Author Neelanjana Banerjee and filmmaker Kate Lain will discuss their individual practices and their respective contributions to the online program connected to Alison Saar’s “Catfish Dreamin’,” currently on view in the Armory Center for the Arts’ front garden, on Thursday, November 18, in the Armory’s Artist Talk, 6 to 7 p.m.
This virtual event is free and open to everyone.
“Catfish Dreamin’,” an outdoor temporary sculpture and related online program, is one of Saar’s earliest public projects. It was originally commissioned in 1993 by The Contemporary in Baltimore.
Inspired by the city’s traditional African-American fish and produce vendors, “Catfish Dreamin’” featured a modified vintage pickup truck that housed a six-foot catfish sculpture. Inside the catfish’s mouth were river stones imprinted with the word “dream.” Saar traveled the piece across the mid-Atlantic in the early ’90s, gifting the river stones to anyone who shared their dreams and memories with her.
This new iteration at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena re-imagines the truck, sculpture, and stones as a temporary outdoor installation. It is presented alongside a selection of online artworks chosen by Saar, and includes a map of recommended LA County waterways to enjoy these virtual works on your mobile device.
Banerjee and Lain are contributing artists, along with Carolina Caycedo, Carmina Escobar with Wesam Nassar, as well as Saar.
To access the online component, scan the QR code adjacent to the installation, or visit www.armoryarts.org/catfish.
For more information, call (626) 792-5101.
