In Conversation: Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo, Cassils and Erika Diamond

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In this virtual conversation, Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo will discuss his altar connected to the Orlando, Florida Pulse nightclub murders that is a centerpiece of this solo exhibition and partially built from the DISCOmosaics made by the public. He will be in conversation with artists Cassils and Erika Diamond, who will discuss their artworks 103 Shots (video, 2016) and Imminent Peril - The Queer Collection (textiles, 2018-present), respectively. An emphasis will be a discussion of trans and queer “life” and “joy,” both often obscured in conversations around death. The virtual panel will be moderated by exhibition curator Alpesh Kantilal Patel.

Artist Bios:

Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo is a Miami based artist. He has exhibited artwork and created public projects in South Florida, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Latin America. He frequently collaborates with artists, architects, dancers, musicians and community partners. He holds a BA in Studio Art and Latin American Studies from Swarthmore College, a BFA in Painting and Art History from New World School of the Arts, and an MFA in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Cassils is a transgender artist who makes their own body the material and protagonist of their performances. Their art contemplates the history(s) of LGBTQI+ violence, representation, struggle and survival, empowerment and systems of care. They have had recent solo exhibitions at HOME Manchester, Station Museum of Contemporary Art and Perth Institute for Contemporary Arts and are the recipient of a Fleck Residency from the Banff Center for the Arts, a Villa Bellagio Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, a United States Artist Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Creative Capital Award. They have received the inaugural ANTI Festival International Prize for Live Art, MOTHA (Museum of Transgender History) award, among others. Their work has been featured in the New York Times, Artforum, Hyperallergic, TDR, Art Journal and many other publications. Their monograph Solutions accompanying the eponymously titled exhibition was published by the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, TX (2020).

Erika Diamond is a textile-focused artist, curator, and educator. She holds degrees from Rhode Island School of Design and Virginia Commonwealth University. She has exhibited nationally and abroad in such venues as Kent State University Museum, Dinner Gallery, Form & Concept Gallery, and Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Her work is included in the collections of San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and Ally Bank. Residencies and Grants include: McColl Center, Platte Forum, UNCA STEAM Studio; VCU Arts; and Arts & Science Council of NC. Diamond is Assistant Director of Galleries at Chautauqua Institution.

Alpesh Kantilal Patel is associate professor of contemporary art at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, Philadelphia. His art historical scholarship, curating, and criticism reflect his queer, anti-racist, and transnational approach to contemporary art. He is the author of Productive Failure: Writing Queer Transnational South Asian Art Histories (2017) and is currently working on his monograph Multiple and One: Writing Queer Global Art Histories, under contract with Manchester University Press.

To learn more about the exhibition and other events, please see the main exhibition page HERE.