Offsite Project
April 13–May 13, 2018

Pablo Helguera: La Austral, S.A. de C.V.

La Austral, S.A. de C.V. is a socially engaged offsite project by Pablo Helguera that transforms El Museo de Los Sures into a “storytelling dispensary,” a place where visitors can hear a range of live stories performed by a facilitator.

Inspired in part by the current plight of individuals affected by the proposed elimination of the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), known as “Dreamers,” Helguera trained a group of immigrants to the United States, including community organizers, activists, writers and poets, to perform as facilitators in this project.

La Austral, S.A. de C.V. was developed out of Helguera’s interest in creating a cultural and social place for the public. “Austral” refers to the Spanish for “south,” as well as the prominent Spanish book publisher, Austral. “Sociedad anónima de capital variable,” or S. A. de C.V., which translates to “anonymous society of variable capital,” is typically used to describe independent businesses in Mexico. In this new context, the terms “anonymous society” and “variable capital” seek to transcend the original legal and economic meaning of the words. Storytelling is a form Helguera has used in numerous works, including The Seven Bridges of Konigsberg, 2008, Forever and Today, New York; Nuevo Romancero Nuevomejicano, 2014, SITE Santa Fe, and The Parable Conference, 2014, BAM, New York.

La Austral, S.A. de C.V. includes a storytelling workshop at The 8th Floor on March 15, 6–8pm led by Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, made possible by The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

Pablo Helguera (born Mexico City, 1971) is a New York-based artist working with installation, sculpture, photography, drawing, socially engaged art and performance. Helguera has exhibited or performed at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; 8th and 11th Havana Biennials, Performa 05, New York; Shedhalle, Zurich; Manifesta 11, Zurich; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; SITE Santa Fe Biennial; Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, among others. He showed his work, Parallel Lives, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2003, and his musical composition, Endingness, was performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Helguera was Pedagogical Curator of the 8th Mercosul Biennial, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Museo Jumex in Mexico City is currently conducting a mid-career retrospective of his work, titled Dramatis Personae. Helguera is represented by Kent Fine Art, New York and Enrique Guerrero Gallery, Mexico City.

Special thanks to performers Joel Berrios, Juan Manuel Esquivel, Carolina Fung Feng, Gabriela Galván, Kenia R. Guillen, Heliis Martinson, Aldair Gonzalez Sanchez, and Project Manager Nora Boyd.

Theme-specific events will take place from 6–8pm on the following dates:

April 24: Birthday Stories at La Austral, S.A. de C.V.
May 3: Journeys at La Austral, S.A. de C.V.

May 10: On Farewells at La Austral, S.A. de C.V.

This offsite project is curated by Juliana Cope, Director of Development and Programs Manager.

This project is the tenth collaboration between Los Sures and ISCP. It is made possible, in part, by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, New York City Council District 34, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation.

  • Hours: Fridays–Sundays, 12–5pm
  • Location: El Museo de Los Sures, 120 South 1st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249

ISCP Talk
April 3, 2018, 6:30–8pm

Brooklyn Commons: Suzanne McClelland and Sonia Louise Davis

On April 3, Suzanne McClelland and Sonia Louise Davis will speak about the intersection of sound, language and abstraction.

Brooklyn Commons, an ongoing discussion series at ISCP, presents intellectual and artistic pairings between the established Brooklyn-based artist community and ISCP artists in residence. This series, initiated in 2012, puts artists in conversation who have not shared a dialogue in the past and focuses on cultural practitioners living and working in Brooklyn, both long- and short-term.

Suzanne McClelland (born 1959, Jacksonville, Florida) has exhibited her work extensively in the United States and abroad. Her work has been the subject of solo presentations at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia; and the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Connecticut. Her paintings are held in numerous public collections, among them are the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, New York; and the Walker Art Center, Minnesota. McClelland has twice participated in the Whitney Biennial, in 1993 and 2014, and was included in the New Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star. Currently, she teaches at the Department of Visual Arts at Columbia University. She has been a faculty member in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the School of Visual Arts since 1997 and has been a member of the Board of Governors at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture since 1999.

Sonia Louise Davis (born 1988, New York City) engages improvisation across installation, performance and writing. She has performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art and published in Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory. Recent exhibitions include Visitor Welcome Center, Los Angeles; and Sadie Halie Projects, Minneapolis. Davis attended Wesleyan University and the Whitney Independent Study Program.

Brooklyn Commons is organized by Kari Conte, ISCP Director of Programs and Exhibitions.

This year’s series also includes a talk between Ulrike Müller and Taloi Havini, and a forthcoming talk between Haim Steinbach and Remy Jungerman on May 8.

Major support for Brooklyn Commons is provided by VIA Art Fund.

This program is also supported, in part, by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; The New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund; and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

6:30–8pm
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Participating Residents

ISCP Talk
March 20, 2018, 6:30–8pm

Artists at Work: Knut Åsdam and Ken + Julia Yonetani

Knut Åsdam will present his practice, and will show excerpts from his latest film. This medium-length feature is a two-part piece set in the borderland between Norway and Russia. Set in a region with increasing geopolitical tension, the film is an installment in a series of Åsdam’s films that look at contemporary Europe.

An informal discussion by Japanese-Australian artist duo Ken + Julia Yonetani will focus on the materiality of life and art in liquid times. How does the artist create resilience in a world of increasing connections and disconnections? Is there an art to survival and a survivalist art?

This program is supported, in part, by Australia Council for the Arts, OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

6:30–8pm

Participating Residents