Project

The Columbus Assembly

The Columbus Assembly—Motta’s first multichannel sound installation—is based on conversations with artists, activists, and scholars who queried what was at stake in changing the name of Columbus, Ohio—the largest city in the world named after Christopher Columbus, the European explorer who enabled the colonization of the Americas. Exploring the intersecting politics of patriarchal and colonial commemoration, The Columbus Assembly asks how examining such symbolic acts of recognition might contribute to larger efforts to decolonize institutions, attain radical equity, and achieve restorative justice.

The Columbus Assembly was supported by a Wexner Center Artist Residency Award and premiered during the exhibition Carlos Motta: Your Monsters, Our Idols at Wexner Center for the Arts in 2022.

The Columbus Assembly publication

Year

2022

Materials & Dimensions

Eight channel sound installation, 26 min.
Carpet
Text mural on wall
Dimensions variable

Credits

Script: Adapted by Carlos Motta from conversations with Amna Akbar, Laura Barrera, Kate Beane, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Karma Chávez, Gina Dent, Ambrose DuPree, Indigo Gonzales Miller, Saeed Jones, John N. Low, Twinkle Panda, Joseph M. Pierce, Martin Joseph Ponce, Ana María Reyes, Chase Strangio, Susan Stryker, Mary E. Thomas, and Mabel O. Wilson Performed by Michael Charles, Noah Demland, Felicia de Rosa, Indigo Gonzales Miller, Marcus Morris, Sara Pardo Fishburn, Vicki Saunders, and Joseph Ze Soza

Sound Editor: Lidia Tamplenizza

Sound Production: Joey Gurwin, Oranjudio

Installation design: Carlos Motta and Composite Co.

Text mural “Beloved” inspired by the words of Saeed Jones

Curated by Lucy I. Zimmerman

Exhibition Research Assistant: Indigo Gonzales Miller and Graduate Curatorial Intern Arielle Irizarry.

Publication Editors: Julian Myers-Szupinska with Dan DiPiero and Lucy I. Zimmerman

Publication design: Composite Co.

Supported by a Wexner Center Artist Residency Award and produced for the exhibition Carlos Motta: Your Monsters, Our Idols (September 16 – December 30, 2022)

Download

The Columbus Assembly booklet