WRESTLING THE SNAKE: Open Season in Political Art
at THE PROJECTS|FATVillage
Curated by Leah Brown and Peter Symons
May 28 – Aug 12, 2016
PREVIEW May 27 | 7-9 pm
OPENING May 28 (With performance by David Rohn and Danilo De La
Torre) | June 25 | July 30 | 6-10 pm
THE PROJECTS | FATVillage
521 NW 1 st Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Press contact: Leah Brown, leah@fatvillage.com
“If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircle us today like the coil of a snake
from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish therefore to wrestle with the
snake.” -- Mahatma Gandhi
WRESTLING THE SNAKE: Open Season in Political Art is a group art
exhibition of large-scale sculpture, installation, painting, performance, sound and video in
The Projects Art Exhibition Space in FATVillage in Fort Lauderdale. Each of the individual
works in the show is an examination of current political issues, particularly in light of the
presidential candidates’ race. What curators Leah Brown and Peter Symons have found is
that the South Florida artist community has been inspired in both positive and critical ways
by the 2016 election season, and are making work related to a real questioning of their
own and the nation’s political ethos.
Aurora Molina, detail of “11 Candidates and the President”
EXHIBITING ARTISTS:
Richard Vergas
About the CURATORS:
Leah Brown (MFA 2014, UM) and Peter Symons (MFA 2008, Pratt) are a husband/wife
team who has been collaborating as artists and curators since they met as undergraduates
studying sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000. They relocated from
NYC to Ft Lauderdale in 2008, and began co-curating The Projects Contemporary Art
Space in 2010. They have written for and received funding from the John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge to fund basic operations and expanded
programming for FATVillage Arts District from 2015-2017. In addition to their curations,
they collaborate as the art team for Art+Light+Space Studios, and each maintains their
own separate studio practice.
About the GALLERY:
The Projects is an 8000 square foot warehouse gallery, in the heart of FATVillage Arts
District (Flagler Arts and Technology Village), the impetus for Fort Lauderdale's ever-
growing arts community. Monthly last-Saturday Artwalks run shuttles between clusters of
artist’s studios, galleries & creative businesses throughout Flagler village. This unique
exhibition space allows artists to make very large or very tall artworks. The
Projects exhibition space was recently awarded the Knight Arts Challenge Grant, which is
in part funding this exhibition.
