Bøker i Imagine Otherwise-serien

"The many worlds of Sonia Balassanian, an Iranian American political artist of Armenian descent who came to renown in the 1980s and early 1990s. 'Imagine Otherwise' is an anthology of books on queer, non-binary, or female-identifying artists who have produced a substantial body of work but may have no publication concerning their art or life in print at the time of commissioning. The overall proposition, to "imagine" a world "otherwise," stems from the desire to find a different way of looking, writing, and reading about art. Can art be examined unreservedly, unburdened of the limits imposed by any perceived "dominant hand" of hegemony? In the first volume of the series, author Dr. Omar Kholeif reveals a deeply personal portrait of Iranian Armenian American artist Sonia Balassanian. Weaving through poetry, memoir, and historical anecdote, Kholeif explodes the edges of the New York art world, tracing the contours of Balassanian's world."

A critical biography of artist Magda Stawarska via a series of journeys--from the streets of Istanbul to the canals of Venice and across the waters of Zanzibar. For nearly two decades, Polish-born, UK-based artist Magda Stawarska has explored the threshold of memory, the sanctioned shape of history, and the active experience of listening. Through sound and performance, moving image, photography, painting, and printmaking, the artist unfolds overlooked and contested narratives of the past through her practice of "inner listening". Stawarska's distinct approach to artmaking often begins with explorations of cities. Traversing self-directed routes, the artist has often been compared to a flaneur--moving through each site, cultivating a rhythmic score that reveals a densely layered urban topography. These situated scenes become the basis for a distinct form of language--one of conjured imaginaries. The artist and her carefully chosen collaborators unbuckle the seams of the aural landscape, using personal reflection and language, which the artist uses to create installations that constellate active feelings. These processes evolve, layer upon layer, in the studio and in the public realm, illuminating a palimpsest of dissonance: A discordant score that pierces the very concept of time. In this book, author and curator Omar Kholeif, offers an introductory field guide into the artist's practice. Structured as a travelogue through Stawarska's various journeys, readers will venture from the streets of Istanbul to the canal sides of Venice to the waters of Zanzibar. The second volume in the Imagine Otherwise series, Kholeif argues that in Magda Stawarska's art, one can find the specificity and detail of the ocular in the field and tempo of listening. Concluded with an afterword by Turner-Prize winning artist, Lubaina Himid CBE RA. Published by Sternberg Press in collaboration with artPost21