 | Show Dates: March 3rd-31st Artists Panel: Saturday, March 26, 5-7pm Abrams Claghorn Gallery 1251 Solano Ave. Albany, CA 94706 Curated by Pamela Blotner and Elizabeth Addison Featuring: Emmanuel Montoya, Judy Shintani, Priscilla Otani, Salma Arastu, Sharon Siskin, Art Hazelwood, Ernest Jolly, Judy Johnson-Williams, Patricia A. Montgomery, Anthony Julius Williams, René Yañez |
About the Exhibit
"Crossing to Safety showcases works by twelve artists in the San Francisco Bay Area who draw and reflect upon their families’ journeys to, and settlement in, a new land. Like each fresh wave of migrants, these refugees endured disease, hunger, substandard housing, racism, and exploitation yet went on to enrich northern California with their music, art, architecture, and cuisine.
The participating artists work in range of media to address the positive and negative experiences thatboth long-time residents and new immigrants now face in the Bay Area. The positive attributes include the reclamation of wetlands, availability of local produce, and a vibrant and multicultural atmosphere, while the negative attributes include the growing influx of technology companies and their highly-paid employees which has caused soaring housing costs, eviction, and homelessness.
The artists in the exhibition have dedicated their lives to art and activism on behalf of immigrants and other marginalized communities. Both the curators and artists believe that art can compliment social and economic reforms aimed at providing more equitable living conditions and jobs for all Bay Area residents.
Their works, sculptures, paintings, prints, installations, and performances, reflect each artist’s own experiences of migration and/or thoughts on the continuing immigration to the Bay Area."
The participating artists work in range of media to address the positive and negative experiences thatboth long-time residents and new immigrants now face in the Bay Area. The positive attributes include the reclamation of wetlands, availability of local produce, and a vibrant and multicultural atmosphere, while the negative attributes include the growing influx of technology companies and their highly-paid employees which has caused soaring housing costs, eviction, and homelessness.
The artists in the exhibition have dedicated their lives to art and activism on behalf of immigrants and other marginalized communities. Both the curators and artists believe that art can compliment social and economic reforms aimed at providing more equitable living conditions and jobs for all Bay Area residents.
Their works, sculptures, paintings, prints, installations, and performances, reflect each artist’s own experiences of migration and/or thoughts on the continuing immigration to the Bay Area."
- Abrams Claghorn Gallery
The Curators
"Pamela Blotner is a Bay Area artist, educator and curator. Early in her career, as a Texas state Artist-in-Education, she taught and developed arts curricula for elementary and high school students newly immigrated from Mexico to Corpus Christi and Brownsville Texas. She has worked with refugee artists in Bosnia, Croatia and Burma and in 2007, curated an exhibition of contemporary Burmese art at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon and later brought a similar exhibition, “We Are Burma,” to Berkeley. Her recent curatorial effort “Envisioning Human Rights” celebrated the 20th Anniversary of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center. The exhibition, held in the School of Law, featured the works of international photographers working with threatened populations throughout the world.
Elizabeth Addison is a Berkeley-based visual artist, curator, and educator whose works are included in The California Endowment permanent collection and in numerous private and public collections. The granddaughter of immigrants herself, she has worked with and taught many of the disenfranchised including six years directing an after-school enrichment program that served as an ad hoc day care for struggling families and undocumented children. In 2014, she assisted Pamela Blotner with her curatorial project, “Envisioning Human Rights,” and produced the graphic communication and outreach materials for the exhibit. She is an Artist-in-Residence at Kala Art Institute, NCWCA (Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art) Professional Development Chair, and a WEAD member."
Elizabeth Addison is a Berkeley-based visual artist, curator, and educator whose works are included in The California Endowment permanent collection and in numerous private and public collections. The granddaughter of immigrants herself, she has worked with and taught many of the disenfranchised including six years directing an after-school enrichment program that served as an ad hoc day care for struggling families and undocumented children. In 2014, she assisted Pamela Blotner with her curatorial project, “Envisioning Human Rights,” and produced the graphic communication and outreach materials for the exhibit. She is an Artist-in-Residence at Kala Art Institute, NCWCA (Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art) Professional Development Chair, and a WEAD member."
