The Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery is pleased to present the work of Iraqi born artist Wafaa Bilal in a virtual exhibition that will open on April 6, 2021 through April 1, 2022 in New Art City. Wafaa Bilal is known internationally for his on-line performative and interactive works provoking dialogue about international and interpersonal politics. Bilal’s work explores tensions between the cultural spaces he occupies —his home in the comfort zone of the U.S. and his consciousness in the conflict zone in Iraq. Produced as part of Bilal’s virtual artist residency at the Thompson Gallery, this exhibition presents project documentation, prototypes, and designs for a 2U cube satellite constructed in partnership with the Digital Media Arts Program at SJSU, which will be launched into orbit in 2022.
Wish You Were Here grew out of a series of brainstorming sessions with the Natalie & James Thompson Gallery and faculty from Art & Design departments at San Jose State University about ways to meaningfully connect the themes from the San Jose Story Map with the visual arts while sheltering in place. Wish You Were Here serves as way to collect multidisciplinary contributions of visual & text based work focused on placemaking in San Jose with sub-themes of: Sheltering in Place, Sustainability, Cultural History, Generational Connectivity, Transformation.
People's Kitchen Collective (PKC) works at the intersection of art and activism as a food-centered political education project. Based in Oakland, California, our creative practices reflect the diverse histories and backgrounds of co-founders Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, Jocelyn Jackson, and Saqib Keval. Written in our families' recipes are the maps of our migrations and the stories of our resilience. It is from this foundation that we create immersive experiences that honor the shared struggles of our people. We believe in radical hospitality as a strategy to address the urgent social issues of our time.
