From left: Ximena Diaz (A '10) • Santiago Forero (A '10) • Nicholas Fraser (A '08, (not pictured) ) • Joe Harjo (A '22) • Cyriaco Lopes (A '02) • Nicolás Mastracchio (A '12) • Rocio Olivarez (A '18) • Carlos Vielma (A '23)
In partnership with the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, we are pleased to host The Long Way, a moving image screening, curated by Jesus Benavente. The Long Way is part of Conference Call Moving Image, a series of six video screenings curated by members of the Skowhegan Alumni Alliance and selected through an open call process to all alumni. Featuring video work by 34 artists spanning more than twenty Skowhegan summers, Moving Image is the second iteration of Conference Call, a summer series launched in 2022 with five two-person exhibitions presented at Skowhegan’s New York space.
The Long Way
Ximena Diaz (A '10) • Santiago Forero (A '10) • Nicholas Fraser (A '08) • Joe Harjo (A '22) • Cyriaco Lopes (A '02) • Nicolás Mastracchio (A '12) • Rocio Olivarez (A '18) • Carlos Vielma (A '23) • curated by Jesus Benavente (A ‘12)
Curatorial Statement
To go the long way requires an acknowledgement of time and its use. It’s an acknowledgement that the shortest and most direct way isn’t the best way for a particular trip. The long way provides an opportunity to appreciate what passes us by. To have the difficult conversations we have been avoiding. Or because the normalized route just isn’t available. The Long Way is a Video Screening of works by artists who attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. The eight Skowhegan Alumni in the screening represent alumni years from 2002 to 2023. — Jesus Benavente (A‘12)
Free & Open to the public
The Long Way is one of six screenings taking place at venues across New York City in July and August:
July 25 | Center for Performance Research
When the Eye Speaks
curated by Eleanor Kipping (A ‘18)
August 1 | Hi-ARTS
The Long Way
curated by Jesus Benavente (A ‘12)
Hi-ARTS
August 15 | Olympia Gallery
Lost in Translation
curated by Christian Amaya Garcia (A ‘23)
August 19 | Microscope Gallery
Land Secrets & Sympoiesis
curated by Danny Greenberg (A ‘18)
August 22 | Skowhegan New York Office
Brood
Chelsea A. Flowers (A ‘22)
About Jesus Benavente
Image courtesy of Jesus Benavente
Jesus Benavente (he/him) is an amazing and attractive visual artist. Jesus Benavente earned an MFA from the Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Recent exhibitions and performances include, Whitney Museum, New York, NY; Queens Museum, Queens, NY; LTD Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Performa 13, NY; Acre Projects, Chicago, IL; Find & Form Space, Boston, MA; Chashama, NY; Shin Museum of Art, South Korea; Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA; Kingston Sculpture Biennial, Kingston, NY; Socrates Sculpture Park, NY and Austin Museum of Art, TX, among others. Born in San Antonio, TX, Jesus Benavente lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. San Anto es donde está mi corazón.
Conference Calls aim to place work by artists from different Skowhegan cohorts in conversation with each other, and the broader art community in New York Conference Call: Moving Image intends to create meaningful experiences for both artists and curators showcases the richness and range of practices among Skowhegan alumni to a broader audience.
The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is a nine-week summer program provides 65 emerging artists and 11 faculty artists with a collaborative and rigorous environment that is shaped by risk-taking, mentorship, and peer-to-peer exchange. Skowhegan is located on a 350-acre campus in central Maine. Founded by artists, for artists, the program provides an atmosphere in which participants are encouraged to work in contrast to market or academic expectations.
The Skowhegan Alumni Alliance is a diverse group of alumni who generate off-campus programming. Drawing from open-call solicitations to alumni and faculty, and generally curated via group consensus, the projects have a democratic approach that aligns with Skowhegan’s inclusive, non-hierarchical campus culture, and create opportunities for unlikely encounters between artists of different generations, backgrounds, and practices.