For the Love of Art: Amber Esseiva and Making the Everyday Monumental

It’s not always easy to understand contemporary art. But one way to connect is to learn why other people love it. Join ICA Faculty-in-Residence Chioke I’Anson in discussion with Assistant Curator Amber Esseiva about Pascale Marthine Tayou, one of five artists in the ICA’s current exhibition Hedges, Edges, Dirt.

Tayou takes everyday materials, from street pavers to plastic bags, and reinvisions them as artwork, challenging viewers to think about their immediate surrounding in a new way. Tayou explores ways in which he can stretch his cultural and gendered identity to move beyond the bounds of a singular categorization such as being African or male. By considering himself a citizen of the world, he asks us to think about our perspective on language, politics and global consumption.

About the Presenters

Amber Esseiva is assistant curator at the Institute for Contemporary art. After receiving her MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Esseiva was appointed director of Retrospective Gallery in Hudson, NY. In 2016 she was a guest curator at the 2016 Glasgow International biennial festival of contemporary art and at VCUQ in Doha, Qatar. At the ICA, Esseiva co-curated the inaugural exhibition Declaration and Hedges, Edges, Dirt. She holds a BA in Art History from VCUarts.

Chioke I’Anson is an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at VCU and the first faculty-in-residence at the ICA. He has a PhD in philosophy from the University of South Florida and if you listen to NPR you’ll recognize his smooth baritone voice from the underwriting announcements. Chioke rides motorcycles quite fast.