Join us for the closing reception of Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI), featuring the Builders in acts of resistance, refusal, and dismantlement.

[Image: Builders Gaia Carabillo and Niklas Müller in Atlas Unlimited (Acts I-III), 2018.]

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ABOUT THE SHOW:

Since 2011, visual artist Karthik Pandian and choreographer Andros Zins-Browne have been exploring the image of revolution in the wake of the Arab Spring. Narratives of movement—figurative and literal, political and aesthetic, confessional and speculative—have woven their way through a series of interrelated works across moving image, theatre, and dance. Atlas Unlimited, the latest iteration of this ongoing project, combines sculpture and storytelling, tracing the flows of people, art, and artifacts across geographies and cultures in the past, present, and future. Taking place across a number of international venues, Atlas Unlimited changes and adapts to its specific context as it moves, unfolding in a succession of “acts” at each location.

At the Logan Center Gallery, temporary architectures and sculptural fragments depict artifacts, monuments, tents, and border walls from Tahrir Square and Palmyra to Myanmar and the US-Mexico border. Other objects on view draw directly from the artists’ research on Chicago, referencing the “Street in Cairo” attraction and other temporary exhibitions erected during the Columbian Exposition of 1893. These fragmentary sets are presented in a constant state of flux as a cast of Builders including a conservator, an actor, and a painter intermittently erect, maintain, and dismantle them. Working in the gallery during opening hours, each builder recounts tales of displacement, settlement, and reconstruction that interweave personal testimonies with fictionalized accounts. These narratives emerge from a series of workshops conducted by the artists and their ongoing conversations with a host of collaborators in Chicago and elsewhere.

Activations in the gallery will take place from 11am–7pm each Thursday beginning February 7 through March 7.

Karthik Pandian & Andros Zins-Browne: Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI) is realized in close collaboration with builders Anthony Adcock, Carris Adams, Jared Brown, Sherry Diaz, Jane Foley, Sami Ismat, Mohammad Miah, Gabe Moreno, Tasha Vorderstrasse, and students in the Design Apprenticeship and Community Actors Programs at Arts + Public Life, University of Chicago.

Karthik Pandian & Andros Zins-Browne: Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI) is presented by Logan Center Exhibitions and curated by Yesomi Umolu, Director and Curator with Katja Rivera, Assistant Curator and Alyssa Brubaker, Exhibitions Manager. This exhibition is made possible by support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Reva and David Logan Foundation and friends of the Logan Center. Atlas Unlimited (Acts I–VI) is co-commissioned by Netwerk Aalst and Logan Center Exhibitions, University of Chicago and co-produced by Precarious Pavilions Antwerp and The Great Indoors. It is made possible with the support from The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

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ALL PROGRAMMING:

Opening Reception | Act V: Plaisance
Friday, February 1, 2019 | Logan Center Gallery
6-8pm
Please join us for a reception to celebrate the opening of Karthik Pandian & Andros Zins-Browne: Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI), which will introduce the cast of builders. For Act V: Plaisance, the artists invite the audience to meet the builders as they mount a contemporary Columbian exhibition.

Educator Workshop: From Syria to the South Side
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 | Logan Center Gallery and the Oriental Institute
4:30pm
Join visual artist Karthik Pandian and choreographer Andros Zins-Browne for a gallery tour and workshop exploring connections between the instability and itinerant realities of immigration presented in the exhibition Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI), and the collection of ancient Near Eastern artifacts at the Oriental Institute. (Transportation provided between sites). This workshop is designed for educators and teachers and is free but registration is required. To learn more or RSVP please visit arts.uchicago.edu/amplify or contact Michael Christiano, mchristiano@uchicago.edu

Co-presented by Logan Center Exhibitions, The Oriental Institute, and Amplify at the University of Chicago.

In Response: Aruna D’Souza
Thursday, March 7, 2019 | Logan Center Terrace Seminar Room
6pm
Writer Aruna D’Souza presents a talk about Karthik Pandian and Andros Zins-Browne’s project Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI) at the Logan Center Gallery, contextualizing their work within artistic practices that engage questions of forced migration.

Gallery Activations
Thursdays, February 7–March 7, 2019 | Logan Center Gallery
11am–7pm
Stop by the gallery as a team of builders erect, maintain, paint and dismantle various components of the exhibition.

Closing Reception | Act VI: Strike
Thursday, March 14, 2019 | Logan Center Gallery
6–8pm
Join us for the closing reception of Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI), featuring the builders in acts of resistance, refusal, and dismantlement.

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Tags: Andros Zins-Browne, Atlas Unlimited (Acts V–VI), Atlas Unlimited Act VI (Strike), Chicago, Illinois, Karthik Pandian, Karthik Pandian & Andros Zins-Browne: Atlas Unlimited Act VI (Strike), Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Washington Park