My work focuses on the relationship between human beings, society and social justice, with a particular emphasis on the power of dialectic and participatory practice, and the conflict between state power and personal autonomy and responsibility. I’ve taken part in exhibitions in Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, United States, Chile and India.

I went to New York for the first time at the beginning of October to be artist-and-utopian-in-residence at Utopia School, a month-long social center hosted at Flux Factory with classes, screenings, workshops and discussions about the ways we can re-imagine our future. It was one of the four major exhibitions of Flux Factory for the 2013-2014 season and it was such an amazing experience that I ended up extending my time there to keep working within that environment. I’ve always liked the idea of working within a collaborative, creative environment; being surrounded by hard-working and motivated artists and community organisers that enjoy sharing tools, ideas and conversations. Flux Factory was therefore the perfect place to host my research.

When I started working on my exhibition I decided to focus on the lack of social justice and the gross human rights violations in Mexico.

On Friday 26 September 2014, dozens of students from the rural school “Raúl Isidro Burgos” of Ayotzinapa (Guerrero, Mexico) went to Iguala to hold a protest against what they considered to be discriminatory hiring and funding practices by the Mexican government that is considered to be discriminating against teachers from rural areas. During their journey they were intercepted by local police. A conflict broke out and by the end of the night, 6 people, 3 of which were students, had been shot dead, 17 had been wounded and 43 students went missing while they were in Iguala police custody and they where allegedly handed over to the criminal group Guerreros Unidos and presumably killed. Early the following morning, a student’s body was found with his face skinned and his eyes gouged out.

Founded in 1926 to offer children of farm workers access to education, the rural school “Raúl Isidro Burgos” where the 43 missing students were studying to become teachers is an iconic school for elementary rural teachers in Ayotzinapa. The school and its students are well known for their activism and for being a bastion of the leftist ideology of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. These students are the most promising pupils of their communities and out of 600 who requested to be admitted to the school, only 140 were accepted, including the 43 that are now missing.

The generation of the first year had 140 pupils.
140 – 43 missing = 97
97 – 3 dead = 94
94 – 2 seriously injured in hospitals = 92

Out of these 92 students, more then 67 have already moved back in with their families and they will probably never go back to that school. These numbers have been the main focus of my research.

I went to a lot of demonstrations and sit-ins, most of the time being one of the few non-Mexican people present, but I can speak Spanish fluently so it wasn’t a problem at all. During these moments, I felt the disillusion and the anger of the people, but also their strength and the huge amount of solidarity they were able to show to their own community. Searching for strategies of solidarity has always been one of my priorities, both as an artist and as an activist. I’m aware it’s an extensive and continual process and therefore I’m always amazed when it happens.

Once I chose the title #FUEELESTADO, I started working in the gallery’s space installing 97 tiny little sculptures all around the room; each one representing one of the 140 students of the first year. 43 sculptures were missing and 3 of the 97 were broken. On the walls I painted the portraits of the 43 missing students with a paint that was barely perceptible in daylight, but glowed in the dark.

On Sunday December 6, the closing day of my show, forensic experts confirmed that charred remains found in a river near Iguala were those of one of the disappeared students, Alexander Mora, therefore I broke another sculpture.

A few days after I was part of Many Mini Residency in Mexico City, a collaborative project organised by Sarrita Hunn and Ryan Thayer.

For my 12-hour long distance residency, I decided to keep working on the Ayotzinapa’s case. I spent the first 6 hours talking on Skype with Sarrita and Ryan about social justice and the over-militarisation of local police departments, both in Mexico and in the US. Together we’ve been analysing the role of street protests and demonstrations and the role that direct action and activism can play in this framework.

During the second part of the day I worked in my studio at Flux Factory on a small book with portraits of the 43 missing students investigating what the word “desaparecido” means, as it’s not just about missing individuals, but it involves the state. An interesting definition of “desaparecido” can be found in the Oxford dictionary that uses it to refer to “(Especially in South America), a person who has disappeared, presumed killed by members of the armed services or the police.” As far as I’m concerned, being part of the armed services or the police involves serving a specific community by respecting and protecting human dignity and maintaining and upholding the human rights of all persons, but this is not always the case.

The book, inspired by the murals of #FUEELESTADO, is called #NOSFALTAN43 and can be freely downloaded online at Institute for Autonomous Practices.

More: Website

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Want to read more blogs by artists? Look here.

Art in Odd Places (AiOP) presents visual and performance art in unexpected public spaces. AiOP also produces an annual festival along 14th Street in Manhattan, NYC from Avenue C to the Hudson River each October. Art in Odd Places aims to stretch the boundaries of communication in the public realm by presenting artworks in all disciplines outside the confines of traditional public space regulations. AiOP reminds us that public spaces function as the epicenter for diverse social interactions and the unfettered exchange of ideas.

Here are a few things they recommend you to check out.

Event: We’d recommend the creative urban place-making event called The Night Heron, a speakeasy of sorts in a water tower. It’s illegal and beautifully executed, and about 700 people have and/or will experience it this spring!* Here is a good article about it.

If illegal water tower speakeasies aren’t your bag, you might check out a Late Night Underground Talk Show. For Improv Everywhere’s latest mission, they converted a New York City subway car into a late night talk show set. A host interviewed random commuters from his desk as the bandleader kept the car rocking!

Artist: We’d definitely recommend the work of Tima Radya from Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya Oblast. Tima Radya is Russian artist who recently won CutLog New York‘s top prize!

Book: Currently reading Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. It’s 
”essential reading for anyone who has ever imagined limitless freedom, danced alone in the dark, or longed for more noise.”

