Aman Mojadidi
Once Upon a Place
CONTEMPORARY ART TOLEDO presents AMAN MOJADIDI and his newest work, Once Upon a Place
September 15 - October 22, 2017.
Currently installed in New York’s Times Square through September 5th, Once Upon a Place will be hitting the road for a US tour, but not before an exclusive run in Toledo - thanks to our growing list of partners and sponsors!
The Artwork
Once Upon a Place is an interactive installation that uses phone booths to relate immigrants’ stories to the public. Visitors enter a booth, pick up the receiver, and listen to one or more of 70 personal stories of immigration. A phone book inside each booth details the personal histories of the story tellers and allows for guests to write their own.
The individuals behind the voices come from countries across the globe: China, Mexico, Burkina Faso, Tibet, and dozens more. The artist recorded the stories over several months in hopes of creating a safe environment for immigrants to share their personal experiences and for the public to hear them.
Once Upon a Place was created in Residence with and commissioned by Times Square Arts .
Read about Once Upon a Place
See videos about Once Upon a Place
Once Upon a Place
The opening of Once Upon a Place and the artist’s visit coincide with Toledo’s downtown arts festival, Momentum as well as Welcoming Week, a national celebration of immigration.
Installation opens to public
September 13th - 5 pm FREE
Promenade Park
(through October 22)
Artist/Student Q & A
Coffee Talk with Artist Aman Mojadidi
September 15th - 11:30 am FREE
University of Toledo Carlson Library
Hosted by UT's School of Visual and Performing Arts
Artist Talk
Borderless: Art and Migration in Troubled Times
September 17th, 2 pm - FREE
McMaster Center, Main Library
Talk includes a question and answer session followed by a brief public reception. Sponsored by the Roger Ray Institute for the Humanities (RRIH), this is the first of a series of free and public talks scheduled for 2017-2018. For more information on RRIH events, find them on Facebook.
Locations
Individual booths will be installed in 3 separate areas
University of Toledo,
William S Carlson Library
2801 Bancroft St, Toledo, OH 43606
Toledo Lucas County Public Library
325 N Michigan St, Toledo, OH, 43604
Promenade Park
400 Water St, Toledo, OH, 43604
About the Artist
Working largely through site-specific projects and with degrees in Cultural Anthropology, Afghan-American artist Aman Mojadidi's work combines qualitative research, traditional storytelling, postmodern narrative strategies, and mixed-media installations to address themes such as belonging, identity politics, conflict, historical artifacts, and migration.
Mojadidi has exhibited his work internationally including the Dhaka Art Summit 2016, 12th Havana Biennale 2015, 3rd Asia Triennial Manchester 2014, 1st Kochi/Muziris Biennale 2012, and dOCUMENTA (13) in 2012. In 2012, he was selected as a TED Global Fellow for the subversively critical nature of his art while living in Kabul and has been featured in numerous publications. In 2016 Vice News recorded a short documentary on his Kabul-based work. Currently based in Paris, he continues to travel extensively implementing site-specific interventions around the world.
See Videos:
TEDx | TED Global | VICE
Read This: “Amandullah Mojadidi’s Spectral Documents of Migration”, by Adam Klein, SFCamerawork
© 2017 Contemporary Art Toledo | Toledo, Ohio
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
Arts Commission of Greater Toledo
Bowling Green State University School of Art
The Bounty Collegium
Mansour Wealth Management
Owens Community College
Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel
Royal Motors
Ahmad and Salmenna Sediqe
Hussien and Randa Shousher
Aly Sterling & Friends
Toledo Lucas County Public Library
University of Toledo College of Arts and Letters
University of Toledo Department of Art
University of Toledo Roger Ray Institute for the Humanities
University of Toledo School of the Visual and Performing Arts
Welcome Toledo Lucas County