Group Exhibition - Global Positioning at Public Art Fund, New York

20 Artists: Global Positioning
Public Art Fund
Jan 26, 2022 - Jun 5, 2022
JCDecaux bus shelters: New York City, Chicago, and Boston

Walid Al Wawi (n. 1988, Palestina / Jordania. Vive en Londres, Reino Unido y en Dubái, EAU), Tony Albert (n. 1981, Townsville, Australia. Vive en Brisbane, Australia), Myriam Boulos (n. 1992, Beirut, Líbano. Vive en Beirut, Líbano), Lastenia Canayo (n. 1962, Roroboya, Perú. Vive en Coronel Portillo, Perú), Sean Connelly (n. 1984, Oahu, Hawái. Vive en Honolulu, Hawái), Nolan Oswald Dennis (n. 1988, Lusaka, Zambia. Vive en Johannesburgo, Sudáfrica), Zoncy Heavenly (n. 1987, Tanintharyi, Birmania. Vive en Rangún, Birmania), Ali Kazim (n. 1979, Pakistán. Vive en Lahore, Pakistán), Dada Khanyisa (n. 1991, Umzimkulu, Sudáfrica. Vive en Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica), Pushpa Kumari (n. 1969, Madhubani, India. Vive en India), Karam Natour (n. 1992, Nazaret, Israel. Vive en Tel Aviv, Israel), Rosana Paulino (n. 1967, São Paulo, Brasil. Vive en São Paulo, Brasil), Denisse Ariana Pérez (n. 1988, Santiago, República Dominicana. Vive en Barcelona, España), Jason Phu (n. 1989, Sídney, Australia. Vive en Melbourne, Australia), Abel Rodríguez (n. 1941, La Chorrera – Amazonas, Colombia. Vive en Bogotá, Colombia), Kwan Sheung Chi (n. 1980, Hong Kong. Vive en Hong Kong), Chen Wei (n. 1980, Zhejiang, China. Vive en Pekín, China), Kaylene Whiskey (n. 1976, Mpartnwe (Alice Springs), Australia. Vive en Indulkana, Australia), Vasantha Yogananthan (n. 1985, Francia. Vive en Marsella, Francia) y Rufai Zakari (n. 1990, Acra, Ghana. Vive en Acra y en Bawku, Ghana).

Shared vulnerability has united the world, yet the pandemic has also revealed and sharpened many divisions. Both direct and indirect effects have been unequally distributed among demographic groups, communities, and regions. After a second year of the pandemic, how do we begin to understand our reshaped lives and world? What perspectives might be offered by artists from different cultures and locations?

Global Positioning presents new artworks by an intergenerational group of 20 artists from 17 countries exhibited on 320 JCDecaux bus shelters throughout New York City, Chicago, and Boston. These creative voices span disparate regions across six continents including the Amazon rainforest in Colombia; the desert lands of the Indulkana Community in Central Australia; the West African port city of Accra, Ghana; and Yangon, Myanmar, where in 2021 the military brutally seized control. Embracing our global community, the exhibition aims to provide points of cultural reconnection with the world beyond our borders. 

Processing this turbulent period with a blend of thoughtfulness, hope, incisiveness, and wit, these newly commissioned works illustrate a common impulse to create, communicate, and imagine a future of possibility. Shared themes emerge across a number of the artists’ contributions. Environmental concerns highlight a sensitivity to the growing impact of the climate crisis. Several artists explore relationships between indigenous forms of knowledge and popular culture in a globalized world. Images that register conflict and anxiety are also imbued with fantasy, humor, and spirituality. Traversing boundaries of culture, language, history, and politics, the remarkable works created for Global Positioning ultimately reveal our shared humanity.  

Global Positioning is curated by Public Art Fund Artistic & Executive Director Nicholas Baume, Public Art Fund Curator Daniel S. Palmer, and Public Art Fund Associate Curator Katerina Stathopoulou.

Copyright text: Public Art Fund