- Abrams Claghorn Gallery
Rising (100 Pg. World Atlas) by Sharon Siskin // 14” x 10” // Found Book with Burnt Text, Cotton Thread and Wooden Matches
Review by Adriana Villagran
Crossing to Safety is incredibly relevant to so many conversations and dialogues in the media right now. Each artist has such a rich story to tell from all corners of the globe about the human toll of displacement, crossing borders, and making roots in a new land. From the current crisis in Syria to local San Francisco conversations about gentrification and the uprooting of whole communities due to rising rents, the ideas of migration and displacement are fresh in most people's minds. The exhibit is a diverse collection of thoughtful, interactive works that truly strike a chord with these fresh cultural wounds.
| As I was guided through the gallery by the curators I was given a detailed narrative about each personal history behind the artist's work. Both Pamela and Elizabeth were generous enough to investigate each piece a little deeper and I was inspired by the strong sense of community, support and empathy amongst the artists, curators, and the gallery team. This certainly comes across in the exhibition itself. The layout of the exhibit invites a variety of interactions with the work. Sharon Siskin's "Rising (100 Pg. World Atlas)" included conservation gloves to wear while you flipped through the atlas pages with overlaid burnt text. The experience of carefully scanning the delicate pages and juxtaposing the text with her other pieces provided a rich, tactile experience of a multifaceted and researched series. Similarly, Judy Shintani's "Lifeline Byobu" payed homage to three generations of her family while inviting viewers to leave prayers for families, ancestors, and those yet to arrive in the form of cut pieces of yarn which they could be strewn over the screen. As I moved throughout the space, it became clear that each artist's contribution was borne from a place of individual experience but ultimately endeavored to address a larger shared experience and encouraged empathy from the viewers. The exhibit is rich with not only personal experiences but larger cultural narratives of migration. The show is certainly a must-see for history and geography buffs. Many of the works creatively map migrations in a wide variety of media. Emmanuel Montoya's imposing piece title "The Border Crossed Us!" is a particularly commanding installation that speaks to the idea that the free movement of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas was happening long before Europeans imposed borders to lay claim to a land that was never theirs. Safe to say it is a poignant piece made even more so by the implications of how Montoya chose to alter the Statue of Liberty: |  "Lifeline Byobu" by Judy Shintani // 78” x 72” x 24 // Mixed media  "Lifeline Byobu" by Judy Shintani // 78” x 72” x 24 // Mixed media |
"Her back is turned, yet she carefully peers over her shoulder to those migrating from the south. She stands with both arms lowered, motionless; for them she holds no guiding light, no words etched in stone promising the comfort of liberty and freedom from the harsh realities left behind. " - "The Border Crossed Us!", description
"The Border Crossed Us!" by Emmanuel Montoya // 144” x 12”// Mixed Media Installation
Many of the artists' work also speaks to a very relevant issue in the Bay Area, one that dominates daily conversations and socio-political dialogues. The hot-button issue of gentrification, rising rents, and the subsequent dispersal of the local creative class is common theme and often directly experienced by the artist. René Yañez's series documents his own battle against being uprooted from the Mission District of San Francisco, the area which is at the epicenter of the whole debate.
 Collection of works by René Yañez | Throughout his years in the Mission he has been a remained a steadfast supporter of grass-roots organizations and community artists, collaborating with organizations such as SomArts, Oakland Museum of California, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Kearny Street Workshop, Mission Cultural Center and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Thankfully, Montoya's battle was successful and he has been able to keep his place in the vibrant Mission District. All together, the pieces and performances of Crossing to Safety reveal a common narrative of the personal struggle to overcome the crushing realities of being uprooted from one's home and native land. The exhibit highlights the importance of preserving one's sense of self by staying rooted to family traditions and heritage while still being open to change and adaptation. Expect to linger at each piece to investigate both the personal history behind it and the larger cultural implications. Interacting with each work is an opportunity to walk a strange and turbulent path in another person's shoes; the ultimate lesson in compassion and acceptance. |
What's unique about Abrams Claghorn
Abrams Claghorn is a new gallery on the block. The space was recently taken over by Robert Abrams little more than a year ago, and already the gallery has been making great strides. They have already nurtured an excellent selection of artists and makers and it is consistently growing and becoming more diverse. In addition, Abrams has spearheaded a
| gallery model that will allow him to showcase artwork that is more interactive and experiential, which is what we at Venison are ALL about. He makes a clear delineation between fine art and functional art, and does not downplay the value and beauty of either. The space is broken into a two sections dedicated to showcasing both. The shop contains functional pieces made by local crafters in a variety of media including ceramic, wood, glass, and metal. The gallery section is dedicated to showcasing non-functional work by artists whose work is not easily commodified or quantifiable. Not only that but he has made it a point to give exhibition opportunities to artists who are often underrepresented in the contemporary art world. Abrams went into the project of opening the new space with this express purpose in mind. He was able to avoid the pressure of having to select work that is "sellable" and could make space for work that takes risks and is no less valuable to the community. The proceeds from the sale of functional art go towards supporting local artisans as well as supporting the fine art gallery. It was so refreshing speak with the team about these goals and priorities, and I'm hopeful that other independent galleries will hop on their bandwagon. |  Detail of installation by René Yañez  Detail of installation by René Yañez |
Learn more about the exhibit and hear directly from the artists at the upcoming artists panel on Saturday, March 26, 5-7pm.
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