People have the right to be treated equally, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability. The La Grange Art League supports all those who stand up against injustice and demands fairness and equality for all. We are taking concrete action to increase diversity among our membership and staff, improve accessibility of our classes, reach out to underserved communities and amplify black and brown voices.
Inclusion Through Art, Guest Artists and Their Stories
The LaGrange Art League Inclusion, Diversity and Outreach Task Force hosts a program welcoming monthly guest artists to share their stories of diversity, challenge and inspiration. We offer artists of diverse backgrounds an opportunity to display and sell their artwork and express their unique viewpoints in a welcoming environment.
Inclusion Through Art, Guest Artists and Their Stories
The LaGrange Art League Inclusion, Diversity and Outreach Task Force hosts a program welcoming monthly guest artists to share their stories of diversity, challenge and inspiration. We offer artists of diverse backgrounds an opportunity to display and sell their artwork and express their unique viewpoints in a welcoming environment.
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This Month’s Featured Guest Artist: Martin Sorrondeguy
Martín Sorrondeguy is a visual artist, photographer, and musician. “Since the early nineties, I have dedicated myself to artistic and musical projects, touring the world as a vocalist/lyricist in numerous bands, including multiple tours to South America, Japan, and Europe.
Two principal projects have been, Los Crudos (1991-2016), a Latino outfit that toured the world addressing issues of Latino migration, labor exploitation, authoritarian regimes in the Americas, the effects of US imperialism, and the experiences of racialized and migrant urbanity in contemporary American culture. My second musical project, Limp Wrist (1999- current) has explicitly confronted the hetero-normative landscape of American culture and music and addressed the inequities that queer people faced in the post-HIV/AIDS US. My photographic/artistic practice is intrinsically linked to these experiences and for several decades I have been focused on documenting international music via subcultures, with an emphasis on the experiences of queer individuals and people of color. I have also used film as a medium to represent the unrepresented or scarcely heard voices of Latino youth subcultures. In 1999, I produced Más allá de los gritos/Beyond the Screams, a documentary film that explored the historical roots of Latinos and Chicanos in American punk. This included an examination of the 1990’s generation of Latinx punk and hardcore youth who created music, zines, and underground cultural spaces that resisted the xenophobic narrative bubbling out of then-Governor Pete Wilson’s Proposition 187, anti-Latino/anti-immigrant policy that reflected the nativist backlash of many white Californians. Latino and Chicano punk culture has maintained a persistent contestation to unrelenting anti-immigrant and anti-Latino movements in the U.S., movements that have been fully resurrected and mobilized in our current climate.” “Several publications of my visual work documenting punk subcultures have been published and are in wide circulation. My first two monographs, PORQUERIA (2009, Base, Tokyo) and GET SHOT (2012, Make A Mess, Los Angeles), as well as my last publication En busca de algo más (UGLY, Buenos Aires) explore the performative aspects of punk subcultures both onstage and off. Additionally, I have produced graphic and print media that challenged the standard rock and roll format by presenting unseen faces and identities in underground music. My aim has always been to disrupt and challenge the existing `templates of identity and how those productions are packaged, represented and distributed to a greater audience.” (Listen to Martin’s full interview with Professor Nicholas De Genova at the Metropolis Rising Podcast wherever you find your podcasts.) |
UPCOMING GUEST ARTISTS
July
Rene Morrell, Black artist combining art and astrology into portraits of black people from different cultures.
voyagechicago.com/interview/meet-rene-morrell-of-chicago-is-for-hustlers/ August
Adam Polak, transgender ftm artist and painter using surreal imagery, taking inspiration from retro science fiction novel covers.
www.instagram.com/braverspaces/ September
Karla Wong grew up in Oaxaca Mexico. She is a transgender MTF Artist whose work reflects her Istmena roots. She paints magical characters using emblematic symbols and bright colors. She pushes the limits and steers away from more traditional elements.
womanmade.org/artwork/karla-wong-2/ Previous Guest Artists
Justin Cooper, Black artist and filmmaker and Genevieve Nutley, Latinx Painter. Both are Junior Artists in Residence at the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL) at Access Living Chicago.
Guy Conners, Landscape, Still Life and Pet Portrait Painter working for Chicago based Arts of Life, which supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Iyomi Ho Ken, Black Fashion, Fibers and Photography Artist from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
Ariya Siddiqui, Muslim ceramics coordinator and teacher at Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) on Chicago’s South Side. |