Gallery 151 & Global Brigades Present:
Global Brigades: World Campus
On View from September 4 through September 13, 2014 at Gallery 151. 132 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Featuring: Luke Namer
Curated by: Michael Namer, founder of Gallery 151 & Laura O’Reilly of Wallplay
Gallery 151 presents the photojournalism of Filmmaker and Global Brigades Creative Manager, Luke Namer. During his time working in Ghana, Honduras and Panama, Namer was exposed to the powerful communal spirit of rural inhabitants in each respective country. With the support of Gallery 151, Namer showcases a selection ofphotographs from his journey that highlight the diversity and richness of each unique community.
Gallery 151 invites viewers to take part in the Global Brigades mission, to initiate a discourse, and finally, to raise awareness about the non-profit’s role in supporting these international communities.
Global Brigades is the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization. Since 2004, Global Brigades has mobilized tens of thousands of university students and professionals through skill-based programs that work in partnership with community members to improve quality of life in under resourced regions while respecting local culture. With over 10,000 volunteers a year engaging poverty inequity on over 300 university campuses in Europe and North America, students have helped Global Brigades reinvent international community service. Last year alone, Global Brigades empowered local doctors to conduct approximately 106,069 patient consultations throughout mobile medical clinics in rural areas. Most importantly, each Global Brigades student has helped to set the standard for health and economic development work, defining collaborations with the partner communities, and ensuring the sustainability of each international project.
This exhibition seeks to answer a single question: How does this rapidly growing movement to end poverty inequity reach beyond active college campuses?
About Gallery 151: The mission of Gallery 151 is to support emerging New York-based artists and provide a platform for their talent to be recognized by the public. Gallery 151 is the original premier pop-up gallery in New York City, now permanently located in Chelsea on West 18th Street. The first show at Gallery 151 was hosted by Fab 5 Freddy in December of 2007. This exhibit unveiled a collaborative wall of graffiti discovered during the renovation of 151 Wooster by Michael Namer, downtown developer and owner of the building at the time. One of the former residents of the building was Edit DeAK, who in the late 70′s and early 80′s allowed young artists to “tag” a wall in her loft – some of these “young artists” were Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab 5 Freddy, Francesco Clemente, Futura 2000, Ero, Nesto, Koor and Johnny Dynell (among others). This graffiti wall was preserved over decades and finally uncovered during construction. Michael Namer immediately recognized the significance of this “holy grail” of graffiti and founded Gallery 151 so that the “151 Wild Style Wall” could be viewed along-side other works by artists of the same period (such as Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ero, and Koor). The success and popularity of the exhibit led to subsequent requests for exhibits by other artists, and the momentum from the first show in 2007 has continued through the present day. Gallery 151 is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Namer’s company ALFA Development and current building development project Village Green West. www.gallery151.com #gallery151 @gallery151 www.245w14.com
About Wallplay: Wallplay is a hybrid global art exhibition platform and creative agency. Founded in 2013 by curator Laura O’Reilly, Wallplay breaks down walls between creative industries by providing physical and virtual space for exhibitions to launch, evolve and travel. Wallplay is lead by a team of transmedia storytellers who activate, document and curate art campaigns and experiences that don’t fit into a box. www.wallplay.com #wallplay @wallplayground
