Anthea Black

Anthea Black is a Canadian artist, writer, and art-publisher based in Oakland and Toronto. Her practice addresses feminist and queer history, collaboration, archives, and labour through printmaking, artist publishing, and textiles. During her residency at Kala, Anthea focused on researching the “UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of the Artist” and developing works that address themes of artist’s labour, the shifting value of cultural work in relationship to the state, nationhood, and global citizenship. For the exhibition she presents research documents and a letterpress reprint of the original 1980 UNESCO text to activate and re-envision this document. The “Status of the Artist” suggests actions for nations to improve the material conditions of artists’ lives. And yet, she sees one of the most important roles for artists is to critique and challenge state power. As a part of the work, Anthea will host in-person and online discussion, annotation, and reading sessions. As a non-citizen and “non-resident alien” living in the US, her project expands notions of artistic citizenship and the role of contemporary print practices locally and globally.