The hydra effect or hydra paradox owes its name to the Greek legend of the Lernaean Hydra which grew two heads for each one cut off, and is used figuratively for counter-intuitive effects of actions to reduce a problem which result in stimulating its multiplication. The Boston LGBTQIA Artist Alliance’s (BLAA) latest exhibition, Hydra Effect, opens June 5th at the Midway Gallery in Fort Point, and features the work of 16 Boston area artists working in a range of media. A closing reception is planned for July 7.
Hydra Effect is an exploration and celebration of the cultural value and significance of the arts in the current political climate, and a testament to the determination and resilience of LGBTQIA artists who have continued making work over the years despite hostile conditions. Harking back to the “NEA Four” and the conservative establishment’s attack on arts funding in the 80s/90s, the imminent future promises to be a historical moment in which the arts are again directly challenged – history repeats itself. This multimedia exhibition serves as a platform for LGBTQIA artists to engage with this moment in their own unique and distinctive voices.
Work ranges from revolutionary to visionary, from angry to celebratory, from local to global. How do we make art when there are urgent political crises taking place around us? What makes art important and vital, to ourselves and to others? When our resources are cut off, how do we combine forces and propagate our ideas? How do we respond when threatened? Overall, the show functions as part of a larger collective conversation about the necessity of the arts in society.
Artists: Lauren Alindogan, Dave J Bermingham, Leah Corbett, Nicholas Costopolous, Jamieson Edson, Ena Kantardzic, Topher Lineberry, Jill Ma, Kenneth Murphy, Kolin Perry, Joey Phoenix, Mary Provenzano, Renee Silva, Oona Taper, Dennis Tsai, and Abigail Wamboldt.
About the Juror: Silví Naçí is a curator and artist living and working in Boston. Her family moved to the U.S. from a war zone (formerly Communist) for a better life in 2001, two months prior to 9/11. Naçi studied at the Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca (Oaxaca, Mexico 2004), Studio Art Centers International (Florence, Italy 2008), and graduated from the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University with a dual degree in Fine Arts & Graphic Design (2011). She was a curatorial intern at MIT’s LIST Visual Arts Center (Cambridge, MA), the Cloud Foundation (Boston, MA) and Artists for Humanity (South Boston, MA). Naçi served as Assistant Director at Samsøñ (Boston, MA), Art Director at the Liquid Art House (Boston, MA) and curator at the Fourth Wall Project (Boston, MA), the Distillery Gallery (South Boston, MA), and the Blanc Gallery (Dorchester, MA). Currently, Naçi works on her studio practice, as independent curator, staff writer and editor at Big Red & Shiny.
About BLAA: The Boston LGBTQIA Artist Alliance is an artist run, volunteer organization that is dedicated to building community through exhibition opportunities, events, workshops, artist talks, performances, and other creative social outlets. We welcome all who identify under the LGBTQIA Spectrum, or produce creative work that falls under these categories. Learn more at www.blaa.us.