New Labor Movements: Short Films, Arts & Photographic Exhibit

Submitted by the Event Organizer

McEvoy Foundation for the Arts presents ‘New Labor Movements,’ a collection of short films that explore contemporary visions of America and concepts of transnational Blackness. Oakland-based curator Leila Weefur organizes the program to consider the question of “What is America today?” as inspired by ‘Lessons of the Hour,’ British artist Isaac Julien’s immersive film and photographic exhibition on the life and legacy of Frederick Douglass. Both exhibitions are on view at McEvoy Arts from October 14, 2020 – March 13, 2021. Admission is free. McEvoy Arts is open Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–6pm.

Across four hourlong “movements,” that run continuously in the gallery’s Screening Room, the program navigates the philosophical, psychological, and emotional landscapes that manifest in the lives of slavery’s descendants and those living in the aftermath of slavery’s effects. The act of movement is a structurally fluid principle that informs bodily, communal, and societal actions and is shown to reveal the nuance of global political critique and a profound broadness of Black life across borders. Taking inspiration from the multi-sensorial, meditative qualities of ‘Lessons,’ the program sparks a dialogue amongst a gender diverse, intergenerational cohort of contemporary filmmakers that explores the creation of cinematic narrative and Black political history.

Featured artists: Garrett Bradley; Charlotte Brathwaite; Elegance Bratton; Terrance Daye; Adrien Gystere Peskine; Claudrena Harold; Christopher Harris; Lonnie Holley; Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich; Onyeka Igwe; Jovan James; Kevin Jerome Everson; Mitch McCabe; Cyrus Moussavi; Darol Olu Kae; Eden Tinto Collins; and Morgan Quaintance.

“Movement I: Assembly” and “Movement II: Resistance/Selfhood” screen daily in 2020. Movements III and IV premiere in 2021.

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