Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Xavier University's Community Arts Program, and the New Orleans Women Artist's Collective invite you to a reception for Kenyan Artist Wangechi Mutu.

The event takes place on Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Ashé Cultural Arts Center.

The work of Kenyan born, New York-based artist Wangechi Mutu offers a visceral response to her critiques of gender, culture and mass media imagery. Exploring the female body as a site of engagement and provocation, Mutu's work is frequently populated by hybrid figures that possess an almost abject beauty. The artist samples imagery from disparate sources--medical diagrams, fashion magazines, anthropology and botany texts, pornography, and traditional African arts. The artist's signature aesthetic utilizes tactile and fleshy surfaces to readily engage in her own unique form of myth making, bringing physical and conceptual depth while making social and personal commentary. (Homeward Bound shown left.)

A native of Nairobi, Kenya, Mutu participated in Performa 09, Performa Biennial, New York, NY. She has had solo exhibitions at many major institutions including the Berlin Guggenheim; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Miami Art Museum, and ArtPace, San Antonio. Mutu's work is in public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art; The Studio Museum in Harlem; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Museum of Contemporary Art.


In New Orleans, Mutu also participated in Prospect.1, resulting in the building of Ms. Sarah's House which will be dedicated on Sunday, April 11, 2010

DEDICATION CEREMONY FOR MS. SARAH'S HOUSE
Please join the New Orleans Women Artist's Collective (NOWAC), Wangechi Mutu, and Dan Cameron, producer of Prospect.1, in welcoming Ms. Sarah Lastie back to her community in the Holy Cross District.

The house is located at 606 Caffin Street (corner of Chartres Street) in the Lower 9th Ward. The Dedication Ceremony takes place on Sunday, April 11, 2010; 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Enjoy spoken word by Asali DeVan, and live music by Rajdulari & TruVibe (Neo-soul, Jazz, and Urban R&B). Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Tye Waller at tyewaller@msn.com.