September 6 – November 5, 2017

Kaplan Gallery

Opening Reception and Artist Talk: Friday, September 8, 7 – 9 PM

Rockville, MD- Through a series of programs and events Cultural Platforms for Resistance highlights the radical creativity of a new generation blurring the boundaries between art, advocacy, and activism. Uniting together artist, collectives, cultural producers, educators, and emerging voices, Cultural Platforms for Resistance becomes an auxiliary for a rising generation. Featuring a cohort of seven artists from the DMV area, along with a flex space for community building, Cultural Platforms for Resistance seeks to provide a space for new and existing voices to be heard. culturalplatforms.com

About the curator: Ashley DeHoyos is an emerging curator from Houston, Texas, who currently lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography from Sam Houston State University and her Masters in Fine Arts in Curatorial Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art. She has worked as an intern at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in partnership with ArtTable, and was an Urban Arts Leadership Fellow under the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance at Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. Most recently, Ashley has been working as a Community Art and Service Program Assistant at Maryland Institute College of Art and college mentor with Bloomberg Art Internship Baltimore. 

Featured artists include Amarie Baker, Anahita (Ani) Bradberry, Kristen Brown, Edgar Reyes, Strange encounters (Ayesha Aijaz and Salsabeel Abdelhamid), Teens for Teens, and Yellow Jackets Collective.

Program of Events

September 8 /// 7 – 9 PM
Opening Reception

September 9 /// 12:30 -2:30 PM
Healing Workshop, Kaplan Gallery
Hosted by Aayesha Aijaz

September 16 /// 1 – 3 PM, September 17 /// 12 – 4 PM
Double Threat: Some History on Queerness and Yellow Femmehood, Kaplan Gallery
Hosted by Yellow Jackets Collective

September 23 /// 1 – 3 PM
Zine Making Workshop, Kaplan Gallery, Teens for Teens Space
Hosted by Beast Grrl Collective

September 24 /// 11:30 – 4 PM
F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts, Rooftop
Hosted by VisArts 

September 30 /// 12 – 1 PM
Screen Printing Workshop, Kaplan Gallery
Hosted by Edgar Reyes

October 1 /// 12 – 4 PM
GuerillArt (part of ArtWatch DC), Kaplan Gallery
GuerillArt invites participants to make an interactive banner that will list their most pressing current issues.  This scroll will grow over time and become a historical artifact documenting the public’s concerns and a powerful visual protest tool.

October 11 /// 6 – 8 PM
Open Mic Night: Spoken Word/Performances, Kaplan Gallery
*Special Performance by Judy Swearingen/*Graphic content, mature audience only.
In a tribute to the piece Silence = Death by David Wojnarowicz, Judy Swearingen, will sew their mouth shut in an hour performance at the hands of professional piercer in front of a live audience.

Openly resisting dominant culture is a privilege many cannot afford. As a performance artist, I use my middle-class, white, American privilege to confront my fears based on consequences of speaking out. As a young queer individual, I benefit from the many before me who suffered the consequences of a less tolerant society. Allowing me to be more vocal than past generations. This performance is an homage to the artist, David W. who with his visual and written artwork resisted and staked claim to his rights and dignity and free speech of a queer people and art.

October 14 /// 1:30 – 4:00PM
Beast Grrl Collective Zine Workshop, Kaplan Gallery
Beast Grrl Collective is a youth-run feminist organization interested in promoting youth empowerment, feminist education, and art activism. We publish a zine, organize service projects, and host events around Baltimore City. All of the artwork, poems, essays, and more featured in their zines are created by young women in Baltimore. 

Beast Grrl Collective believes that the power of youth should not be overlooked, and through this project, they hope to help them realize their voice. Beast Grrl Collective was founded in the summer of 2014 when the first issue of Beast Grrl Zine was published. Since then they have created ten issues of Beast Grrl Zine, organized zine-making workshops and other events around Baltimore City, and worked with groups like FORCE, Balti-Gurls, and Red Emma’s Bookstore. Beast Grrl Collective is funded by Youth as Resources and The Research Associate’s Foundation. Beast Grrl is run by three high school students at Baltimore School for the Arts.

November 5 /// 1 – 4:00PM
Cultural Platforms for Resistance Zine and Creators Fest