Leila Weefur: Empathy and Otherness

Radical Art Theory Nights

Leila Weefur: Empathy and Otherness

Imagining a future for human bodies as we know them to exist

February 16, 2017
7:00 – 8:30 PM
Southern Exposure
RSVP to Eventbrite, limited to 20 participants

In conjunction with the Sooner or Later exhibition on view at SoEx, Radical Art Theory Nights presents an exhibition walkthrough and conversation with artist Leila Weefur. How can we imagine a future for human bodies as we know them to exist, and how we can empathize with bodies that we perceive are different from our own? Empathy is the key that allows us to construct utopian visions without losing our understanding of humanity.

The works in the exhibition and the two suggested works by Chris Marker and Rashid Johnson present bodies in very different ways. We will explore how these works resonate and/or cause discomfort for each of us, and use them to frame our conversation around the function of empathy in the future.

Suggested viewing/reading:

Leila Weefur is a media artist who integrates her background in film theory, video, and photography with printmaking. She uses video as a central element in investigating layers of cultural identity and  ideological constructs of race. Weefur received her MFA from Mills College in 2016. She is a recipient of the Hung Liu Award, is a member of Real Time and Space, and recently received an artist fellowship and residency at Kala Art Institute. She has exhibited her work in local and national galleries including Southern Exposure and SOMArts Gallery in San Francisco, Betti Ono in Oakland, and Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, New York. She lives and works in Oakland, California.

Radical Art Theory Nights are conversations about art theory, art history, or research-based art practices that reflect on narratives of the historically marginalized. Visiting writers, curators, and artists contend with both current and canonized concerns, critically engage with texts, and lead open community discussions.

Radical Art Theory Nights are facilitated and organized by Ángel Rafael Vázquez-Concepción in partnership with Southern Exposure’s Artists in Education program.