Group Exhibition:

To Pillar, To Platform; October 20th - December 2nd, 2023 @ The Luminary

For the first time in its history, The Luminary is entirely artist-run and operated. To mark this transition into its new future, To Pillar, To Platform makes visible the creative practices that build us. It enables space through the interdependent relations of an institution with its practice, output, and engagement. It highlights the creative labor that very much supports and builds the organization, its community, and its networks.

Andrea Fraser wrote about artist-run institutions in her pivotal essay, "From The Critique of Institutions to an Institution of Critique":

"It's not a question of being against the institution; we are the institution. It's a question of what kind of institution we are, what kind of values we institutionalize, what forms of practice we reward, and what kinds of rewards we aspire to."

The artists presented in To Pillar, To Platform exemplify a wide range of practices, subsequent research methodologies, and outputs — many of which occur both intra and extra-institutionally. A common thread among them is their engagement with The Luminary, where many act as volunteers, offering their expertise and insight, time and labor. In some cases, the institution physically holds their practice as studio members.