RIT City Art Space

Happy Birthday Ana!!

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Celebrating the artist who was born today, November 18, 1948 in Havana, Cuba. ⁠
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“In my work I am in a sense reliving my heritage. My sources are memories, images, experiences, and beliefs that have left their mark in me.”
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In a brief yet prolific career, Mendieta created groundbreaking work in photography, film, video, drawing, sculpture, and site-specific installations. Amongst the major themes in her work are exile, displacement, and a return to the landscape, which remain profoundly relevant today. ⁠
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🏛️See works by Mendieta in ongoing solo exhibitions:⁠
“Ana Mendieta: Universal Energy”⁠
Ana Mendieta Gallery, Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa ()⁠
Opening Reception & Film Screening with the Mendieta Family on November 18, 2022⁠
Exhibition through November 26, 2022⁠
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“Ana Mendieta: Elemental”⁠
City Art Space, Rochester Institute of Technology ()⁠
Rochester, New York⁠
Through February 19, 2023⁠
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Follow link in bio for more ongoing exhibitions.⁠
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The quote above is from Ana Mendieta’s Master’s Thesis fulfilled at the University of Iowa, 1977 and has been referenced in "Ana Mendieta. Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance, 1972-1985" (2004). ⁠
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Image: Ana Mendieta, Detail: Untitled, 1973, from a suite of six black and white photographs. Each: 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm). © The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

“Elemental” is a rare showing of selected films by the late pioneering artist Ana Mendieta (1948-1985), whose work spanned photography, film, video, sculpture, performative action, earth-body works, and more.
Also on view is Raquel Cecilia’s documentary film “Ana Mendieta: Nature Inside” narrated by Ana Mendieta.
November 4, 2022 - February 19, 2023.
Made possible by the generous support of
and collaborators and .
Visit rit.edu/cityartspace (or link in bio to find out more.)
Image: Ana Mendieta, still from “Butterfly,” Super-8mm film transferred to high-definition digital media, color, silent, 1975. The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co. Licensed by Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

RIT welcomes Raquel Cecilia Mendieta as part of “Elemental” — a rare showing of selected films by Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) at City Art Space.
Wednesday, November 2, 6:00 PM
The Films of Ana Mendieta: a talk by Raquel Cecilia Mendieta
Wegmans Theater, MAGIC, RIT campus
Thursday, November 3, 6:00 PM
Exhibition Preview & conversation with Raquel Cecilia Mendieta

All events free and open to the public thanks to the support of
Visit rit.edu/cityartspace or click the link in bio for more.

Thanks to Unique Fair and artists Alicia Astacio, Quajay Donnell, Ephraim Gebre, Erin Nesmith, Najhay Quick, and Ya’qub Shabazz for a great show!
ALL OF US is on view through Sunday, October 23, 2022. We’re open Thursday-Sunday 1-5 PM, Fridays 1-9 PM. Always free.
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Rochester artist and designer Erin Nesmith works on her installation as part of the group exhibition All of Us, curated by Unique Fair.
Opening Friday, October 7, 6-9 PM, free and open to the public.
On view through October 23, 2022.
We’re open 1-5 PM Thursday- Sunday, 1-9 PM Fridays. Always free.
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Curated by Unique Fair, All of Us is a group exhibition featuring a select group of emerging artists living and working in the city of Rochester, and is inspired by the historical efforts of artists like Luvon Sheppard, whose Allofus workshop became a center for creative collaboration in Rochester during the 1970s.
Featuring: Alicia Astacio, Quajay Donnell, Ephraim Gebre, Erin Nesmith, Najhay Quick, and Ya’qub Shabazz.
Opens Friday, October 7. Free and open to the public. Show continues through October 23.
Curator and artist Unique Fair is a 2021 graduate of the MFA program in fine arts studio, and received his BFA in illustration from RIT. Fair is a Destler/Johnson City Scholar and Davitt Scholar, and currently teaches classes at .

Filmmaker Vanessa Sweet, an assistant professor at , stands next to our big screen which currently features her project “Amplifying Feedback Loop” as part of . Check it out through September 25!
The project is supported by Genesee Valley Council on the Arts.

Excellent talk with exhibiting artists Annalisa Barron and Taylor Kennedy at the opening of their duo-show Sp(arrows) on September 2– thanks to all who came out!
Show is up through September 25, just in time for 💥
We’re open 1-5 Thursday, 1-9 on Fridays, admission is always free!
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Sp(arrows) is a two person exhibition of recent work by Annalisa Barron and Taylor Mica Kennedy — Combined they explore the cathartic relationship of domesticity and surrealism through drawing, painting, sculpture and installation.
August 5 - September 25, 2022
Gallery talk and reception Friday, September 2, 6:00 PM — free and open to the public.
Part of RIT’s programming for

Over 3,000 people visited the Clarissa Uprooted exhibition at City Art Space this summer! Scroll through to see just a few of the many comments about the show.
Visit clarissauprooted.org to stay in the loop about where the project goes next. We will also be posting photos and more content from the show on the past exhibitions page of our website— rit.edu/cityartspace.
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What an honor it has been to host the Clarissa Uprooted Exhibition this summer, and to see such a massive community collaboration come together thanks to remarkable efforts by Rochester Teen Empowerment, the Clarissa Street Elders and Reunion Committee, and RIT students, faculty and staff.
Thank you to all the visitors, tours, and event organizers who helped make this one of the highest attended shows ever for City Art Space.
We look forward to seeing how the Clarissa Street project evolves and continues to educate, inspire and bring people together.
Clarissa Uprooted is on view through Sunday, July 24. We’re open Thursday-Sunday 1-5 PM, Fridays 1-9 PM - Always free.

