Catalogue Release Event for Exhibition Hidemi Takagi: Stories

Catalogue release event will celebrate Hidemi Takagi: Stories (KODA Publishing, 2021). Artist Hidemi Takagi will be in conversation with journalist Jasmine Bager, about the three series included in the catalogue, and one new body of work Takagi is currently developing. Klaudia Ofwona Draber, founder of KODA, curator, and editor of the publication, will showcase the publication, introduce the speakers, and read excerpts from essays by the contributors:

• Jamel Shabazz
• Eva Mayhabal Davis
• Saijah Williams
• and Jim Furlong

Hidemi Takagi: Stories exhibition catalogue features three most recent neighborhood projects that Hidemi Takagi developed over the last five years. The publication serves as a printed celebration, a living history device that allows young and old, longtime and new residents of Brooklyn to shine bright. Takagi’s lens is a spotlight for everyday citizens who deserve representation. Essays by Jamel Shabazz, Eva Mayhabal Davis, Saijah Williams, and Jim Furlong further illustrate the meaning and the magic intertwined in Brooklyn, which presented alongside Takagi’s work help us better understand the rich history of this famed and dynamic borough.

“Each image is a reflection of a person that has an ageless ease to be who they are. It reflects further in the care and connections that Takagi describes as neighborly. The care and awareness that exists with smiles and introductions.” -Eva Mayhabal Davis

The Bed-Stuy Social ‘Photo’ Club series includes portraits of people living in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, historically home to African American and Caribbean cultures. Takagi photographed more than 80 people, invited via a pop-up studio in her front yard. In The Barbershops series, Takagi documented the institutions of barbershops, celebrating a predominantly male public culture that has been central to the development of a distinctive Brooklyn aesthetic. Hello, it’s me is a project that preserves the memories of minority older adults in gentrifying neighborhoods in NYC. This project is the result of months of conversations with residents of the Saint Teresa of Avila Senior Apartments in Crown Heights.

Exhibition Hidemi Takagi: Stories was curated by Klaudia Ofwona Draber and Nadine Braquetti in February 2020 at FiveMyles. The exhibition can be accessed online at Art Curator Grid and can be explored in 3D with Artland.

About Hidemi Takagi

Hidemi Takagi was born in Kyoto, Japan and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. Takagi has  exhibited both nationally and internationally (London, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Berlin and Paris).  Her notable selected exhibitions include The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Queens Museum,  BRIC Arts Media, White Columns, Momenta Art, The Ukrainian Institute, The Nathan  Cummings Foundation, and NYFA Gallery.

Takagi participated in the AIM program at The Bronx Museum of the Arts (2004), NYFA  IAP Mentoring Program (2008), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Swing Space (2010),  Engaging Artist residency by More Art (2015), BRIC New Media Art Fellowship (2016),  Utopian Practice Fellowship by Culture Push (2017) and En Foco Photography Fellowship  (2018). Her work has been reviewed in Time Out Tel Aviv, Time Out New York, New York  Times, and Village Voice. Her Blender project was selected for Times Square Public Arts  2011 and Hello, it’s me was awarded a Seed Grant by More Art.

www.hidemitakagi.com

About Jasmine Bager

Jasmine Bager is a Saudi-Latina journalist who mostly writes about women and the arts. She is based between New York City and Saudi Arabia, where she uses her voice to amplify narratives often left unheard. A graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, her work has appeared in Time magazine, Teen Vogue and various other publications in the Middle East and Europe. She can be reached @JasmineBager

About Klaudia Ofwona Draber

Klaudia Ofwona Draber is the founder of KODA. She's also an independent curator, and head of public relations at Polish Cultural Institute New York.

About KODA

KODA is a new social practice nonprofit arts organization focusing on conceptual mid-career artists ingrained in social justice. KODA offers survey exhibitions as well as tailor-made and community-based artist residencies, through dedicated partnerships with socially engaged businesses. The nonprofit serves the community with contemporary art events and outreach to strengthen arts education. In its overall mission to support the artistic and professional growth of artists, KODA acts as a laboratory for creative concepts, reflecting its core values of curiosity and collaboration.

www.kodalab.org