In conjunction with the LexArts HOP and Israel Campos’s exhibition Cleansing of the Sentinels, 2nd Story is screening Sylvia Morales’ experimental film CHICANA. The film traces the history of Chicana and Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It covers women's role in Aztec society, their participation in the 1810 struggle for Mexican independence, their involvement in the US labor strikes in 1872, their contributions to the 1910 Mexican revolution and their leadership in contemporary civil rights causes. Using murals, engravings and historical footage, CHICANA shows how women, despite their poverty, have become an active and vocal part of the political and work life in both Mexico and the United States.

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Sylvia Morales has directed, written, produced and edited award winning and nationally recognized film and video work for the last 30 years. She directed episodes from the three seasons of Showtimes' groundbreaking series, Resurrection Blvd, working with actors Elizabeth Pena, Lou Gossett, Jr., Michael De Lorenzo and Esai Morales. She also wrote and directed for the Showtime series, Women: Stories of Passion. Morales was one of the producing and writing teams for the award winning series, Chicano! The Mexican Civil Rights Movement for PBS. She directed for the ACE and Emmy nominated six-hour series, A Century of Women, which focused on 20th century U.S. women for Turner Broadcasting, Ms. Morales headed the Latino Consortium at KCET in Los Angeles from 1981-1985. She was responsible for the programming, production and distribution of programs that aired on PBS. During her four-year tenure at KCET, Ms. Morales hosted the Latino Consortium's weekly national series, Presente, and produced and directed Emmy nominated and award winning programs. Ms. Morales produced, directed, shot and edited the widely recognized film, CHICANA, in 1979. Ms. Morales has been the recipient of the following awards: the prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship Award in Media; a participant in the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women; a Fellow from the National Endowment of the Arts; the VESTA Award which honors the outstanding contribution of Southern California women to the arts; and she was honored with a Salute to Latinas Award for distinguished work in her field from the city of Los Angeles. She was also honored by Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional's 20th Anniversary celebration for "Latinas in Film and Television.

2nd Story is happy to host Contour Book Store on Saturday, April 27.

Stop by, say hello, and buy some great art books!

Contour Book Store specializes in thoughtfully curated gently used art and photography books. Selections include special and limited editions, vintage volumes, artist-signed copies, and out-of-print books, all available for sale below current market value. New additions are added regularly, offering a unique range of artists, themes, and price points for both casual viewers and ardent collectors.  You can catch them at local pop-up events, peruse and purchase items via their Instagram shop-- @contourbookstore--or contact them for inquiries. The Lexington-based shop is owned and operated by artist/photographer, Elijah Howe, independent curator/art historian, Samantha Simpson, and the Contour shop cat, Severus. 

2nd Story is excited to partner with Outside The Spotlight and WRFL to present a fearless improvisational performance. NYC composer and saxophonist Michael Foster is joined by his chimaeric ensemble the Ghost, which "focuses on unpacking and celebrating the free jazz tradition from a queer perspective."

Friday, April 26

Doors open | 6:30 pm

Show starts | 7:00 pm

Admission = FREE, suggested donation $5-$10

All ages welcome!

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Artist Bio

Michael Foster is a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist working in the fields of free improvisation, noise, free jazz, graphic & video notation, performance art, and other forms of weird music.

Foster utilizes extensive instrumental preparations, augmenting his saxophone with amplification, objects, balloons, drum heads, vibrators, tapes, and samples as a method of subverting and queering the instrument’s history and traditional roles.

In addition to his work as a performer he is also active as a curator throughout New York City, co-founding "Queer Trash," a curatorial collective focusing on providing visibility to LGBTQIA+ performers engaged in experimental performance practices. In 2018, "Queer Trash" was the Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow for Issue Project Room, producing a year's worth of performances that ranged from harsh noise to fashion.

His current ensembles include duos with cellist Leila Bordreuil, percussionist Ben Bennett, poet/vocalist Lydia Lunch, Richard Kamerman (as The New York Review of Cocksucking), Ted Byrnes, Dane Rousay, The Ghost (with Zach Rowden & Derek Baron), Barker Trio (with Tim Dahl, & Andrew Barker), While We Still Have Bodies (with Sean Ali, Ben Gerstein, & Flin van Hemmen), Weasel Walter Large Ensemble, and many others. In addition to these longstanding projects he often collaborates with Sarah Hennies, Marina Rosenfeld, Weasel Walter, Han Bennink, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Luke Stewart, Brandon Lopez, Dave Rempis, Katherine Young, Michael Zerang, James Ilgenfritz, Pascal Niggenkemper, Mette Rasmussen, and many others. 

Selected notable venues he's performed at include, MoMA PS1 (NYC), Bowling Green State University New Music Festival (Ohio), The Stone (NYC), Issue Project Room (NYC), Roulette (NYC), BimHuis (NL), Jazzfestival Groningen (NL), Fabrica Braço de Prata (PT), Death By Audio (NYC), Studio Loos (NL), Betalevel (Los Angeles), Webster Hall (NYC), XI20 (LT), Jazzclub Erfurt (DE), and many more.

Learn the ancient craft of cutting amate figurines from exhibiting artist Israel Campos. For centuries, Amate figurines have been used by indigenous people in Central Mexico for cleansings, spells, cures, witchcraft and other rituals. The workshop will focus on cutting human/plant hybrids which are traditionally rain offerings. Attendees will have the opportunity to create their own hybrid figure using their favorite plant as inspiration.

Snacks and coffee provided!

Join us for this special program about the history of roadside Americana led by Casey Goldman-Davis, Curator of Collections & Programming at the American Sign Museum (ASM). Goldman-Davis will discuss the iconography and context of some of America’s most recognizable roadside signs, and facilitate a Q&A conversation on 2nd Story’s current exhibition, Homestyle, with featured artist Hannah Smith.

About Casey Goldman-Davis:

Casey Goldman-Davis is a museum professional who specializes in American art and history. At the American Sign Museum, she steers the care and exhibition methods of the Museum’s collections and contributes to educational and interpretive programs. She received both her Masters and undergraduate degrees from the Corcoran College of Art in D.C, and currently resides in Cincinnati, OH with her husband and two Himalayan cats.

Join us at 2nd Story to hear writer Adam Theron-Lee Rensch discuss his book No Home for You Here: A Memoir of Class and Culture. Published by Reaktion Books, his memoir examines the meaning of class in the context of America’s current postindustrial, hypercapitalist reality. Distinguishing issues of class from those of culture, he argues for the importance of foregrounding shared economic conditions over individual beliefs in order to shape a more equitable future.  

This talk takes place in conjunction with Hannah Smith’s solo exhibition, Homestyle, which explores, through her sculptural collages, the failure of the American Dream for a large sector of the working population for whom social mobility remains elusive.

About Adam Theron-Lee Rensch:

Adam Theron-Lee Rensch is the author of No Home For You Here: A Memoir of Class and Culture. He writes frequently for The Brooklyn Rail on class politics and inequality. His current book project traces the historical relationship between university creative writing programs and the decline of working-class literature. He received his PhD in English from The University of Illinois at Chicago in 2022.

Join us for an evening of visual overload!

Hannah Smith presents a series of experimental, animated shorts in conjunction with LexArts’ Art HOP.

One night only!