This Tuesday evening, September 1st, I and Nancy Wong of 011 Design Collective, will be hosting a small fundraising benefit for a project called Up and Coming at DCTV. The evening will begin at 7:00 p.m. with cocktails, music and schmoozing, and then at 7:45 p.m., we will be showing the first 10-minute installment of this multi-part, multimedia project followed by a Q&A with director, Eliane Lazzaris, and artists Priscila De Carvalho (pictured working in her studio) and Lina Puerta.
Following the Q&A, author Charlotte Noruzi will discuss her design collaboration with Eliane Lazzaris on her book, Urban Iran, profiles and perspectives of independent Iranian artists. There will be signed copies of the book available for purchase. The event is a benefit to raise funds for a new microphone and for production costs on the next installment of the series, featuring Puerta.
Up and Coming features film portraits of emerging female immigrant artists living and working in NYC today. Each artist will tell her own story in a stand-alone segment that will focus on the strategies she has found to continue to seek to define her cultural and artistic identity in her adopted country.
Lazzaris is a multimedia artist residing in Long Island City, Queens. She came to New York from her native Brazil in 2004. Her book and design credits include projects for DCTV, the Inaugural Cinema Eye Honors (2008), Urban Iran and Translating Hollywood, a book by Sam Sarowitz on movie posters. This project is her film directorial début.
Lazzaris says that, "The art world continues to be dominated by men and immigrant rights continue to be debated in Congress, so I devoted this project exclusively to female immigrant artists as an opportunity to further recognize our important artistic and cultural contributions.
"The idea for the project began shortly after I arrived in New York in '04 when I realized the difficulties I would face, as both an immigrant and as a woman, as I continued my commitment to sustaining an artistic practice in my life. Looking for support and inspiration, I became increasingly involved with other immigrant artists.
"This documentary series presents film portraits of female artists from around the world as they face the challenges of uprooting themselves from their home countries and relocating to the US. To document their lives and work, I will follow each individual for a period of about eight months, focusing on the strategies they adopt as they seek to define their cultural and artistic identities on their own terms. Each artist will be featured separately in an individual video.
"I plan to further expand on the perspectives provided in the film series through a companion book project that will explore new directions in the material and offer more in-depth bios of the artists."
Please join us Tuesday evening to meet the director and the artists. We are asking for a suggested donation at the door of just $10 and there will be other opportunities to offer support throughout the evening with a raffle of items donated by some generous sponsors. DCTV is at 87 Lafayette Street in Tribeca; we'll be in the big back room on the ground floor. You can RSVP and/or send donations to [email protected]. Hope to see you there!
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