Monira Foundation Presents Right Time Right Place

Right Time, Right Place
Presented by Monira Foundation, Curated by Katharina Gruzei

Opening Reception:

Saturday October 8^th 2022, 5:30-8:30pm, Introduction & Tour with the artists at 6pm

On View: 8 Oct-13 Nov, 2022

At Mana Contemporary, NJ. 888 Newark Ave (4th fl) Jersey City 07306
Visiting hours: M-F 11-5pm and by appointment

Public space has become a highly contested territory in the past decades. The term itself is a fluid concept that is constantly being redefined by its intricate cultural, historical, ecological, and political implications. Right Time, Right Place is an artist-curated exhibition that showcases works by international established and upcoming artists with different approaches to the public sphere. Issues regarding its use and accessibility are ever more relevant as privatization reaches a peak in cities such as New York, while the Covid crisis has only further influenced an existing zeal towards the regulation of public space, underlining critical aspects of this discussion.

Artists around the globe are taking to the public sphere, eschewing art-designated areas and traditional venues to connect with wider audiences, not necessarily represented by gallery visitors. Others are involving this sphere in their practice and containing it in other media. This show displays various artistic strategies, pointing out the potential of the public space as a social and political arena. Indeed, some works included question the fine boundaries between private and public, often blending them.

Right Time, Right Place revolves around informal and legally adjacent art practices that challenge the understanding of limitations. Furthermore, it underscores that the limits of art projects, activism, artivism and community building intersect, and that social change and artistic practice are often intertwined. Curfews and new rules of conduct, in particular, have changed the relationship to public space for urban residents. Efforts to maintain order and cleanliness have significantly restricted the scope of action for artists. These boundaries call once more for their exploration.

Artists:
Charlotte Becket & Roger Sayre, VALIE EXPORT, Gelitin, Katharina Gruzei, Marlene Hausegger, Eginhartz Kanter, Joshua Liebowitz, Ann Messner, Rainer Noebauer, Nancy Nowacek, José Pazos, Oktavia Schreiner, Stefanos Tsivopoulos.

Nine of the fourteen artworks on display are newly produced for this exhibition in a discursive process of the artists. Over the course of two years the artists exchanged ideas in an online process. Two weeks before the exhibition the group came together in New York to realize their project ideas.
Furthermore this exhibition is accompanied by a talk at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York on October 11^th at 7pm.  https://acfny.org/events

RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE is kindly supported by the Federal Ministry Republic of Austria, City of Linz, Department of Arts and Culture Carinthia, Arts & Culture Upper Austria, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Monira Foundation.

About the curator:
Austrian born Katharina Gruzei studied Fine Arts in the class for Experimental Audiovisual Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Art and Industrial Design Linz. She studied abroad at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and at the Berlin University of the Arts in the class for Visual Cultural Studies. As an independent artist she works in the media of photography, video, film, sound and installations in public space. In her work she traces social tendencies and addresses socio-cultural issues. As an artist curator she specializes on projects and exhibitions about art in public space and informal practices. In 2017 she curated an exhibition at SYP Gallery in Tokyo, in 2019 she was resident at the ISCP – International Studio & Curatorial Program in New York.
www.katharinagruzei.com Social: @katharinagruzei #katharinagruzei

About Monira Foundation:

Monira Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, functions as a radical experimental laboratory, working in close collaboration with artists, curators, musicians, producers, and writers to conceive, realize, and present innovative projects in all media. Its aim is to spark, intensify, and promote an evolving cultural and social dialogue between creators, audiences, and institutions. Focusing on the unique potential of interdisciplinary work in a context distinct from the distracting pressures of academia and the market, Monira Foundation advances the practices and products of today’s foremost artists, amplifying their contributions to communities both local and distant. www.monirafoundation.org

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For images, press tickets, or to schedule an interview, please email Ysabel Pinyol Blasi: ysabel@monirafoundation.org. Visit the Monira Foundation website at: www.monirafoundation.org. Social: @monirafoundation #monirafoundation. Monira Foundation is located at 888 Newark Ave., Ste 440, Jersey City, NJ 07306.