Though once a powerful Aethiopian queen, Cassiopeia is remembered not for her rule but her vanity and boastfulness. A permanent symbol of this narrative is a constellation in her name, depicting her upside down, chained to a throne.
Sometimes Art House — a Lansing-based collective built to empower women, people of color and LGBTQ artists and those with disabilities to pursue artistic goals and network — is challenging that classic tale and examining the reasons Cassiopeia's identity, and those of similar such historical women, is remembered as it is in a new exhibit called "Thrones." To be shown in a two-day pop-up at the Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center from Friday, May 10, through Saturday, May 11, the exhibition will critique "the symbols of love, power and gender within Western narratives."
"Together, our goal is to demonstrate progressive ideals and analysis that give voice to the experiences of certain marginalized identities," wrote event organizers.
Katrina M. Daniels is the exhibitions and gallery sales director and one of the organizers responsible for Sometimes Art House's upcoming show. She said she's eager for audiences to experience the pop-up show because of its not only visual elements but its performative ones as well.
"Sometimes Art House is really kind of pushing the boundaries of what we think of as both fine art and what we think of in a 'white cube' gallery space. In addition to having beautiful fine art that's framed on the walls, they're also going to have an interactive art-making experience as part of their pop-up and this is something that the artists approaching me and felt really strongly that they wanted to do," Daniels said. "They're also bringing in a performative element of tarot card reading and I just love this idea of challenging what we expect to see thinking about an institution, a formal art space. And then, hopefully, this can broaden that idea of what we expect to see when we walk into a gallery or a cultural center."
"Thrones" will also be shown in conjunction with another exhibit, "Growth Charts" by Megan Hildebrandt, in which she examines motherhood, marking time and her own mortality.
The reception for both of these events will be held on Friday, May 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. Hildebrandt's work will feature an artist talk, prior to the reception at 5:30 p.m. To find out more visit lansingartgallery.org.
