February 19–23, 2013
Renowned Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat will be the 2013 Savannah College of Art and Design deFINE ART honoree and keynote speaker. The fourth edition of SCAD deFINE ART, the university’s annual fine arts showcase, takes place February 19–23.
In addition to honoring Neshat, deFINE ART 2013 will include a screening of her first feature-length film, Women Without Men, which received the Silver Lion Award at the 66th Venice International Film Festival in 2009. Neshat will deliver the keynote talk at SCAD locations in Savannah and Atlanta.
Born in 1957 in Qazvin, Iran, and now based in New York City, Neshat explores notions of femininity in relation to Islamic fundamentalism and addresses in her work the social, political and psychological dimensions of the female experience in contemporary Islamic societies. Today, she works primarily in film, creating video projections that explore the tension between tradition and modernity for women in Iran. Previous SCAD deFINE ART honorees include Marina Abramović and Fred Wilson.
As a signature feature of deFINE ART, the university will present a series of major contemporary art exhibitions at the SCAD global locations, including shows by Ingrid Calame, Adam Cvijanovic, Gabriel Dawe, Rosemarie Fiore, Odili Donald Odita, Damián Ortega, Angel Otero, Jessica Rankin, Jennifer Rubell, Kiki Smith and Valerie Hammond, Jean-Michel Othoniel, and Jack Whitten. SCAD alumni Marcus Kenney, Roberto Carlos Lange, Jason Hackenwerth, Andrew Ondrejack and Claire Rosen, and M.F.A. students Honor Bowman, Sergei Isaenko and Will Penny will also have work on display. The SCAD deFINE ART 2013 programming will also include a Museum Directors Panel at the SCAD Museum of Art on February 21, moderated by Linda Yablonsky and featuring Michael Govan of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Thelma Golden of The Studio Museum in Harlem, and Defne Ayas of Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in the Netherlands.
About SCAD deFINE ART
SCAD deFINE ART is an annual series of major contemporary art exhibitions, lectures and public events presented at SCAD’s global locations in Savannah, Atlanta and Hong Kong. At its very foundation, deFINE ART celebrates SCAD’s exhibitions program, which is actively shaping and giving rise to artistic expression, dialogue and innovation. In collaboration with numerous departments throughout the university, deFINE ART represents one of SCAD’s many initiatives to expand the learning environment beyond the boundaries of the classroom and studio.
For more information on deFINE ART 2013 programming, visit scad.edu/defineart or scadmoa.org or call +1 (912) 525-4727.
