FREE SCREENING | Registration Required

Location: Goodyear Arts (Camp North End, Suite 200, 301 Camp Road Charlotte, NC 28206)

ART21: The four internationally acclaimed artists in “Realms of the Real” conduct extensive historical research, examine the nuances of culture and identity, and explore the boundaries of art and science to create worlds of fantasy and fiction that expand our understanding of ourselves and our world. Taking a playful approach to ambitious performance, video, and sculpture, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson and his community of collaborators create artworks that are equally profound and absurd, searching for answers in timeless cultural forms. From her Los Angeles studio, artist Candice Lin works with materials that range from indigo and cochineal to urine and flesh-eating beetles, investigating their historical and philosophical implications through her richly sensorial installations. Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno collaborates with architects, sociologists, entomologists, arachnids, and more to create immersive works that propose ways of living in greater harmony with one another and our environment. Raised in Nigeria and based in the United States, artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby bends time and space through her intricately layered paintings, navigating the diverse geographies, cultures, and identities she inhabits to depict the complexities of diasporic experience. These four artists expand on the realities of shared history and experience to create fantastical and speculative worlds, offering new possibilities for culture, identity, and the future.

Post Film Discussion with Desiree Thomas and MONO FEO.

Desiree Thomas Desiree Thomas is an oil painter born and based in Charlotte, North Carolina. After earning her BA in Studio Art, she developed a deep affinity for oil painting, a medium that has since become central to her artistic practice. In 2022, she completed an artist residency at Goodyear Arts, an experience that deepened her studio practice and created space for experimentation and growth. Deeply inspired by her Southern upbringing, Thomas invites viewers into imagined spaces where joy is revered and playfulness is celebrated. In doing so, her work contributes to a dialogue around Black femmes, leisure, and the freedom to experience and express joy.

Her dedicated practice and evolving vision have led to a series of meaningful professional milestones. Through her ongoing collaboration with Good Black Art, Thomas contributes to efforts that amplify Black voices in contemporary art and foster greater representation and dialogue. As a Co-Director and collective member at Goodyear Arts, she helps cultivate a
thriving artist-run space that encourages experimentation, creative exchange, and community
engagement.

MONO FEO is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in guerrilla performance and site-specific installations. Working between Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA, they transform unused spaces into ritual sites through their performances, installations, and events. Often exploring themes of surveillance, voyeurism, and propaganda, their work puts into practice the role of the audience as an active participant within these spaces. With an intent on celebrating underground and industrial culture, MONO FEO aims to bring everyone into a world of familiarity and uneasiness.

They are best known for organizing local events, including the annual film screening MIDNIGHT HOMEMOVIES. MONO FEO is a member of the Goodyear Arts collective and the Atlanta-based art group Toothlifeless.

This Indie on Wheels screening is are supported by Culture Blocks — a community partnership between ASC, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation to bring arts and cultural experiences closer to where residents live. Culture Blocks is funded by Mecklenburg County.