Curated by Dean Daderko

Manuel Acevedo, Daniel Bozhkov, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Hasan Elahi, Chitra Ganesh, Andrea Geyer, Mariam Ghani, Jayson Keeling, Kalup Linzy, Rachel Mason, Esperanza Mayobre, Ulrike Müller, Wangechi Mutu, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Paul Pfeiffer, Rafael Sanchez, Judi Werthein, Matt Wolf

Including PASSPORT contributors: Dave McKenzie, Marc Andre Robinson, International Globus Dislocator, Cyrus St. Amand Poliakoff, Xaviera Simmons, Javier Bosques, Patricica Valencica.

I am often suspicious of the over-determined nature of thematic exhibitions. Their tendency to look inward to prove a point is something I sense as a weakness. So, I decided to organize a thematic exhibition; one that looks outward, and engages viewers.

I had seen strong and interesting works in artists’ studios addressing immigration and felt compelled to bring these works together. As this exhibition also functions to prove `professional engagement’ that contributes toward some artists’ appeals to remain in the US legally, it has yet another function. This was the site of my initial inquiry.

I recognized other related discussions of identity over the course of more studio visits. What and where `home’ is gets asked in many studios, in many ways. “I’m here, and thinking of there, and when I’m there, I’m thinking of here.” Borders and boundaries create their own tensions. These tensions are alleviated, amplified and transgressed in many ways. More work found it’s way into the show, and the exhibition took on a new form.

Along the way, I recognized that the artists I talked with about the show were eager to suggest other artists’ work for inclusion. These appeals were exciting, and I decided that the exhibition would benefit from a responsive forum, so PASSPORT came about. In this section of the exhibition, artists and other cultural workers who contributed their ideas were invited to realize them by curating a show-within-a-show, bringing more artists into the discussion.

Daily, we cross boundaries. We move over them geo-politically, socially, psychologically. Motion and emotion are linked. This exhibition considers these conditions, and initiates a series of dialogues in and around these issues. It addresses our agency, and the relations of context and identity. These inquiries and responses transform the exhibition as a site of activity, challenge, and production.

Dean Daderko, April 2006