Friends & Strangers

Linda Goode Bryant was born in 1949 in Columbus, Ohio, and currently lives and works in New York City, New York. In 1972, Goode Bryant received her BA from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and studied art history at the City College of New York until 1974, later receiving her MBA from Columbia University in 1980. In the many different titles and hats that the artist has worn throughout her decades-long career, including educator, gallerist, activist, filmmaker, and farmer, Goode Bryant has sought to realize ideas that were previously thought impossible through a choreography of passion, commitment, skill, and community. From creating the first Black commercial gallery in New York City to founding an urban farming nonprofit on concrete yards and city rooftops, Goode Bryant’s works empower communities and create tangible change, allowing others to realize their impossible ideas alongside her.

Christine Sun Kim was born in 1980 in Orange County, California, and currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Kim graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2002 before receiving MFAs from both the School of Visual Arts and Bard College in 2006 and 2013, respectively. The artist’s practice in drawing, video, and performance creates space for new explorations of sound and gives voice to collective experiences of oppression and systemic inequality. Using American Sign Language (ASL), closed-captioning, graphic illustration, and more, Kim enunciates personal and collective grievances, demands a political voice, and creates visibility for the Deaf community.

Miranda July was born in 1974 in Barre, Vermont, and lives and works in Los Angeles, California. July studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, before leaving the university to pursue filmmaking. The artist works across media in her practice, from staged performances and feature films to impromptu dance and short videos posted on social media, from novels and short-story collections to sculptural installations at the Venice Biennale. In each of these varied media, July examines different models and modes of connecting with people, from close friends and family to total strangers, and shows audiences how these connections might transform our lives and the world around us.

Cannupa Hanska Luger was born in 1979 on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota and currently lives and works in Glorieta, New Mexico. In 2011, Luger graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with a BFA. Spanning performance, sculpture, and video, the artist’s practice engages elements of Indigenous history and culture to simultaneously address present-day grievances and sources of trauma while projecting that culture into the distant future. Through his work, Luger aims to call attention to the harmful ideologies and practices that support genocide, destroy our environment, and distort our sense of self and community.

Educator Guides provide information about selected artists and themes, questions for classroom discussions, and hands-on activities that provide students with a fundamental understanding of creative and critical thinking processes.