The Extraordinary

Sarah Mihara Creagen, Canada Woomin Kim, South Korea Firoz Mahmud, Bangladesh Yue Nakayama, Japan Anna Parisi, Brazil Shimpei Shirafuji, Japan Catalina Tuca, Chile Ramyar Vala, Iran

The Extraordinary is a group show of eight artists who are currently in the process of gaining, or currently possess an O-1 Non-immigrant Visa: Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement. The exhibition seeks to bring transparency to the immigration process and at the same time, inspect the system, which requires those selected to have “distinction” and be “renowned” in the arts—a subjective and complicated qualification. The Extraordinary is an exhibition that visa-seeking individuals will be able to list on their CVs in order to qualify for the visa through the US Government. Complimentary public programming will include workshops with immigration lawyers, support group meetings with other visa seekers and awardees, artist talks and tours, among other relevant events. See full schedule here.

Taking place at Hunter East Harlem Gallery (HEHG),the exhibition is generated from an open call where 123 artists applied hailing from 40 different countries. Eight artists were selected by the prestigious jury made of:

✦ María del Carmen Carrión, Project Manager, Cisneros Institute at MoMA

✦ Solana Chehtman, Director of Civic Programs, The Shed

✦ Hitomi Iwasaki, Director of Exhibitions & Curator, Queens Museum

✦ Javier Telles, internationally recognized artist

Hunter East Harlem Gallery will provide the selected 8 artists:

+ An exhibition at an internationally recognized university gallery in Manhattan, New York City (www.huntereastharlemgallery.org for information on past exhibition projects).

+ Shipment of your artwork using UPS or DHL (commercial carriers only -- no fine art shippers -- full liability insurance of your artwork will be provided once work(s) are on site at Hunter College).

+ A $450 honorarium.

+ Published gallery guide/catalogue including a curatorial statement, and an artist section for an artwork image, artwork and biographical information.

+ A formal letter of acknowledgment to the US Government documenting participation in the exhibition.

+ An opportunity to participate in a public program such as an artist talk or panel discussion.

+ Resources such as access to immigration lawyers and colleagues who've been through the process. A robust schedule of public programing is set.

+ Exposure to Hunter College academic setting and the resources of the university.