Introduction: State of Convergence

Featuring the work of Bay Area-based artists, State of Convergence foregrounds historically underrepresented artists to explore the cultural diversity of our region. The exhibition features both contemporary and historical works from Mills College Art Museum’s permanent collection and highlights the Northern California landscape as a site of resistance, abundance, and celebration.

Featured artists, such as Rupert García, Bessma Khalaf and Hung Liu, make politically charged works that directly critique the impact of colonialism of California and acknowledge the foundational role of immigration to the State’s civic fabric. Works by Traci Bartlow, Keba Armand Konte, and Carmen Lomas Garza, celebrate family, friendship, and cultural identity. Whether narrative or verging on abstract, the artworks in State of Convergence survey the myriad ways artists represent our local communities, reflecting on subjects such as indigenous ceremony, immigration, gender, urban community, activism, and white gentrification.

The exhibition showcases additional pieces from MCAM’s unique holdings with works by Kim Anno, Mildred Howard, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Bill Owens, Raymond Saunders and selections from the museum’s collection of Native American baskets.

State of Convergence is curated by students in the Fall 2019 Museum Studies Workshop: Janin Escobedo-Garcia, Ely Gann, Fiona Ordway Mosser, Grace Patterson, Isabella Perry, and Emma Sugarbaker.