September 20 - November 22, 2008  Opening Reception Saturday September

SIGNS OF CHANGE: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now

@Exit Art
475 Tenth Avenue (at 36th Street) New York, NY 10018
20, 2008, 7-10 pm

In Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now, hundreds of
posters, photographs, moving images, audio clips, and ephemera bring to
life over forty years of activism, political protest, and campaigns for
social justice. Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee as part of Exit
Art's Curatorial Incubator Program, this important and timely exhibition
surveys the creative work of dozens of international social movements.
Organized thematically, the exhibition presents the creative outpourings
of social movements, such as those for civil rights and black power in the
United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in
Europe; environmental activism and women's rights internationally; and the
global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests, such as those for
indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and
for social change in France. The exhibition also explores the development
of powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics and
create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organizations.
Although histories of political groups and counter-cultures have been
written, and political and activist shows have been held, this exhibition
is a groundbreaking attempt to chronicle the artistic and cultural
production of these movements. Signs of Change offers a chance to see
relatively unknown or rarely seen works, and is intended to not only
provide a historical framework for contemporary activism, but also to
serve as an inspiration for the present and the future.  This exhibition
will travel to the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburgh, PA, January 23 - March 8, 2009.  During the exhibition, there
will be ongoing screen printing workshops with guest artists and activists
in collaboration with the Lower East Side Printshop as well as the
following programs and events.   DAILY SCREENING SERIES  Films in the
sers include Newe Segobia is Not for Sale: The Struggle for Western
Shoshone Land (1993); The Land Belongs to Those Who Work It / La tierra es
de quien la trabaja (2005); To Walk Naked (1995); Break and Enter (1970);
Stronger than Before (1983); Carry Greenham Home (1984); Korea: Until Day
Break (Excerpt from ...will be televised) (1990); Un Poquito de Tanta
Verdad / A Little Bit of So Much Truth (2008); What the Fuck Are These Red
Squares? (1970); The Columbia University Divestment Struggle: Paper Tiger
at Mandela Hall (1985); Standing with Palestine (2004); Five Days for
Peace (1973); Indonesia: Art, Activism, and Rock 'n' Roll (2002); People's
Park (1969); Excerpt from Lanesville Overview I; Be a DIVA (1990); I the
Film (2006); A Very Big Train Called the Other Campaign / Un tren muy
grande que se llama: La Otra Campaña (2006); Crowd Bites Wolf (2001);
Fourth World War (2003); Newsreel shorts and other films TBA.   For a
complete schedule, please visit www.exitart.org (Link:
mailer.e-artnow.org ).

