Embracing the Underground at Re/Member

Arts & Culture

Pictured: "Alexis," by Sophia Schultz and Sarah Viviana Valdez. Photo courtesy of Schultz and Valdez.

Sarasota’s underground arts scene breaches the surface in a big way this weekend with Re/Member, an independent art exhibition set to show for one night only, this Saturday. Organized by six Sarasota artists and showcasing an additional artist from St. Petersburg, the exhibition features photography, sculpture, multi-media installation, fabric design and video. Hosted by the MooJoi Art Factory, the show runs from 7pm to 11pm with no entry fee, but donations are encouraged, with proceeds going to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief and its efforts towards hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.

Based in the warehouse space off Tallevast Road, the exhibition aims for more of an “industrial vibe,” says Sarah Viviana Valdez, co-organizer for the show and one of the presenting artists, and eschews what may be seen as the “conventional” Sarasota gallery look and feel. Indeed an unconventional space (and not traditionally used as a gallery), the Art Factory has only one wall suitable for showing two-dimensional work, but that represents little problem for Re/Member, which eschews the traditional in content as well, and can certainly use the grand open space.

Featuring the recent work of Aubrey Neher, Briana Nieves, Sophia Schultz, Onirologia, Ava Zelkowitz and Valdez, as well as Jenny Jo Kosharek (the St. Pete addition), each brings their own perspective to a central theme of the body (what it is and what it represents) and exploring notions of identity and environment through it. Nieves will be showing photography, Zelkowitz sculpture and Schultz a bit of both. Onirologia brings a multi-sensory installation uniting video projection, ambient sound and a mattress that beckons the audience ever closer. “It’s set to create an environment for the viewer to become a participant,” says Valdez, “to lay on the mattress and experience those projections along with the sound.” Valdez herself will present a video performance featuring her own choreography, direction and fabric art, and playing off topics of scar tissue and the healing process.

Hoping to activate the philanthropic side of the audience as well (and not just in support of emerging artists), donations are requested in lieu of an entrance fee. All donations will go towards Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, a grassroots organization currently working to install water purifiers and solar arrays in underserved and hard to reach areas of Puerto Rico. Several artists, including but not limited to the artists showing in the exhibition, will also be selling work at the show, with a portion of proceeds going to disaster relief as well.

Falling on the first anniversary of the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the event has also taken on a second identity as something of a beacon for left solidarity, though Valdez says the happenstance and subsequent political evolution was unintended. Still, the exhibition remains "charged" by the political climate, she says, particularly the state of relief efforts for Puerto Rico and recognition of the climate change that many see as a reason or at least exacerbating factor for the catastrophic storm that led to the current state of affairs. "It all stems from not addressing environmental issues," says Valdez, "which has a domino effect."

Re/Member opens this Saturday, January 20, at 7pm at the MooJoi Art Factory on Tallevast Road.

Pictured: "Alexis," by Sophia Schultz and Sarah Viviana Valdez. Photo courtesy of Schultz and Valdez.

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