黑料不打烊

Mishkin Gallery is pleased to present We didn鈥檛 ask permission, we just did it鈥�, a vibrant and experimental exhibition guest curated by Manuela Paz and Christopher Rivera of Embajada. The show revisits and honors the legacy of three historic exhibition series in Puerto Rico from 2000 to 2016 that foregrounded the independent spirit of art making across the region during a time of hopeful possibility. Those three exhibition histories include M&M Proyectos鈥� PR invitationals, organized by Michy Marxuach; the Gran Tropical Bienals, founded by Pablo Le贸n de la Barra; and Cave-In, initiated by Mike Egan.

The exhibitions, which took the form of idiosyncratic biennials, happenings, and installations, have had lasting impacts on practicing artists and in part spurred the self-reliant gallery community that flourishes in San Juan, Puerto Rico today. Drawing on the archives of each project, the exhibition features a selection of works by Puerto Rican and international artists working in an array of unconventional materials, along with documentation and ephemera. Taking place during an era of bankruptcy and political tension, the curators and artists in the exhibition embraced the ruins of modernity and empire and perceived anything as possible. We didn鈥檛 ask permission, we just did it鈥� conveys the sense of ambition, collective action, and self-sufficiency of experimental artist communities despite infrastructural limitations.

Rather than serve as a static repository, the archives from which this exhibition is built are still expanding. They provide creative opportunities for curatorial interaction, collaborative investigation, and trans-disciplinary experimentation. Throughout the duration of the exhibition, students from Baruch College will engage with the exhibition, actively taking part in researching and producing oral history projects and zines connected to the relatively new history. Artists and curators from Puerto Rico will be invited to expand the understanding of their work through public talks, podcasts, performances, and workshops while also activating local collaborations with the Puerto Rican diasporic arts community throughout New York City.