Music: Summers in New York City are so hot and busy! They really lend themselves to the upbeat delirium of Carmen Souza.

*The Night Heron event is now closed. You can however, join them in Brooklyn on Tuesdays in June for The Wanderlust School of Transgressive Placemaking (a four part discussion series exploring the logistics and ethics of how to reimagine and remake the far side of the “No Trespassing” sign.)

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

What:
The Collection of Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is an online work-in-progress archive of the museum’s collections. This database represents approximately 60% of the Museum’s diverse collection spanning twenty four centuries of historic and contemporary design, including seventeenth-century Japanese tsuba, Parisian parasol designs, postmodern glassware, modular toys, and fabric about the future.

This version has been named a “public alpha” which means you will see work that is in-progress and subject to change. An alpha release is an early release and means that active development is still ongoing – object research is being updated, bugs are being fixed, and information is being revised.

Why we like it:
Take some time out to learn something new and search through the museum’s objects by country, department, exhibition, medium, people, period or simply randomised. Each object will provide a little more information about it with links to related artefacts.

Find out more:
Website | Blog | YouTube | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.

What:
Aperture, a very busy not-for-profit foundation, is a multi-platform publisher connecting photographers and their audiences with the most inspiring work and the best ideas.

Aperture magazine publishes four issues each year and these are filled with the most inspiring photography and writing on photography. They also publish between twelve and fifteen new photobooks, and books about photography, each year, with a growing digital publishing program, including e-books, apps, and a daily blog, as well as online features on their website. They have thus far published over 650 books.

Aperture 208 Magazine, Fall 2012

Additionally, they have a regular program of exhibitions each year, at their gallery in New York and at partner venues, touring to museums and other photography centers nationally and internationally. In their shop, Aperture sell approximately twenty-five print editions each year, many by emerging photographers, aimed at collectors and published to support their programs, and the photographers they work with.

Why we like it:
As if all that was not enough, Aperture host an annual Portfolio Prize, recognizing and promoting the most exciting emerging photographers internationally, and Paris Photo, an annual PhotoBook Award recognizing the contribution of photographers’ books.

Aperture 208 Magazine, Fall 2012

Aperture are celebrating their sixtieth anniversary in 2012 with exhibitions, publications and a Gala. See here for more details.

Find out more:
Website | Blog | Twitter

Designed as a pit stop on your ride as you “hit the wall” during the creative process, The Wall Breakers has visuals, interviews and news to inspire any artist.

The site was created by James Scully & Matt Weckel, both Brooklyn based arts professionals. It’s bursting with enough art and art talk to get your creative juices flowing, and it has just a hint of aggressive frustration to let you know that you aren’t the only one who’s visited The Wall.

You can submit your own work to be added to their gallery too. They accept all original artwork, from all creative disciplines. Go take a look.

Visit The Wall Breakers.
Follow The Wall Breakers on Twitter.

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.

‘I am sure we’ll see some day. We are here waiting for you.’

Packing and Mourning is a project about departure, journeys, the destination, and arrival.

The life of any artist involves travelling and moving, and in turn the unavoidable but complex necessity of safely packing and storing belongings, while mourning the loss of friends made but revelling in the excitement of the new possibilities created on arrival. Our blog documents the thrill of departure, the best way to pack, the nature of transit, sadness of leaving and the impact of place on work produced.

Four artists: Penny Anderson (via Manchester England, Bilbao Spain and Berlin Germany) Eija Hirvonen (via Oulu Finland and Kracow Poland) Shelton Walker (via Copenhagen, Denmark, New York and Virginia USA) and Youngjoo Yoo (via Seoul South Korea, London England and Bilbao Spain) document the process of living, leaving and being drawn back to Glasgow, where they will show work based on their experiences of packing, mourning and moving on as part GI 2012 courtesy of The Mutual Charter.

The artists involved have in common frequent relocations, as tourists, visitors, travellers and artists. The title emerged as I texted Eija to say goodbye as she reluctantly left Glasgow. When asked what she was doing, Eija replied: “I am packing and mourning.”

Some of the artists have met only briefly (if at all) but readily agreed to work together. Meanwhile we are all slowly returning to Glasgow for an exhibition of work inspired by our travels and the blog we have been writing.

Visit the Packing and Morning blog here.
Follow Packing and Mourning on Twitter here.

Local project was founded in 2003 by a group of friends trying to keep the new art going in the emerging Long Island City neighborhood.

Soon LP became a home for artists and people from different backgrounds, in some cases part of the LP community found in the space opportunities to grow as artist, LP doesn’t just offer an art space but a HOME, a place to share, to talk and dialogue.

Local Project holds art shows since 2003, we have exhibit artists from all over the world, all disciplines, fostering interaction between artist and the community.

Our idea also is to create a bridge breaking down the walls between establish Art Institutions and the general public. Local Project made that real working together community based projects with the Queens Museum of Art, Museum del Barrio and recently we establish a program of art lectures in LP with the MOMA Museum.

As artists we understand the need for a space. We understand that a platform is needed for new artists to emerge and show their work, to get in contact and get the necessary feedback from the audience: that is why we created this space.

A forum for artist where the community can find inspiration, direction, friends, guidance, sin limites, LP is never boring, LP is vital for the arts and the people of New York.

“My studio is located in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. I’ve been working on new large-scale monochromatic paintings recently. The studio faces west and has great light. One of my favorite things is the incredible sunsets most nights over the Manhattan skyline.”

See more of Matt’s work on his website www.mattmignanelli.com

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Sunrise Brooklyn 2 by Adrian Barry