Shifting Stereotypes

The Strange Becomes Familiar and the Familiar Becomes Strange

Stereotyping becomes a familiar response to the strange we see in others. This interactive installation seeks to invite and provoke participants to challenge these familiar responses to strange “others” that are based on and perpetuate stereotypes. Through interactive scenarios, participants are invited to enter strange territory and embody the words and actions of someone different to themselves. Part performance art, part theater and part participatory anthropology, this event tackles familiar issues: indigenous rights, microaggressions, police profiling and violence, immigration and deportation, structural violence and more. While the topics tackled fall under a broad umbrella of social justice, this installation focuses on the particular lived experience of people who stereotype and are stereotyped, making the daily experiences of the “other” more familiar. Anthropologists specialize in making the strange more familiar through ethnographies of the everyday lived experience, however, they have been challenged for perpetuating the “othering” or fetishization of “strange” culture, about whom they write. This installation follows the familiar anthropological path of illuminating the experience of those often considered “the strange” or “the other” to the point at which this “othering” leads to stereotyping and has very real and tangible negative effects on the daily lives, health, livelihoods of the stereotyped. It hopes that, by encouraging us all to confront our own discomfort with our participation in the stereotyping process, participants will challenge stereotypes encountered in their daily lives. This project is a collaboration with artist-in-residence at the Denver Art Museum and Indian activist, Gregg Deal and students at City University of New York at Guttman Community College, Shenice Greene, Sade Miles and Maria Isabelle Parada, in addition to many other performance artists, anthropologists, artists and activists from Washington D.C., New York City, Denver, Tampa and Oxford, U.K.

Explore the interactive documentary here: shiftingstereotypes.com

Apply to Participate

Please state your intentions to participate with a very brief (a sentence or two) description of how some (or all) of this theme plays out in your work. We will get back to you with further instructions of how to send along your contributions. All files must be submitted by the first week of August for inclusion in the debut installation and promotional materials.

ARTISTS!! Click here to learn more and/or to send us a message!

How would you capture these concepts in your work? How can you convey the importance and/or detriments to a varied audience? How should this sensory experience play out?

We are asking you to use these broad themes to inspire an original piece that explores stereotyping. We are looking for highly creative and thoughtful pieces.

Please email a short description of your preliminary ideas so we can discuss how to integrate the piece into future exhibits. Please communicate with us directly about the deadline to get your work in our hands! We can facilitate the printing of your piece on canvas or some other large-format premium stock, and have the capabilities to assist in other areas of production.