This event is specifically for the opening reception of ModA Curation’s inaugural exhibition, Being Human. It is free and open to the public so reservation is not mandatory but recommended.

Being human is complex, diverse, and ever-changing.

We feel, we think, we do. We are strong, we are soft. We are terrified, we are brave. We make sense of who we are in and with our worlds. We make our lives and live by what others have made. We map, with detail and emotion, our everyday terrains. We pattern ourselves, yet are more than the sum of our parts.

Our exhibition aims to evoke the personal and shared in navigating human experiences. We put art into conversation with anthropology to call attention to the socio-cultural elements of our ways of being. The artists are themselves ethnographers, demonstrating the importance of creation, documentation, and translation in their art as cultural text.

There is resistance, there is reclamation, there is reimagination. Together, our artists form an archive that challenges us to move beyond where we are to come closer.

Main Exhibition Hall: 1F + 2F

ModA Curations has invited seven artists for our inaugural exhibition, “Being Human”, each with diverse narratives and distinct practices. We bring them together, spotlighting the personal and universal in their craft.

We invite you to enter the worlds of Amalia Caputo, Phoebe Quin Kong, Juliana Correa, Zahra Mansoor, Alexander James, Ara Oshagan, and Claudia Koh, as they navigate and make with “Being Human.”

They navigate the interplay between our bodies and our surroundings, the relationship between nature and culture. They portray things as agents, grapple with the everyday fantastical and grotesque, and explore the potential for materiality to express the fabric of the human condition. They tackle identity, from femininity to reconfiguring blackness, and take place with diasporic living and displaced afterlives.

We invite you to experience the possibilities of bridging anthropology and contemporary art through our collection and to, perhaps, discover echoes of your humanity. Untapped, the Collection: 2F

Untapped, the Collection features artists on the rise, demonstrating how we are always becoming in their artistry.

They explore being human with shape and form, playing with tensions between indulgence and decadence, the extravagant and the mundane. They experiment with tactile translation and make meaning with uncertainty. They examine what happens when instincts meet cultural realities and grow within parameters. They weave together fabric and figure, exploring pain, sensitivity, and destruction as inextricable.

Our emerging artists demonstrate the power of embracing plasticity in being human on their terms.

Art in the Field: B1

What happens when anthropology meets art?

Our ethnographers ask and answer this with their creative explorations in the field.

Art in the Field is our studio showcasing the fieldwork of two anthropologists from Teachers College, Columbia University. One documents everyday presence and language learning in Inner Mongolia, sketching to express the details of their interlocutors’ lives. Another collects oral histories of graffiti writers in New York City to understand their making with urban spaces, and read the unwritten from what is written.

Working at the intersection of art and anthropology, these two ethnographers bring to the forefront the power and possibilities of transdisciplinary.

Evening Programming Schedule

• March 15th 6-7pm — Panel: Ara Oshagan and Amalia Caputo
• March 16th, 5-6 pm — Talk and Workshop: Amina Tawasil and Skylar Hou
• March 17th, 4-5pm — Performance Art: Emma Kanne 5-6pm — Q&A: Malena Zhang
• March 18th, 7-8 pm — Panel: Phoebe Quin Kong and Mathilde Levistre

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Revolutionizing contemporary art by translating cultural narratives.

ModA Curations is dedicated to representing the narratives of diverse artists and spotlighting the personal and universal evocations of their visual art as language. Through hosting bi-annual exhibitions, we aim to put contemporary art into conversation with Anthropology.

Our Impact

ModA Curations serves as a cultural archive, building a library of resistance, reclamation, and representation. Anthropology is the exploration of what makes us human; in sociocultural anthropology, we call attention to and translate the socio-cultural elements of our dynamic, diverse ways of being. As a team of anthropologists, we emphasize that issues of human prevalence are of cultural relevance. We bring critical frames that challenge how we experience and reflect on being human to the forefront of the art world through artists’ storytelling. As an institution, we champion artists as educators of their own experiences, thereby challenging pre-existing art world metrics by using anthropology to reimagine how art can be valued. We emphasize how we can, through art, explore the complexity of human experiences.

Concept

ModA works with artists to showcase their art, visions, and narratives through an anthropological lens. Our biannual exhibition is a transformative journey that bridges art and anthropology, examining the creative and cultural elements of being human.

Market Opportunity

The art world is evolving, and there are growing opportunities for interdisciplinary exploration and creative education. At Moda, we recognize that art is a powerful medium for change. We are dedicated to promoting diverse artists as educators and their works as cultural texts, and to support social movements worldwide.

Commitment to Diversity and Social Impact

At Moda, we are not only committed to showcasing diverse artists, emerging creators, and underrepresented voices but also to using our platform to support social movements globally. A significant percentage of our profits will be dedicated to initiatives that advocate for social justice, equality, and cultural diversity, and to support our artists.

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We invite you to join us as we bring art, experience, and sociocultural impact together in a way that has never been done before. Thank you for considering this opportunity, and we look forward to discussing how we can work together to make this vision a reality.

Location: 456 W Broadway

Free!

Registration