Clarissa Uprooted is on view through July 24. Stop by to learn the history of this unique and historic Rochester neighborhood, and how it connects to contemporary issues and ideas nationwide.
Pictured: exhibition organizer Mekko Mongeon leads a guided tour with teachers from Rochester City School District in July 2022.

RIT President David Munson and wife Nancy recently took a tour of the Clarissa Uprooted Exhibition with Joan Coles Howard, a member of the Clarissa Street Elders who helped realize this show with collaborators from Rochester Teen Empowerment, RIT and more.
Visit the exhibition through July 24 to learn more about this unique part of Rochester’s history that intertwines Clarissa Street (aka Corn Hill/Third Ward) with RIT.
We’re open Thursday-Sunday 1-5 PM, Fridays 1-9 PM. Always free.

Check out our reconstruction of the Pythodd stage from this historical Jazz club as part of the Clarissa Uprooted Exhibition, on view now through July 24. 1-5 Thurs-Sun, 1-9 Fridays, Always Free.

Before Jazz Fest, this Rochester club regularly featured the greatest names in jazz music The club, which was on Clarissa Street, no longer stands. But nostalgia over what it stood for highlights Black impact on Rochester's jazz scene.

'Clarissa Uprooted' exhibit opens at RIT gallery space in downtown Rochester An art exhibit celebrating Clarissa Street, the center of Rochester's Black community for more than 150 years, will run through July 24.

Three video shorts representing three phases of urban renewal in the Third Ward (aka Clarissa Street, aka Corn Hill) run simultaneously in the Clarissa Uprooted exhibit, on view through July 24.
Visit the show to learn more about Rochester’s history, and how to keep the spirit of historical Clarissa Street alive.

The soft opening/preview of the Clarissa Uprooted exhibit welcomed the many people who contributed their time and effort to this amazing project- a massive community collaboration between Rochester Teen Empowerment, RIT, the Clarissa Street Elders and Reunion Committee, Youth Build, and so many more!
Clarissa Uprooted: The Exhibit opens to the public First Friday June 3, 6-9 PM and remains on view through July 24.
We’re open 1-5 Thursday-Sunday, 1-9 Fridays. Always free!

RIT City Art Space highlights history of Clarissa Street The upcoming exhibition, a collaborative project by Rochester Institute of Technology, the Center for Teen Empowerment and the Clarissa Street Reunion Committee, runs June 3-24.

Opening June 3: CLARISSA UPROOTED-The Exhibit
An exhibition focused on the historic Clarissa Street in Rochester New York, a prominent African-American neighborhood, where internationally renowned jazz artist played, families sought their American Dream, and people looked out for one another. Experience what Clarissa Street teaches us about the past, present and future of our communities.
On view through July 24, 2022.
This exhibition is organized by Rochester Teen Empowerment along with faculty, staff and students from RIT, with support from elders of the original Clarissa Street neighborhood, the Clarissa Street reunion committee, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Humanities New York, the Rochester Community Foundation, ESL, and the Art Bridges foundation.

The Rochester Youth Build team is busy assembling a life-size replica of the historic Pythodd Jazz Room as part of the upcoming Clarissa Uprooted exhibit, opening June 3.

Last chance to see some student work before the semester ends! Studio Arts Senior Shows are on view through May 7 at City Art Space and Bevier Gallery (RIT campus).
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Studio Arts Senior Capstone Exhibitions open this week!
Thursday, April 21, 5-7 PM
Bevier Gallery (RIT campus)
Friday, April 22, 6-9 PM

Students check out an installation by , part of the RIT Schools of Art and American Crafts MFA Thesis Shows—on view at City Art Space (downtown) and Bevier Gallery (RIT campus) through Saturday, April 16.

MFA Thesis Shows open this week!
Friday, April 1, 6-9 PM

Thursday, March 31, 5-7 PM
Bevier & William Harris Galleries
RIT campus (Booth & Gannett Halls)photo.mfa

Resetting shows again! MFA thesis exhibitions open on campus March 31 and downtown April 1. In the meantime, we await spring flowers 🌹— ❄️👎🏼🥶
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Last chance to see Marginalia, a two-location exhibition featuring the work of 11 graduating seniors in fine art photography.
Saturday 3/26 is the final day at City Art Space, Friday 3/25 is the final day at William Harris Gallery (RIT campus).
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Marginalia: a show of capstone projects by 11 fine art photo seniors opens Thursday AND Friday: 2 locations, 2 separate openings:
Thursday March 17, 5-7 PM
William Harris Gallery, Gannett Hall, 3rd Floor, RIT campus
Friday, March 18, 6-9 PM
City Art Space, 280 E Main St., downtown Rochester, NY.
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A brief moment of calm before the next show goes up…
Spring student exhibition season has returned! Senior capstone and MFA Thesis shows take over our galleries on and off campus through the end of the semester.
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Last weekend to see projects from these ten seniors !
The Heart, Not the Eye - continues through Saturday, March 12.photo