Dual exhibits at ASU’s Museum of Anthropology

Mosaic: Cultural Identity in America

and

Fuse: Portraits of Refugee Households in Metropolitan Phoenix

Opening: April 3, 2008, 5-8 p.m.

Admission is free and food will be provided

April 3 - Oct. 3, 2008

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University Museum of Anthropology announces the opening of two concurrent exhibits—Mosaic: Cultural Identity in America, and, Fuse: Portraits of Refugee Households in Metropolitan Phoenix—at 5 p.m. April 3. Admission is free and food will be provided.

Through the artwork of local artist Eliza Gregory and selected student artists, these exhibits explore questions of identity and cultural experience in the largest urban center in the Southwest. Although the exhibits focus on two distinct topics, their approaches and themes complement each, both exploring contemporary regional, social and political relationships.

In Mosaic: Cultural Identity in America, jury selected student artists explore questions of national identity. Sarah Elsasser, guest curator and student in ASU's Barrett, The Honors College, has asked students to express, through a variety of artistic media, how they understand and identify with being American. Mosaic contextualizes U.S. American identity as a diverse and changing ascription, based on ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation. This exhibit presents both positive and negative takes on American culture and invites the visitor to engage emotionally with the artwork.

Fuse is a portrait exhibit of the complex worlds of resettled refugees in the Phoenix metro area. It fosters critical thinking on who refugees are and how, through sharing experiences, the Phoenix metro community can seek common ground. The photographs validate the struggles and triumphs of these families, portraying them in a way that fosters a deeper sense of belonging in the community. The exhibition is being developed in collaboration with Community Outreach & Advocacy for Refugees (COAR), a youth-led nonprofit organization based in Tempe that works with refugees and local artist Eliza Gregory, a member of the eye lounge artist cooperative on Roosevelt Row.

The exhibits will be on display through Oct. 3. The Museum of Anthropology is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. when school is in session. For more information about the exhibits and upcoming events contact the museum at 480-965-6224 or online: shesc.asu.edu/asuma. The ASU Museum of Anthropology is located in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Anthropology Building, Room 240 on ASU's Tempe Campus. A map of ASU's museum locations is online at: asu.edu/museums/map.htm.

SOURCE:
Catherine Nichols, anthro.museum@asu.edu
480-965-6224