The Ford Foundation announces the opening of the Ford Foundation Gallery in New York, an innovative exhibition space dedicated to presenting multidisciplinary art, performance, and public programming by artists committed to exploring issues of justice and injustice. The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Perilous Bodies, opens March 5th and runs through May 11th.
Hannah Bronte, Umma's Tongue–molten at 6000° (film still), 2017. Single channel projection 4:50min.
The new 1,900-square-foot gallery is located at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, a landmark of modern architecture that serves as the foundation’s headquarters and reopened in November 2018 after a two-year renovation. In creating a space for artists whose work addresses pressing social issues, the foundation continues its decades-long history of investing in the arts to advance human welfare.
“The Ford Foundation Gallery is the latest reflection of our deep commitment to the arts, from supporting trailblazing dance and theater around the country to investing in transformative artists around the world who push boundaries and challenge the status quo,” said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. “Arts and creative expression have played an indelible role in building social justice movements. We’re thrilled to open the doors of this special space, a forum for artists to experiment and create a vibrant and necessary dialogue with the public.”
With a mission focused on addressing inequality in all its forms, and providing more than $600 million annually in grant support to organizations on four continents, the Ford Foundation is a natural home for art that challenges viewers to grapple with fundamental questions of fairness and dignity.
Three exhibitions in this inaugural year offer varied interpretations on the theme of Utopian Imagination. The trilogy of exhibitions, curated by Jaishri Abichandani and Natasha Becker, brings together a diverse group of international artists who use tactics from craft, activism, data visualization, and agitprop to point the way to a more just future.
According to Lisa Kim, director of the Ford Foundation Gallery, “Perilous Bodies explores the inhumanity and injustice created by divisions of gender, race, class, and ethnicity. The artists in the exhibition offer a raw and honest look at the issues we must address head-on to ensure dignity for all.”
The evening of the opening reception will include a “spoken word opera” performance by artist Vanessa German.
The gallery will be open to the public Monday through Saturday 11 am – 6 pm during exhibition runs. Throughout the year, the venue will host exhibitions, discussions, and performances where the art world and the public can come together for contemplation and conversation in an inspiring, adaptive space.
Ford Foundation Gallery
320 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017
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