Crossing the Line: The Passport Reimagined | Artist Panel Part Two

Commissioned by Cynthia Sears, artists Shana Agid, Ben Blount, Sandra C. Fernandez, and Mare Blocker will discuss their work and creative process as our exhibition Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined nears its close. Join us as they share their experiences individually, and then in a panel conversation moderated by curator Catherine Alice Michaelis.

Each artist explored borders and boundaries, identity, and the concept of documentation. Shana Agid’s Forgeries explores the authority to mark bodies, land, and paper(s) as “real.” Ben Blount’s Passportal explores a personal history of his family’ migration to escape racial violence. He paired this story with an imagined Afrofuturist account of a Black family moving to another state, given our current discourse around politics and the ongoing problem of race in this country. Exploring concepts of sacrifice, destiny, identity, belonging, and resilience, Sandra C. Fernandez’s, Pass , A Journey Inscribed, documents her personal family history of migration from Ecuador. Storytelling, memories, and sea creatures have all been recurring themes in Mare Blocker’s work. Like a traditional passport which allows entry into other lands, her Hippocampus Hippocampus passport represents a point of entry to exploration and adventure.

Audience Q & A and reception to follow.

Guest bio:

Shana Agid is an artist/designer, teacher, and organizer whose work focuses on relationships of power and difference in visual, social, and political cultures. He is Associate Professor of Arts, Media, and Communication at Parsons School of Design, a 2024-2026 Fellow at Interrupting Criminalization, and a long-time member of Critical Resistance.

Her artist’s books are in libraries and collections internationally.

Ben Blount is a Detroit born artist, designer and letterpress printer who loves books, typography, and putting ink on paper. He is best known for work that explores questions of race, identity and the stories we tell ourselves about living in America.

Sandra C. Fernandez is an Ecuadorian American artist whose work vividly captures her experiences with migration and gender over a 25-year artistic career. Her pieces are part of prestigious collections, including those of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Library of Congress.

Mare Blocker, a Seattle native, has been making limited edition and unique books and prints since 1976 and established The MKimberly Press in 1984. Her work can be found in many public and private collections worldwide.