Sarah Kavage

Our mission is to creatively re-imagine the social function of art. We believe that democratic leadership is the most appropriate way to produce an artistic program that inclusively responds to pressing issues of local and national significance. This democratic ethos is embodied by a forty-member advisory council of neighboring high-school students of color, Temple University students and faculty, as well as civic/cultural leaders representing a range of skills (nurses, farmers, philosophers, artists, community activists, historians, etc.). To each annual meeting every adviser brings one question that they do not know the answer to.  It is out of these questions, and the debates they provoke within the council that determines Temple Contemporary’s programming.This process grounds us in a position of public service to address contemporary questions of urgency and simultaneously necessitates a fundamental philosophical shift for the organization: from a single curatorial/authorial voice to one that recognizes social engagement and debate as the determining factor of our programming. This re-ordering of conventional gallery values foregrounds curatorial accountability, reciprocity, and exchange, as the basis of Temple Contemporary’s social life, and our social values.Funding for Temple Contemporary comes from The Andy Warhol Foundation, The Fels Foundation, The Barra Foundation, The PEW Center for Arts and Heritage, The Philadelphia Foundation, The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, The Pennsylvania Humanities Council, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, and Temple University.

Temple Contemporary

Lecture with visiting artist Sarah Kavage.

In collaboration with Critical Dialogues, please join us for a lecture by visiting artist Sarah Kavage.Kavage is a lead artist for the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River, to plan and design a series of ecological artworks for multiple environmental centers throughout the watershed. The work will use natural materials found in the different parts of the watershed to create public spaces that will be activated with performances, community gatherings, teachings, and conversations.Currently, Kavage is working with Phragmites, an invasive plant species found throughout the United States, more commonly known as reed and for its use in thatched roofing and basket weaving. We will be having a conversation around what is invasive, and how can we imagine utilizing space during a pandemic. Sarah Kavage is a Seattle-based visual artist and cultural organizer whose practice addresses place, ephemerality, and ecology. She uses large scale creative gestures and social engagement to shape public dialogue and interact with the life of the street and the natural world. Kavage has spent over 15 years using culture to interpret and investigate the Duwamish River, which runs through the Seattle area. Kavage received masters&#x27; degree in urban planning from the University of Washington, has served as Co-Artistic Director for the Duwamish Revealed exhibition along and about the Duwamish River, and was selected by Seattle Magazine as one of Seattle’s Most Influential People for 2015.<a href="http://www.kavage.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.kavage.com</a> above image credit courtesy of Bruce Clayton Tom

Sarah Kavage

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Sarah Kavage

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