Common Spaces considers the status of public space today. At a time when public space is increasingly subject to control by private interests and authoritarian forms of state power, discourses about “the commons” have simultaneously arisen to rethink how resources are held and used in common. The exhibition surveys diverse artistic practices that question and challenge the unequal distribution of space in the present, while also invoking instances in which it is effectively shared.

The exhibition features works by Bani Abidi, Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri, Amy Balkin, Bianco-Valente, Natalie Bookchin, Cybermohalla Ensemble, Klara Lidèn, Mary Mattingly, Hương Ngô and Hồng-Ân Trương, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Yorgos Sapountzis, Allan Sekula, and Knut Åsdam.

Curated by Maria Teresa Annarumma, Molly Everett, Joo Yun Lee, and Kristine Jærn Pilgaard, Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellows of the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program.

Opening Reception: May 23, 5–8pm, Free
May 23–June 14

Performance:

Yorgos Sapountzis: HARD WORLD-SOFT WORLD
Friday, May 23, 7pm
FREE

Yorgos Sapountzis engages both public and private spaces without recognizing any ontological difference between them. Focusing on the way in which people live in and share public spaces, Sapountzis is conscious of how these spaces affect the architectural and social structure of the city, as well as the ways in which individuals construct their identities. For the 2014 Whitney Independent Study Curatorial Program exhibition, Common Spaces, Sapountzis will create a site-specific collective performance based on listening to accounts of the experiences of public space shared by participants during a series of workshops. The performance will take place within, and complete, a site-specific installation in the exhibition space that includes material, like pipes or textiles, drawn from public space.

Performance:

Huong Ngo and Hong-An Truong: AND AND ANDStammering: An Interview
Wednesday, May 28, 6pm
FREE

Organized in conjunction with their installation for the 2014 Whitney Independent Study Curatorial Program exhibition, Common Spaces, this performance by Hương Ngô and Hồng-Ân Trương is based on the oral interview that is part of the application for U.S. citizenship. The interview will be performed by Louise K. and Julie T., both of whom have expertise in U.S. immigration.

Screening:

Knut Åsdam: Abyss and Tripoli
Saturday, June 14, 1pm and 3pm
FREE

The films of Knut Åsdam selected in conjunction with the 2014 Whitney Independent Study Curatorial Program exhibition, Common Spaces, focus on contemporary society, investigating the psychology and practice of place through experimental forms of narrative. In Tripoli (2010), Åsdam considers the architectural remains of an international fairground and conference center that had been under construction in northern Lebanon but was abruptly halted when civil war erupted in 1975. This abandoned space reflects a unique political history documented and dramatized through Åsdam’s film. Abyss (2010) portrays the movement of people, as well as money and power, in public space, specifically East London. Abyss is presented in correlation with Åsdam’s installation, Untitled: Archive (migration) (2010–ongoing), on view in the exhibition at The Kitchen.