March 18th 2024
Politics and the Artist Statement
Langley Hall @ Calarts, Valencia CA - 6pmWriting Center Workshop
Hosted by the CalArts Writing Center and led by malavika rao, CalArts alum (MFA, Art ‘23) and former Writing Center tutor, this workshop explores the process and strategies for voicing solidarity and political advocacy in the context of individual and collective artist statements. The goal of the workshop is to identify principles and strategies of effective writing that can guide artists when they choose to speak up about difficult and urgent social and political issues.
By looking at a range of recent examples of political artist statements, we will explore the following questions: how do we translate our political convictions clearly and succinctly into words? How do we ensure the message is meaningful and addressed to the specific context of the art work and the exhibition space? How do we assess and navigate the risk of censorship for such statements, and why might we speak even when reprisal is all but certain? malavika will share her experience, along with a group of students from her cohort, of writing both collective and individual statements of solidarity with Palestine that were then singled out for exclusion from the MFA post-graduate show at UTA gallery in January 2024.
malavika rao is an interdisciplinary artist working in painting, ceramics, fiber, and installation. Her practice explores generational trauma and healing. She uses the knowledge of craft to articulate resistance to dominant familial and societal structures by constructing portals to the past and imagining alternative narratives for the future. Utilizing traditional art and craft-forms, inherited materials, connections to ancestors, and time travel, malavika aims to build new worlds at the intersections of pasts and futures for herself and her community, in the hopes that these worlds can become powerful realms of healing, resistance, and liberation.
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January 24th 2024
the personal is political
Downtown Los Angeles, CA - 8pm__________________________________________________________________________________________
December 10th - Dec 31st 2023
malavika rao at Outdoor Closet
Open Studios: December 10th, 2023, 3-9pmCypress Park, Los Angeles, CA
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October 13th - 15th 2023
Air Conditioning
Opening Reception: October 14th 2023, 5-9pmGreat Hall, West Hollywood, Los Angeles CA
https://www.new-arts.us/aircon
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July 28th - August 19th 2023
La Conventa
Opening Reception: August 5th 2023, 7pmThe Reef DTLA, Los Angeles CA
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June 4th 2023
Threads of Time: Crafting Love, Healing, and the Delicate Bonds
Artist Talk Moderated by Kevy Yang
Yiwei Gallery, Venice CA
https://yiweigallery.com/events-1/f/artist-talk-malavika-rao
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May 20th - June 10th 2023
Earth is Just a Rock
Opening Reception: May 20th 2023, 2-6pmYiwei Gallery, Venice CA
https://yiweigallery.com/earth-is-just-a-rock-1
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March 6th - 10th 2023
dear ponnu,
MFA Thesis Show at Calarts Gallery D300Opening Reception: March 9th 2023, 7pm
Calarts, Valencia, CA
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October 8th - November 4th 2022
To Love and Be Loved in Return
Opening Reception: October 7th 2022, 6-9pm
SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CAhttps://somarts.org/event/toloveandbeloved/
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May 2nd - 12th 2022
oMetamaking
Opening Reception: May 5th 8-10 pm
With Performances by Ariella Fett and Olivia Fries-FarrCalarts, Valencia, CA
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March 19th - April 2023
oMy Next Incarnation
Opening Reception: March 19th, 6-9pm
Idolwild, Los Angeles, CAhttps://www.idolwild.com/exhibits/mynextincarnation
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