CHERYL POPE: ART SUNDAE
Press Release
ART PRODUCTION FUND & FORT GANSEVOORT PRESENT
Art Sundae: Cheryl Pope
“I’ve Been Heard"
Interactive Program Dates:
May 29th 3:30-4:30 (5th Grade) / 4:30-5:30 (3rd & 4th Grade)
May 30th 3:30 – 4:30 (K & 1st Grade) 4:30 – 5:30 (2nd & 3rd Grade)
On Public View: May 31st – June 14th
Art Production Fund & Fort Gansevoort are pleased to present our second iteration of Art Sundae: Cheryl Pope: I’ve Been Heard.
I’ve Been Heard invites New York City youth to come together to share and elevate their story. Through conversation and short writing, each participant will self-determine a statement that best claims and expresses their identity. This statement will be transferred to t-shirts with varsity iron-on letters.
"The role of the artist is to make the invisible felt. To help a people understand their experience. To document this search and understanding. To challenge, question, and ask. To shed light in dark places. To listen.
I believe listening to be the most political act. The act of listening is the foundation of my practice. It is listening not only to language but also to the body, to relationships, histories, objects, and power. I see materials as a body, each with physical characteristics and historical aesthetics that reveal a psychology, a power, and a vulnerability. In my practice, I create objects for listening and I am committed to using art and design as an instrument of power to provoke and instigate change, equality, and the celebration of difference." - Cheryl Pope
I’ve Been Heard t-shirts will be installed and remain on public view at Fort Gansevoort Windows, 51 Gansevoort Street, New York, NY 10014 from May 31st - June 14th. Following the installation period, Participants will be invited to keep their t-shirt and will be encouraged to share their stories with friends and post on social media, allowing the project to live on in the public realm.
“We are thrilled to be working with Cheryl Pope for this latest iteration of Art Sundae. I’ve Been Heard will offer NYC children the unique experience of working with Cheryl to create an artwork that will not only be on public view, but will become a part of their everyday life,” Casey Fremont, Executive Director, Art Production Fund.
“The moment I saw Cheryl Pope interact with my then three year old son outside of Fort Gansevoort eighteen months ago, I know she would be perfect for Art Sundae. She is a collaborator, is patient and has so much to offer today’s youth. We could not be more excited to be working with Cheryl and I trust that the participants will be greatly rewarded by receiving guidance from such a rich mind.” Carolyn Tate Angel, Co-Founder, Fort Gansevoort.
ART SUNDAE is a public program by the non-profit Art Production Fund and gallery Fort Gansevoort that is designed to build confidence in children through art making. This free program offers children the opportunity to work with a contemporary artist to create a public art project. The program is designed to be accessible to all and highlight art’s positive impact across all communities. Past Art Sundae programming includes: Elise Peterson “Dream House” September 2017. artproductionfund.org / @artproductionfund
CHERYL POPE is a visual artist focused in sculpture, installation, and performance. Her work questions and responds to issues of identity as it relates to the individual and the community, specifically in regards to race, gender, class, history, power and place. Her practice emerges from the act and politics of listening. Pope received her BFA and MD from the School of the Art Institute Chicago, where she is now a full time Professor in the Fashion Department. She is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago, and Galleria Bianconi in Milan. Pope studied under the artist Nick Cave for 12 years, was a teaching artist at the Museum of Contemporary Art for 7 years, and worked in multiple community based organizations throughout Chicago since 2003.
FORT GANSEVOORT was established in 2015 and is located in the heart of the Meatpacking District. Fort Gansevoort is a contemporary art gallery set in a Greek Revival row house built in 1849. The gallery represents emerging and established artists from around the world, who have been included in significant museum and gallery exhibitions worldwide. With a strong curatorial and research component, Fort Gansevoort mounts six exhibitions per year of both emerging artists and artists whose work warrants greater recognition and an opportunity to be recontextualized. fortgansevoort.com / @fortgansevoort
