Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Intended Trajectories at Knockdown Center, join artists Lourdes Correa-Carlo and Alan Ruiz for a public conversation moderated by curator Christian Camacho-Light. In their work, both Correa-Carlo and Ruiz investigate how the formal and spatial organization of architectural environments in turn structure social relations. In this event, each artist will introduce their recent projects, followed by a discussion that will draw out themes present in the exhibition, including: the visual politics of city space; systems of alienation and enclosure; and issues of access.

Lourdes Correa-Carlo is an artist who works across drawing, photography, collage, video, sculpture, and installation. She holds an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University and a BFA in Sculpture from Escuela de Artes Plásticas, San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the International Studio & Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY (2015-2017) and has previously held residencies at Artist in the Marketplace, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY (2013); Core Program, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX (2010-2012); and Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY (2011). Her work has been exhibited with institutions that include the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; the International Studio & Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY; School of Visual Arts, New York, NY; Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT; Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY; the Core Program, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX; Julius Caesar, Chicago, IL; Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY; and Art Center South Florida, Miami, FL.

Alan Ruiz is a visual artist whose work explores the way space is produced as both material and ideology. His architectural interventions have been shown in exhibitions at the Queens Museum, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Wave Hill, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Ruiz has contributed writing to Archinect, TDR, BOMB Magazine, InVisible Culture, and Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory. He has presented work at the Storefront for Art & Architecture, MoMA PS1, and PSi Hamburg. Ruiz received an MFA from Yale University and was a 2015 – 2016 fellow in the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. He is a current artist-in-residence at Abrons Arts Center.

Christian Camacho-Light is a curator and writer based in New York. Recent exhibitions include Stage 6: Lourdes Correa-Carlo, Down-Below, International Studio & Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY (2016) and Standard Forms, Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (2016). They are currently at work on an exhibition to be shown at the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ (November 2017). They hold an MA in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, and a BA in Art History from Vassar College.

Join us for the closing reception of “Wall < Enter,” an interactive immersive art installation produced by diverse New York City youth and families in collaboration with the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Arts and Literacy Program, artist/AED Laura Paris, and teaching artist/art therapist planning team Tomas Manon, Frank Mena, Jenn Perez, and Rocko Seymour. Featuring music provided by 8 Ball Radio DJs and refreshments!

“Wall < Enter” offers an important opportunity to reflect upon the current climate of fear and intimidation faced by immigrant populations in our communities through an interactive collaborative art project made by those most affected by this climate and their allies.

For “Wall < Enter”, the 1,300 young people who attend the Arts and Literacy Program and their families were invited to reflect upon President Donald Trump’s proposed wall between the US and Mexico and then reimagine what borders between countries should look like. The result is a projected montage of images , writing, dance, music and monologues about borders, personal stories, inter-culturation and the impact of immigration policy. The project offers visitors an opportunity to hear from those most affected by the anti-immigrant sentiment fostered by the Trump administration, and, simultaneously, provides participants with an opportunity to imagine alternatives to the anti-immigration plans and policies laid out by our president.

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On the Fourth of July, we unveiled an interactive station in the form of a voting booth that visitors can use to contribute their own stories through writing, drawing, audio and video content. These contributions will be added to the final installation. The opening of the voting booth coincided with “The Real Fireworks,” a benefit concert for Make the Road NY featuring Marc Ribot and M.A.K.U. Soundsystem.

 These contributions will be on view along with the work by Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Arts and Literacy Program participants.