Salem Public Artist in Residence

Salem Public artist in residence

Social Fabric

In addition, the exhibition showcases two video pieces created in collaboration with the Salem Access TV that will be premiered to the Salem Old Town Hall audiences. The first time-based project consists of a series of interviews with members of local immigrant communities, and the second features three professional dancers invited by the artist to activate the Welcome Dresses, wearable pieces made of thousands of colorful satin ribbons printed with the phrase YOU ARE WELCOME HERE in fifteen languages commonly spoken by immigrants in greater Boston; these ribbons were distributed to the public during the residence period.

About the Curator Michaela Blanc

Blanc is the Wikimedian in Residence at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and a Leadership Advisor at Art+Feminism. She recently curated Adaptation – Local Notes at Tomayko Foundation and Adaptation Screening Program at Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh. Previously, she was a Curatorial Fellow at the MassArt Art Museum (MAAM), a guest curator in the SMFA at Tufts University and MassArt Low Residence MFA programs, a Graduate Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a curatorial intern at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. She holds an MA in Museum Studies/Museum Education from Tufts University and a BA in Art History from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

This exhibition, under the title Social Fabric, is the culmination of visual artist Julia Csekö’s eight-month-long Salem Public Artist in Residency program in 2024. The solo presentation features newly-created monumental textile work that responds to and engages with dozens of migration stories collected from local residents through the participatory public art installation Transcending Borders Immigrant Experiences and Dreams.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, and Marblehead LCC, local agencies supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, and the ALAANA grant from the Creative County Initiative of the Essex County Community Foundation.

Transcending Borders - Immigrant Experiences and Dreams May - December 2024

This interactive public art installation is inspired by a Brazilian custom, where people of all ages, backgrounds, religious beliefs, and nationalities come to the historical Church of Senhor do Bonfim in Salvador, Bahia, and tie a ribbon representing a wish on the fence surrounding the premises. Transcending Borders features over 2,000 brightly colored ribbons with the phrase YOU ARE WELCOME HERE printed in several languages commonly spoken by immigrant populations of greater Boston. The public is invited to take a ribbon and engage with the piece through a QR code and a mailbox, allowing participants to share stories about immigration. The AR integration leads to organizations that support immigrant and refugee rights. The QR code has been scanned by over 1,000 unique users between June and August 2024, and over 60 participants have submitted their stories using the AR integration.