SPECIAL PROGRAMS  TWO-PANEL SYMPOSIUM  THURSDAY,
September 25: Signs of Change Symposium  6 pm: Producing and Distributing
Social Movement Culture  Panelists include: Sphinx/Indymedia Africa,
illcommonz (Japan), Favianna Rodriguez/Tumis Design (Oakland, CA) and
others TBA. Moderated by Gregory Sholette, Assistant Professor Queens
College Department of Art, Co-Founder PAD/D & REPOhistory/New York.   8
pm: Assessing the History and Future of Social Movement Culture: A
Critical Analysis  Panelists include: Sasha Roseneil/Professor of
Sociology and Social Theory, Director, Birkbeck Institute for Social
Research, Birbeck, University of London (UK), Mary Patten/Artist &
Professor, School of the Art Institute (Chicago), and others TBA.
Moderated by Kazembe Balagun, Brecht Forum/blogger:
blackmanwithalibrary.com (New York, NY).  COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND  Saturday,
OCTOBER 11 to Monday, OCTOBER 13:  Weekend of Screenings and Discussion,
co-sponsored by 16beaver group  TheSigns of Change Weekend of Screenings
and Discussion brings together films and videos from the past 40 years
that raise questions about what it means to participate in both cultural
production and political action. Discussions will follow each screening.
Curated in collaboration with Benj Gerdes and Paige Sarlin of 16beaver
group.  SATURDAY, October 11 at Exit Art  4 pm: Finally Got the News
(1970, 16mm, League of Revolutionary Black Workers).  7:30 pm: Narita: The
Peasants of the Second Fortress (Sanrizuka: Dainitoride no hitobito)
(1971, B&W, 143 min., 16 mm, Ogawa Pro).  In Japanese with English
subtitles.  Introduced by Sabu Kohso, Japan-born writer and activist, and
Barbara Hammer, filmmaker.  Screening Co-sponsored by
Asian/Pacific/American Institute and Tisch Department of Photography &
Imaging at NYU in conjunction with The Uses of 1968: Legacies of Art and
Activism Symposium and 1968: Then and Now Exhibition.  SUNDAY, October 12
at 16beaver group   12 pm - 9 pm; $5 - $10 donation   Featuring Diva TV
(1989); Queen Mother Moore Speech at Green Haven Prison (1971); Winter
Soldier (1972); Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan (2008); Stronger Than
Before (1983); Fourth World War (2003) and others TBA. Discussions to
follow.  MONDAY, October 13 at 16beaver group  12 pm - 9 pm; $5 - $10
donation  Featuring Happy Anniversary San Francisco, March 20-21 (2003);
What the Fuck Are These Red Squares? (1970); U.S. Premiere of Five Days
for Peace (1973); Crowd Bites Wolf (2001); A Very Big Train Called the
Other Campaign (2006); U.S. Premiere of What Would It Mean to Win? (2008);
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993); and others TBA. Discussions
to follow.  For more information on the programs at 16Beaver, please visit
www.16beavergroup.org or call 212.... 16beaver group is located at 16
Beaver Street, Fourth Floor, New York City.   FRIDAY, October 24, 6-8 pm:
Premiere screening of newly subtitled short films and footage of the 1960s
Dutch Provo movement, and book release of Richard Kempton's Provo:
Amsterdam's Anarchist Revolt (in collaboration with Autonomedia Press).
SCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOPS  In collaboration with the Lower East Side
Printshop the exhibition will feature ongoing screen printing workshops
with guest artists and activists. Check www.exitart.org for schedule and
participating artists.  ELECTION NIGHT AT EXIT ART Save the date November
4, 2008. Please check www.exitart.org for more details.   EXHIBITION
SUPPORT  Signs of Change is supported by a major grant from the Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.  Additional support provided by the
Museum Program at the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency,
and the Starry Night Fund at The Tides Foundation.  Public programs are
supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Material
support for the screen printing studio provided by the Lower East Side
Printshop, New York. General exhibition support provided by Bloomberg LP;
Carnegie Corporation; Jerome Foundation; Pollock-Krasner Foundation; Exit
Art's Board of Directors and our members. We gratefully acknowledge public
funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Council
Speaker Christine C. Quinn and New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane.
Sponsoring partners of Signs of Change are The Center for the Study of
Political Graphics (CSPG) in Los Angeles and the International Institute
of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam.  ABOUT EXIT ART  Exit Art is an
independent vision of contemporary culture. We are prepared to react
immediately to important issues that affect our lives. We do experimental,
historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political and
environmental issues. We absorb cultural differences that become prototype
exhibitions. We are a center for multiple disciplines. Exit Art is a 25
year old cultural center in New York City founded by Directors Jeanette
Ingberman and Papo Colo, that has grown from a pioneering alternative art
space, into a model artistic center for the 21st century committed to
supporting artists whose quality of work reflects the transformations of
our culture. Exit Art is internationally recognized for its unmatched
spirit of inventiveness and consistent ability to anticipate the newest
trends in the culture. With a substantial reputation for curatorial
innovation and depth of programming in diverse media, Exit Art is always
changing.  CURATORIAL INCUBATOR  The inaugural exhibition of Exit Art's
Curatorial Incubator Program is Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures
1960s to Now, curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee. The program
expands Exit Art's commitment to young and emerging curators and scholars
in contemporary art, by giving material, financial, and human resources to
developing curatorial talent. Working with Exit Art directors and staff,
fellows curate large-scale exhibition projects, learn fundraising, develop
outreach and educational programs, and co-publish a catalogue. Access to
Exit Art's acclaimed archive facilitates these curatorial fellows'
abilities to contextualize their projects within international and
historical frameworks. The second show of the Curatorial Incubator Program
will open in February 2008. Corpus Extremus, curated by artist Boryana
Rossa, will present work by artists who investigate the revolutionary
changes taking place in technological and scientific research. Curatorial
Incubator Director: Mary Anne Staniszewski.  GENERAL INFORMATION  Exit Art
is located at 475 Tenth Avenue, corner of 36th Street. Hours at Exit Art
are Tuesday - Thursday, 10am - 6pm; Friday, 10am - 8pm; and Saturday, noon
- 8pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. There is a suggested donation of $5.
For more information please call 212... or visit www.exitart.org.