The perception of art is shaped by its location, but art can be a location itself. What is the Where? asks how artists can respond to the relationship between location, identity, and perception. Guest curated by Risa Shoup and Recession Art.

The group show focuses on installations and photography by 15 artists: Louise Barry, Katrina Boemig, Aneikit Bonnel, Heejung Cho, Stephen Eakin, Ryan Frank, Ian Addison Hall, Jess Levey, Elias Necol Melad, Lawrence Mesich, Evan Roberts, Patrick Serr, Katie Shelly, Celia Tobin, and Matt Woodward.

Paper cut memory maps by Katrina Boemig will alter through gravity and the actions of gallery visitors, and video monitors enclosed in air vents by Lawrence Mesich offer a voyeuristic peak into the mundane and repetitive activities of lobbies, waiting areas, and offices. Louise Barry constructed The Missing House using architectural plans discovered in her parents’ basement, building a place that is both real and imaginary. Heejung Cho and Ian Addison Hall both took direct inspiration from New York City, with Cho mixing paint, pen, and photography to respond to the sense of displacement in a nomadic lifestyle, and Hall using negative space in photography to disguise the differences between Brooklyn and his West Virginia hometown.

Recession Art will host a Young Curator Panel in conjunction with What is the Where? on November 14 with independent curators Risa Shoup, Simmy Swinder, Ryan Frank, and Gianna Leo Falcon, moderated by Monica Westin, a Chicago art critic. An Artist Talkback with Celia Tobin, Jess Levey, Ian Addison Hall, and Stephen Eakin will be moderated by Risa Shoup on November 17, and a Film Night on November 18, co-curated by Jesse Wakemen, will address the broader themes of location and perception with emerging filmmakers. November 20 will be a family friendly Kids Day.

Versus, a Family Feud-inspired event on November 19, will pit Performance Artists against Visual Artists to decide a question that has plagued the art world since Andy Warhol and Lou Reed: Who is cooler?

Guest Curator Risa Shoup is the Residency Manager of the BRIC House Fireworks Residency Program, a collaborative artists’ residency at BRIC Arts|Media|Bklyn. An Independent Curator and Development Consultant, she has spoken about nontraditional artspaces at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, NYU and the CUNY Graduate Center in NYC, and at Harvard University.

Recession Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit organization that serves a national community of artists and arts organizations.