OPEN AIR SCREENING SERIES PRESENTS:

Stitch The Ruin, 2023
by Gita Blak (Željka Blakšić)

Dusk on FRIDAY October 20th until Dawn SATURDAY October 21st ** OPENING NIGHT **
Dusk on SATURDAY October 21st until Dawn SUNDAY October 22nd

OPEN AIR SCREENING SERIES presents 16MM films on LOOP visible from a distance from dusk until dawn.
72 ROCKWELL PLACE, Brooklyn, New York 11217 - Between BRIC Media Arts Center & BAM Rose Cinemas.
FULL DETAILS BELOW
This screening benefits ŠTO TE NEMA via suggested donations at a sliding scale.

PROGRAM INCLUDES

Stitch The Ruin, Željka Blakšić, 2023 (16MM Color film, Silent, 3 Min)
“Stitch the Ruin” is a body of work consisting of a series of short experimental 16mm films and installations reflecting on the conceptual, historical, and social concerns regarding clothing production by overlapping history of textile industries on the territory of ex-Yugoslavia (the Broken Industries) and our current fast fashion over-consumption. Collection_1 (3 min print I submitted) holds two meanings, common term in fashion industry referring to a seasonal production of different styles and an action or process of collecting something. In the film we can see interconnected microscopic images of textiles and lists of closed or ruined factories, many named after the partisan heroines who were a part of the Antifascist Women’s Front. Growing up in times of extreme political turmoil and conflicts caused by the disintegration of Yugoslavia, repurposing these used garments collected from famous Hrelich Flea Market is a practice that comes with a level of agency and skill sharing. Looking closely at these old textiles, focusing on details like stitching and tags, I explore the knowledge of time and labor and reflect on the specific industrial structure of feeling established by workers in these socialist factories.

Željka Blakšić AKA Gita Blak is an interdisciplinary artist born in Zagreb and based in New York City. She holds an MFA from The School of Visual Arts- Photography, Video and Related Media Department. Over the last 15 years she created numerous projects addressing critical enquiries into the notions of collective, poetic and refusal using performance, social practice, and lens-based media (both analog-16mm filmmaking and digital media). Blakšić often collaborates with members of different subcultures, activists, singers, urbanists, and students, creating sites and praxis of collectivity. She presented her work at Museum of Modern Art, NY; AIR Gallery, NY; BRIC Brooklyn, The Kitchen, NY; Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Gallery Augusta, Helsinki; Urban Festival, Croatia; Gallery of SESI, Sao Paolo; etc. She was a recipient of the Recess Session, NY; A.I.R. Gallery Fellowship Program, NY; Residency Unlimited & NEA Award, NY; Fondazione Pistoletto Residency, Italy; MuseumsQuartier Program, Vienna; Paula Rhodes Award, NY; among others. Most recently she was a resident at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, and IATP at Jack at Shainman Gallery

With this series we ask that each presenting artist identify a non-profit they wish to bring attention to and support through this screening. Željka has selected ŠTO TE NEMA, a participatory public monument to the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide. Between 2006 and 2020, this annual nomadic monument was presented through an ongoing partnership between the artist Aida Šehović and Bosnian diaspora communities in various public squares around the world aiming to create sites of remembrance together.

Please consider making a donation to support these efforts.

OPEN AIR SCREENING SERIES:
The OPEN AIR SCREENING SERIES allows for 16mm film projection viewing with social and physical distance guidelines in place. 16mm film prints are projected, on loop, from dusk until dawn. Each artist receives an honorarium to support their practice and a new print of the work struck at MONO LAB. Each artist is asked to select a non-profit for a portion of the proceeds to benefit, a donation will be made in their name. And, YOU the audience are invited to enjoy the work, take part in the conversation and we ask that you consider making a donation as it directly supports the artist and the organization with which they share concern. This screening series is supported by the New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA).