Perceiving Place: Sanctuary in Spaces of Conflict with Nanci Amaka and Reem Bassous

Schedule: Thursday, June 16, 5:30 - 7:00pm
Free and open to the public
Registration required: register above to attend in-person; register HERE to attend online.

Maximum Attendees: 25

Join us online or in-person for an intimate conversation with Puʻuhonua artists Nanci Amaka and Reem Bassous as they dive deep into each other’s work and ways in which their artistic practices emerge from active explorations around concepts of home, identity and refuge. They will share insights into their own experiences with trauma and effects of war and how building connection with place has grounded them for continued processing and healing.

If you are attending the conversation in-person, you are invited to bring a potluck dish to share, mahalo!

This program is held in conjunction with the Mill's current exhibition Puʻuhonua, which features works from eleven artists from around Hawaiʻi exploring the theme of puʻuhonua, places and people of refuge and safety. The exhibition will be on view at the Mill through July 2, 2022.

This exhibition and programs are made possible by the support of the Hiroaki, Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s CHANGE Grant, and the Hazen Family Foundation with in-kind support provided by Mokulele Airlines. 

Nanci Amaka is an interdisciplinary artist exploring ideas surrounding memory, ancestry, and identity. Her work inhabits the liminal space between these experiences and language. Amaka received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Visual Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Masters of Fine Arts degree with a focus on Visual Critical Studies from California College of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited internationally and locally at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History; Honolulu Museum of Art’s Doris Duke Theatre; International Center for Photography, NYC; Hawai‘i State Art Museum x Mori; Honolulu Museum of Art School; Bermudez Projects NELA Gallery, Los Angeles; Above The Equator Gallery, Hilo; Root Division, San Francisco, and other spaces.

Amaka was born in Nigeria and spent her formative years in a rural rainforest village along the banks of the Niger River. She now lives and works in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. 
 
Reem Bassous received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Lebanese American University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from The George Washington University. She started teaching in 2001 and is currently an Assistant Professor at Leeward Community College. Bassous’ regional and national exhibitions include solo shows at the Honolulu Museum of Art, SBCAST Gallery in Santa Barbara and the Washington Studio School Gallery in Washington DC. Her work has been reviewed and featured in multiple publications which include the Washington Post, Art Asia Pacific and the Times Literary Supplement. Bassous' work is in permanent collections which include the Honolulu Museum of Art, and Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design.