences her work, as does her gift of visual storytelling. The exhibit at MOPA spotlights three series: "Native California," "Imagining Indigenous Futures," and "Native Woman."
Related: Don't miss the Medium Festival's "Size Matters" exhibit, running April 2-27 at the Athenaeum Art Center.
Details: "The Artist Speaks: Cara Romero." April 27 through Oct. 20, 2024. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. MOPA@SDMA, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free.
Shirin Towfiq: 'Threaded Journeys' | The Mingei
Local interdisciplinary artist Shirin Towfiq will show a series of textile and object installations at Mingei International Museum that draws on her experience as a second generation Iranian refugee and her relationship with folklore and craft.
One of the works, "Thinking About Migration," features a series of suspended, printed sheer textiles that resemble rugs but sway in a mesmerizing lightness. Another, "Looking for a Sign," is an airy, quilt-like assemblage of stitched together used tea bags. When lit, the piece seems to glow warmly.
Tea is significant in Towfiq's own family history. In an artist statement, she remembers the way her grandparents would talk about their lives in Iran. "When their memories about the 1979 Revolution became too difficult to tell, they would offer me sweets with tea to avoid the pain of a direct conversation, leaving my understanding of this history fragmented and incomplete,” Towfiq said.
Details: Shirin Towfiq: "Threaded Journeys." March 30 through Aug. 11, 2024. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (open until 8 p.m. on Friday). Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. $0-$15.
'Dia de la Mujer: Invisible Traditions' | The Front
This year's annual Dia de la Mujer exhibition at The Front Arte & Cultura is actually a binational exhibition, with a sister installation at Tijuana's Casa de la Cultura. Curated by Katalina Silva and Arzu Ozkal, this year's theme is "Invisible Traditions," about the intersection of power with the everyday practices of women and nonbinary artists. The works are strikingly diverse: sculpture, installation, painting, photography, video and more.
In San Ysidro, Foi Jiménez Jurado, Maria José Crespo, Carmina León, Ava Avnisan, Andrea Carrillo and Gail Swanlund are the invited artists, along with 24 juried artists (including Sepideh Shamloufard, Chitra Gopalakrishnan, Sage Serrano, Natalie Gonzalez and more). At Tijuana's Casa de la Cultura Altamira, Beliz Iristay and Carolina Montejo are the invited artists, along with 12 juried artists (including Claudia Cano, Lauryn Pacheco, Gabriela Ponce and more).
Details: "Invisible Traditions." On view March 9 through May 11. In the U.S.: The Front Arte y Cultura, 147 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro. In Mexico: Casa de la Cultura Altamira, Av. Paris y Lisboa #5 Col. Altamira, Zona Centro, Tijuana. Free.
Jean Cornell Wheat and Elizabeth Salaam with 'Beautiful, Brilliant & Brave' | Mesa College Art Gallery
Mesa College Art Gallery's next exhibition is a two-part project that spotlights Black women in America. One exhibit features the work of longtime local arts icon Jean Cornwell Wheat and Elizabeth Salaam, including Salaam's recent, profound body of work using a series of braids made from synthetic hair.
The "Beautiful, Brilliant & Brave" exhibit is a set of panels honoring Black women, originally curated in 2014 by Starla Lewis and Aisha Hollins for the Women's Museum of California The panels honor 20 Black women artists, leaders and activists.
Details: "We Are Women" / "Beautiful, Brilliant & Brave." On view March 18-April 18. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 12-5 p.m. San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery, Fine Arts Building, FA103, 7250 Mesa College Dr., Linda Vista. Free. Parking is $1 per hour via kiosk in Lot 1.
