Help Wanted! Features the screening of performances by Brendan Fernandes, and Jevijoe Vitug & Maureen Catbagan as the Abang-guard Duo, poetry by Alyssa Andrews and in situ performance by Kahori Kamiya.

This project explores the invisibility of immigrant domestic workers by analyzing the relationship between dominance and resistance, their social isolation, and how they organize in solidarity. How is it possible to reflect on migrant workers as both a commodity and as an essential labor force? Domestic workers are part of an invisible community rejected by society for different reasons, such as their ethnicity, and their social and immigration status. This category of work includes but is not limited to nannies, cleaning services, direct caretakers, doormen, gardeners, maids, and security guards, among other activities.

Help Wanted! centers domestic workers and how they fortify themselves in an unjust and unequal system by inciting resistance and solidarity. Domestic workers are the focal point to be seen, heard, and appreciated. They are portrayed as a vital element in the labor market. 

September Flux Thursday is the first of a series of events organized by curator Emireth Herrera, in which she invites participants to discuss the resilience and empowerment necessary for domestic workers to navigate their roles in a capitalist labor force. 

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Performance by Kahori Kamiya 

3:00 – 5:00 pm Screening: Performances by Brendan Fernandes, and Jevijoe Vitug & Maureen Catbagan as the Abang-guard Duo (Performances will be on loop) 

This event is free and open to the public.

Bios:

Brendan Fernandes (b. 1979, Nairobi, Kenya) is an internationally recognized Canadian artist  working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Currently based out of Chicago, Brendan’s  projects address issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest and other forms of collective  movement. Always looking to create new spaces and new forms of agency, Brendan’s projects  take on hybrid forms: part Ballet, part queer dance hall, part political protest…always rooted in  collaboration and fostering solidarity. Brendan is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study  Program (2007) and a recipient of a Robert Rauschenberg Fellowship (2014). In 2010, he was  shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award, and is the recipient of a prestigious 2017 Canada Council  New Chapters grant. Brendan is also the recipient of the Artadia Award (2019), a Smithsonian  Artist Research Fellowship (2020) and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant (2019). His  projects have shown at the 2019 Whitney Biennial (New York); the Solomon R. Guggenheim  Museum (New York); the Museum of Modern Art (New York); The Getty Museum (Los Angeles);  the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa); MAC (Montreal); among a great many others. He is  currently Assistant Professor at Northwestern University and represented by Monique Meloche  Gallery in Chicago. Recent and upcoming projects include performances and solo presentations  at the Noguchi Museum, New York, NY; The Richmond Art  Gallery, Richmond, BC; The National Gallery of Canada and new commissions with The DR Vocal Ensemble, Copenhagen, Denmark and a new dance performance with Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway.

Kahori Kamiya makes art to heal human trauma. All of her works are visceral and rooted in her memories and experiences. Using diverse materials and hybrid techniques she explores opposing themes of suffering and healing.

Kamiya was born in Nagoya, Japan and moved to New York, where she received her second MFA in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts. She is a recipient of the Face mask Award from Hudson Valley MOCA in 2020, the ISCP Residency Program (upcoming) in 2021, and Puffin Foundation Grant in 2022. Recently her works are featured by Art Spiel (Art Review),  WMHT Public Media TV, and Ever Emerging Magazine.

Kamiya has been participating in both national as well as international exhibitions including Woodstock Artists Association Museum in NY, Amos Eno Gallery in Brooklyn, Van Der Plas Gallery in NY, Oculus Westfield World Trade Center in NY, Carrie Able Gallery in Brooklyn, DIY Cultures in London, Prospect Gallery in Australia, Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn, the 14th Media Art Biennale Alternative Now in Poland, and Pärnu International Film & Video Festival in Estonia.

Emireth Herrera Valdés (b. Saltillo, Mexico) is an independent curator and writer based in New York City. Herrera’s curatorial and writing practice reflects her commitment to socially-engaged projects and the contextualization of issues of migration, mobility, dislocation, refugees, and indigenous culture within the development of Latin and American art. Herrera has curated exhibitions at Queens Museum, Flux Factory in NYC, the Sinaloa Museum of Art in Mexico, and the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. Her articles have been published by Arte Fuse, Brooklyn Rail, VISTAS by ISLAA, and LAR magazine.

The Abang-guard duo is a collaboration between New York-based Filipinx artists Maureen Catbagan and Jevijoe Vitug. Utilizing avant-garde concepts and practices, they visibilize hidden and forgotten histories of labor and migration while infusing their personal narratives with humor and wit as museum workers. They have exhibited and performed in New York, San Francisco, Denmark and Philippines which include Daydreamer’s Manifestation at Socrates Park, NY (2019), Abang-guard Manifesto at PS 122 Gallery, NY, Abang-guard Work Habits at ARoS Museum, Denmark (2018), Geary Contemporary, NY (2019), UP Vargas Museum, Philippines (2019), San Francisco Art Institute, CA (2021), and Center for Book Arts, NY (2021).

Alyssa Andrews (b.1993, Reno, NV) is a multidisciplinary artist originally from the American Southwest. Through sculpture, drawing, performative installations, film photography and poetry she explores the identity of the human form and its relation to the natural environment. She has worked as an artist, art educator and ceramic fabricator in Tucson, Arizona, New York City and Miami, FL. She currently lives and works in Miami, Fl.

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