SoMad: Mad World: A Bag to Breathe Into

34 East 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010

On April 18th, all three floors at SoMad will be activated with 5 performances, works by 21 visual artists, 9 experimental films, 5 video installations, a sustainable marketplace, vegan cuisine and beverages. This year’s exhibition spans the globe in its scope, altogether illustrating the interconnectedness of all living things and the struggles we each face as we share this experience of life on Earth.

Grounded in the framework of Intersectional Environmentalism, the curation refuses to separate issues of social justice from concerns of environmental collapse. The exhibition draws from the  writings of Kimberlé Crenshaw, the Combahee River Collective, and Leah Thomas, among other sources of Black feminist thought, Mad World questions environmentalism as it is conceived in institutional and mainstream society, recognizing that environmental injustices and social inequalities are interconnected and disproportionately affect oppressed communities.

The selected group of artists presents works that directly challenge the systems that oppress us and our environment. Their practices engage with themes including colonialism, development, migration, stress, disability justice, and afro-surrealism. The open call format reinforces our commitment to accessibility and community-building for emerging and experimental practices, and attracted over 640 submissions from 49 countries.

The show’s name comes from a line in Joy Priest’s poem “A Personal History of Breathing,” a devastating and beautiful exploration of how environmental racism impacts communities. In response to our collective anxiety, we seek to imagine alternative systems of care, emphasize a return to ancestral practice, and inspire cultural action.