Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century "Friends & Strangers"

Miranda July

Provided.

“Each artist featured in ‘Friends & Strangers’ has been considered an outsider at some point in their life,” says Tina Kukielski, Susan Sollins Executive Director and Chief Curator of Art21.

“Each one also possesses that magical ability to connect with the world around them through art. I hope this episode teaches those watching that art has the power to help us raise our voice and find our community.” 

Resisting the growing isolation of life in the United States, the artists of “Friends & Strangers” imagine new stories to tell about themselves and their communities and discover empowerment in their artistic identities. In the episode, celebrated filmmaker, performer, and writer Miranda July embraces the risks of art-making while staging an impromptu performance at a gas station in Los Angeles. Christine Sun Kim adroitly navigates the hearing-dominant art world in a series of talks, exhibitions, and openings, revealing the biting humor and political commitment that fuels her signature drawings. Renowned for his interventions at the 2016 Standing Rock protests, Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold artist Cannupa Hanska Luger engages indigenous and non-indigenous audiences with interactive projects that acknowledge ugly colonial histories and direct a path forward to an optimistic future. Lastly, Linda Goode Bryant recalls the communal energy and anarchic spirit of her legendary New York City art space Just Above Midtown, recently celebrated by one of the most venerable art institutions in the country, the Museum of Modern Art. Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century "Friends & Strangers" airs Friday, October 20 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV.