Please join us for the opening celebration of our newest exhibition, Dress Up, Speak Up: Regalia and Resistance featuring an artist discussion with Bisa Butler and Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites. Enjoy special performances by DJ G9 from Meraki Haus  and Beyond Ballet an hour before and after the event. Beyond Ballet dancers will be dressed by Cincinnati based fashion designer Tessa Clark.

6pm cocktails
7pm discussion begins

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Bedecked and bejeweled, the figures populating Dress Up, Speak Up occupy fluid space and time, evoking past and present, fact and fiction, memory and desire, to illuminate the complexity of contemporary identity. Whether clad in the stylized garb of Enlightenment-era Europe, the traditional coverings of ancient religious tradition, or the gender-bending bling of popular culture, these representations of self and other role-play in real time, reach back through history to address prevailing personal, social, and political challenges.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Combining fabrics of different textures, colors, and patterns, Bisa Butler recreates images from historical photographs to narrate new stories, weaving together a long, rich history of African American quilting to present multifaceted tales of resilience, paying homage to her subjects’ strengths and vulnerabilities, and to their pain and their power. Butler received her BA in Fine Art from Howard University and her MA in Art Education from Montclair State University. In 2020, Butler will have solo shows at both the Art Institute of Chicago and the Katonah Museum of Art, NY.

Image: Bisa Butler (American), Three Kings (detail), 2018.