Indira Allegra

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Indira Allegra
Born
Detroit, Michigan, USA
NationalityAmerican
Education
Known forPerformative Craft, Poetry, dance, weaving, sculpture, assemblage, installation art
Notable work
  • BODYWARP
  • Blackout
AwardsBurke Prize
2019
Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award
2014
Websiteindiraallegra.com

Indira Allegra is a multidisciplinary American artist and writer based in Oakland, California.

Background and Education[]

Allegra was born in Detroit, Michigan and moved to Portland, Oregon in the 1980s.[1] Allegra studied Biology at Yale University in the late 1990s but left and later completed an Associate of Applied Science degree in Sign Language Interpretation from Portland Community College in 2005 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California College of Arts in 2015.[1] Allegra has worked as a sign language interpreter, domestic violence advocate, union organizer, teaching artist, and in the service industry.[1]

Art and Awards[]

Allegra makes work concerned with memorial and social tension. They work in a variety of genres and media, including performative craft, poetry, dance, weaving, sculpture, assemblage, and site-specific installations. Their work has been featured in exhibitions at the Museum of Arts and Design,[2] The University of Chicago's Arts Incubator,[3] John Michael Kohler Arts Center,[4] Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,[5] Mills College Art Museum,[6] Museum of the African Diaspora,[7] and SOMArts.[8] They have been awarded as a YBCA 100 Honoree (2020),[9] Minnesota Street Project's California Black Voices Project Grant (2020),[10] the Museum of Arts and Design's Burke Prize (2019).[11] the Fleishhacker Foundation's Eureka Fellowship (2019),[12] the Artadia Award (2018),[13] the Mike Kelley Foundation Artist Project Grant (2018),[14] the MAP Fund (2018),[15] the Tosa Studio Award (2018),[16] the Windgate Craft Fellowship (2015),[17] and the San Francisco Foundation's Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award (2014).[18]

Selected Exhibitions[]

  • 2019 Burke Prize Exhibition, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York[2]
    A dark space with videos of the artist projected onto and almost entirely covering the black walls. On the right, wooden weaving tools sit on a raised platform while woven threads on loom rods hang on the wall.
    Installation view of Allegra's work at the Burke Prize Exhibition, 2019
  • 2019 Even Thread [has] a Speech, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin[19]
  • 2018 Art+Practice+Ideas, Mills College Art Museum, Oakland, California[6]
    A spacious and darkened gallery room with a large circle of rock rubble centered on the wooden floor. A detailed collage of projections plays across three walls forming a continuous banner where the walls meet the ornate ceiling.
    Installation view of Open Casket IX at Mills College, 2018
  • 2018 BODYWARP, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, California [7]
  • 2018 BODYWARP, The Alice, Seattle, Washington[20]
  • 2017 Past Presence, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, California[21]
A dark space with the artist's images illuminated from within the black walls. The floor is black and the ceiling is ornate white tiles.
Installation view of Blackout at the 808 Gallery, 2015.
  • 2016 Blackout, YBCA, San Francisco, California[22]

Writing[]

Allegra published Blackout with Sming Sming Books in 2017.[23] Their writing has appeared in American Craft,[24] Art Journal,[25] Foglifter Magazine,[26] Cream City Review[27] and Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry.[28] Their work has been anthologized in Dear Sister,[29] Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California[30] and Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature[31] among others.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "We Want The Airwaves 43: Indira Allegra". directory.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Burke Prize 2019". Museum of Arts and Design. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Petty Biennial". The University of Chicago Arts + Public Life. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Even thread [has] a speech". John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "Take This Hammer: Art + Media Activism from the Bay Area". Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Swartzman-Brosky, Jayna (April 9, 2018). "Press Release: 2018 Art+Process+Ideas Exhibition" (PDF). Mills College Art Museum. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "MoAD Emerging Artists presents Indira Allegra". Museum of the African Diaspora. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Press release: But Tell Me What it Feels Like: The Erotic Practice of Liberation". SOMArts. March 27, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "Indira Allegra". YBCA. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  10. ^ "The Grantees". Minnesota Street Project. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Press Room". Museum of Arts and Design. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  12. ^ "Current Grantees". Fleishhacker Foundation. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "Indira Allegra". Artadia. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Mike Kelley Foundation For The Arts" (PDF). Culture Type. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  15. ^ "2018 Map Fund Grantees". Map Fund Blog. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  16. ^ "Past Awardees". Tosa Studio Award. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Grant Recipients Archive". Center for Craft. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  18. ^ Gee, Erika (November 7, 2014). "A Seat at the Writer's Table: Indira Allegra". The San Francisco Foundation. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Indira Allegra—Even thread [has] a speech". Vimeo: John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Digital video). December 4, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "BODYWARP: a solo exhibition by Indira Allegra". The Alice. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "Past Presence: Indira Allegra and Christopher R. Martin". Pro Arts Gallery. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Take This Hammer: Art + Media Activism from the Bay Area". YBCA. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  23. ^ "Indira Allegra: Blackout". Sming Sming Books. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  24. ^ "Indira Allegra: A Letter From Penelope". American Craft Council. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  25. ^ Association, College Art (2018-08-09). "Explore the Latest Issue of Art Journal". CAA News | College Art Association. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  26. ^ Press, Foglifter (2020-10-22). ""excerpt from praxistexere" by Indira Allegra". Foglifter Journal and Press. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  27. ^ Allegra, Indira (2015). "The 16th Letter". Cream City Review. 39 (1): 160–161. doi:10.1353/ccr.2015.0037. ISSN 2166-014X.
  28. ^ "Wordgathering: Allegra". wordgathering.syr.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  29. ^ "Dear Sister – AK Press". Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  30. ^ "Red Indian Road West – Scarlet Tanager Books". Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  31. ^ "Sovereign Erotics". UAPress. 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2021-04-20.

External links[]

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