Mobilizing Citizenship: Representation Of The Body Through Sculpture with Jennie Bringaker
Project
November – November 2019
This workshop focused on questioning visual surroundings, challenging dominating visual standards, and exploring conceptual norms of what makes something beautiful through the realm of folklore, fairytales and fables.
The participants were invited to re-write the narrative of ‘Snow White’ using only Mad-Libs-style fill-in-the-blanks up until the conclusion, which the participants re-wrote entirely. The outcome was a collaborative “digital storybook”, created by Luke, Jader and Nick from Toxic Waste Face entitled, SNOW WHAT!?
Toxic Waste Face created a colourfully rich platform for the participants to explore literature, the structures it reinforces, and how those dynamics can be subverted. The participants were given agency over their costumes, characters and narrative, creating a texture rich fairytale with a contemporary twist to their ‘happy ever after’.
Curator: Kristina Ketola Bore
Project Manager: Marisa Molin
Youth Worker: Trine Ottosen
Mobilizing Citizenship has received generous funding from Arts Council Norway, Nordic Culture Point and Rogaland County Municipality.
Toxic Waste Face
Toxic Waste Face has been envisioned as a vehicle to collectively examine issues of contemporary gender identity and social performance through explorations of the fantastic and the grotesque. By making use of each artist’s unique talents, we aim to produce multi-media work that defies genre.
Sharp Shadow. Kunsthall Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway. 17 October, 2019. Performance by Toxic Waste Face (Pseuda, Scam Likely and Jader); The Feed. Satellite Art Show, Miami, FL. 6–9 December, 2018. Video installation and Performance by Toxic Waste Face (Pseuda, Scam Likely and Jader); ¡Demasiado! A SOMArts Benefits Honoring René Yañez. SOMArts, San Francisco, CA. 14 April, 2018. Performance; MEGAMALL. Vivvy's Grand Opening - Toxic Waste Face Takeover. The Stud, San Francisco, CA. 14 July, 2017; Untitled. SALTA Dance Collective: Pseudo, Anti and Total Dance. Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA. 25 March, 2016; Spurmbank. #HoldingOnToSF. Incline Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 26 June, 2015.
Mobilizing Citizenship (MC)
Mobilizing Citizenship (MC) is an educational project where Norwegian and international artists and designers are invited to work with a small group of young people aged 12-16 at Kunsthall Stavanger during one semester. The overall focus of MC is to investigate how young people can use tools and methods from contemporary art to express themselves and be heard in today's society. MC is not a talent development programme, but rather an investigation into how contemporary art can be a relevant contribution in young people’s lives.
Since its inception in 2018, MC has developed into a practice-based research project. During the period 2022–2024, the project will focus on building more knowledge about how we can create good meetings between contemporary art and young people. As part of this, we are collaborating with institutions and cultural workers from around the world who have expertise in this area. The result of the project will take the form of reflections and documentations, made accessible to artists, curators, cultural workers and institutions who want to create relevant offerings for young people.
Previous Themes and Participants:
Spring 2022
DRAMA
With: Lee Heinemann (curator), Delali Ayivor, Lex Brown, Ingela Ihrman
Autumn 2019
Unpacking the Visual Norms
With: Benedetta Crippa, Toxic Waste Face, Jennie Bringaker, Lee Heinemann
Spring 2019
Movement and Body Representation
With: WALK OF SHAME, Sidsel Christensen, Zinzi Minott, Trojan Horse (Kaisa Karvinen, Tommi Vasko)
Autumn 2018
Public Space in the Context of the Digital
With: Clara Balaguer, Eglé Kulbokaité and Dorota Gawęda, Laurel Schwulst, Andreas Knag Danielsen and David Lamignan Larsen
Spring 2018
Activism as Artistic Tool
With: Hardworking Goodlooking (Clara Balaguer, Kristian Henson), Synnøve Sizou G. Wetten, Hans Edward Hammonds, Nicole Killian and Benjamin Hickethier