John Sims AfroDixia: A Righteous Confiscation, solo exhibition
May 3, 2021
AfroDixia: A Righteous Confiscation
Exhibition:
701 Center for Contemporary Art
701 Whaley St., 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
May 6 – June 25, 2021
Free and Open to the public Wednesday – Thursday 1PM – 5PM by appointment
Open Friday – Sunday 1 PM – 5 PM
Social distancing observed, masks required.
701 CCA new artist in residence John Sims is an interdisciplinary conceptual artist who creates multimedia projects spanning the areas of mathematics, art, text, performance and political-media activism. Sims will have a solo exhibition at 701 CCA May 6 – June 25, 2021
Detroit native and Sarasota, FL, resident Sims addresses the connection between Blackness and the complex history of the American South. In particular, his work is a response to the controversies around the Confederate flag and to the active movement questioning the very nature of sacred symbols, visual terrorism and identity politics shaped by symbols.
Sims will be in residence at 701 CCA’s live-work space May 4 – 25, 2021, and June 10 – 17, 2021. During that time he will finish writing his play “The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag”, an exploration of the 20 years of artistic practice and experience around this particular body of work dealing with the Confederate flag. The public will have several opportunities to engage Sims at the following events.
May 11, 6 PM: Meet the Artist
May 18, 6:30 PM: In Conversation:
701 CCA Artist in Residence John Sims & Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Associate Professor of History & the Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research, at the University of South Carolina
June 3, 7:30 PM: film screening of Meltdown In Dixie with talkback featuring filmmaker and Orangeburg native Emily Harrold
June 10, 7 PM: Table Reading of Sims’ play “The Proper Way To Hang the Confederate Flag”
June 17, 7 PM : AfroDixie Remix: The Listening Party, an audio presentation of the song Dixie remixed and recontextualized using Black American music traditions
The AfroDixie Remixes, Sims’ 13-year music project, confronts the song Dixie – the anthem of the Confederacy – by subversively remixing through a collection of 14 tracks of Dixie in the many genres of Black music: Spiritual, Blues, Jazz, Funk, Calypso, Samba, Soul, R&B, House, and Hip Hop by various musicians.
701 CCA’s mission is to promote understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art. With a gallery and live-work space for an Artist-in-Residence program, the Center provides artists with resources to develop, create and exhibit visual arts in conjunction with performing, literary and media arts. 701 CCA also offers year-round cultural programming, including contemporary art exhibitions and events that are free and open to the public.
For further inquiries or high-resolution images, contact Michaela Pilar Brown, Interim Executive Director, at [email protected] or (803) 319-9949.
701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201. please visit us online at www.701cca.org and follow us @701cca via social media.
