“Conditioning Leather” Exhibition

Bronx Art Space

This event has ended.

Curated by Duneska Suannette, winner of BAS inaugural Curatorial Open Call | Emerging Bronx Voices, Conditioning Leather documents how artists of color explore the relationship between memory and materiality as a way to heal from transgenerational trauma. Oftentimes, psychotherapists suggest creating a genogram in order to work through transgenerational trauma, however this does not consider the history of erasure and violence most people of color share. The artists featured in Conditioning Leather work through their own battle with transgenerational trauma by incorporating materials that spark memories of ancestral strength and perseverance. However, the programming is just as important as the work exhibited considering the goal of Conditioning Leather is to bring a modern form of therapy to the Bronx Community. That is because, like leather, we must be conditioned and protected. The difference is that we must do it ourselves.

Duneska Suannette is an artist, curator, and educator who considers how space can directly influence an individual’s psyche. This is especially important for people of color as oftentimes spaces are not created with them in mind. Suannette delved into this theme through her experiences as an educator as she saw how classroom environments influenced the productivity and learning potential of students. It was in City College of New York where Suannette studied Studio Art with a concentration in education that she began thinking about the larger theme of space.