Alyzza May (Greensboro, NC) | December 2021

"Focusing on home, place, belonging, the hyper-visibility and invisibility of Indigenous peoples, and a decolonial deconstruction of time, The Secret Project with Our Friend takes on Elsewhere and frees Our Friend across the entirety of the space and beyond the confines of the museum. When the artist came to Elsewhere they instantly connected to Our Friend who was prominently displayed in The Tower, an Indigenous person behind glass, out of context, and casually on display for all to pass by and ignore, historicize, forget, or disregard. The artist built a relationship with Our Friend, and together determine where Our Friend really wanted to be. Together they create a community found across the building, Our Friend is no longer alone, and actively engages with this institution.

The process of creation is emergent, and involves following leads. This brings us to Our Friends presence on three of Elsewhere’s seats, with three distinct messages for Natives and non-Natives alike. The chairs each read, “This was never the Gray’s, it’s eternally Indigenous,” “Islands of Decolonial Love: Conversations btwn N8VS.” Did you have a seat? Did you notice?

Our Friend is Free.

Cooking Memory Remembrances is reactivation of a 2017 performance called Cooking Memory where Lia Garcia returns broken ceramics to their home in Elsewhere’s kitchen. The performance creates an intimate space to reflect on creating resistance to the violence against trans lives, what exists outside of hegemonic femininity, what it means to touch, and what stories are told in the kitchen.

National Day of Mourning, according to Wikipedia and the article’s sources, is a movement on the fourth Thursday in November, that aims to educate the public about Native Americans in the United States, dispel myths surrounding the Thanksgiving story in the United States; and raise awareness toward historical and ongoing struggles facing Native American tribes.

Elsewhere’s 12th Extravaganza is a series of departures and arrivals, starting at home, and ending with a street party!

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

This second iteration of a Yali (Hindu temple dragon) lives here as a guardian of future passages in response to Edison Peñafiel's piece, Ni Aqui, Ni Alla (neither here nor there) in this room, protecting the subjects' backs in the projection who are on a perpetual journey. As someone who is in the process of immigrating to United States as well as being a granddaughter to 4 immigrant peoples from South India and South China to Singapore, she found many of the themes she continues to explore, intersecting with Peñafiel's investigations on diaspora, forgotten histories and of subjugated knowledge as a result of colonialism. The Yali is also a commonly found cultural symbol/object often stolen or removed as artifacts and placed in a museological context with very little information on their origin stories. In this case, the Yali serves as a steward and guardian in Elsewhere's living body.

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

The third and final iteration of the Yali mask series is situated in the attic. This Yali is the softest in build and material, and was made is response to Justin Rabidu's, Air Mail and his legacy as an artist and citizen of the world. His contribution to Elsewhere exists here in the attic where it is arguably the quietest, most contemplative site of the museum. Here, the Yali will serve as a guardian to Justin's memory as well as all future peoples who reside in the attic and after as they return/journey on.

Operation Ribbon Room (working title) serves as an act of restoration as well as transformation for a space hosting a variety of previous works in addition to Sylvia’s own interactions with the materials in the expanse. The curative effort put into this room is meant to reinvigorate the works living there as well as to better allow visitors to engage with the space as a whole. The ribbon pile suspends from the ceiling making space for furniture for some of the puppets to live on. Visitors to the space are invited to continue the transformation by tying additional ribbons to the hanging mass or untying them and rolling them up to place in the other piece. Ribbons tied up could represent hopes, dreams, wishes or goals. Ribbons rolled up serve as a physical representation of hardship left behind, allowing individuals to move forward. Overall the room is reimagined so that there are more ways to interact with the works and the building. An exploration of restoration and care for a space that has been touched by the hands of many generations, only to continue going forward.

Abigail Rothman (Jersey City, NJ) | November 2021

"Interstitial is an exploration of interstitial time and its manifestations informed by personal experience and self reflection. Participants were invited to contribute their own moments between moments, which could then be written out on handmade paper created from various materials throughout the collection (paper, wood, textile, hair, dust, sawdust, rainwater, dirt). Submissions are then folded and sealed with wax.

Elsewhere as an architectural structure becomes personified. The scars and tattoos litter the building serving as evidence of life lived in a building well loved and well hated. A history we can’t know entirely. This piece serves as an acknowledgement of the history a space holds and how it mingles with each personal history of every resident, intern, staff member and museum visitor. These physical responses then fill this metaphorical and physical void, allowing our personal experiences to mix with the history of this building, Greensboro and each other."

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

This first iteration of the Yali (Hindu temple guardian) is made with collection wood. As it takes its shape and 'body', vitalized by the richness of Elsewhere's sociocultural history, the Yali's animacy in this case is activated by its role and duty as a guardian of the entry way to Elsewhere's living body. Yalis are mythological hybrid figures of the lion, elephant, griffin, and dragon, typically found in Hindu temple entry ways across India, South Asia and South East Asia. They are also commonly stolen as artifacts taken out of place and reinstated in museological contexts, with very little to no information of their beginnings. Considering all this, Vickie's hope is to introduce a familiar/guardian who has found its origin story here at Elsewhere to protect its peoples, histories, cultures and futures.

Oree Holban (Tel Aviv, Israel) | November 2021

"A miniature installation of a scene taking place in the 2050s: a meditative drive-in and a prom. The work would like to envision the 50s of the 21st century as times when people enjoy cultivating inner peace, thus live in better harmony with themselves and, as a result, also with one another. It is more than anything a call for a more wholesome, inclusive, non-dual, playful, and quiet world here and now - as past present future are one.

This work is part of an ongoing project/research of the artist whose work is very much inspired by nostalgic American 50s of the previous century, spiritual life in queer present time, and premonitions of the 2050s. The video piece of the non binary TV show ""The Wonderful Journey Inside"" is an example of such ongoing project, through which the artist imagines making such worlds and themes accessible also to children.

The audience is invited to participate by meditating with the other toys, watch TV (inside/outside), read a book from the library, play a record player for the toy folks at the prom, hang out, connect with the inner-child, make friends or simply stare in space without having to do anything special."

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

This series of rattles are inspired by Yaksha/Yakshi (nature spirits of fertility and the earth) fertility rattles. Vickie's idea was to incorporate a sense of play, and community engagement by creating a series of rattles with patterns embossed using pieces of Elsewhere's bountiful toy collection. Guests were encouraged to find each rattles' corresponding toy using it as inspiration to glaze as they wished, leaving their marks and contributions to the series forever. Future guests/artists/peoples are encouraged to use these as "creativity" rattles when one feels inspiration is dry.

Lexy Ho-Tai (Queens, NYC) | November 2021

"Hope is a discipline" - Mariame KabaFeeding off the childlike wonder that Elsewhere inspires, Lexy Ho-Tai created an immersive, interactive puppet piece that serves as a playful entry point to larger conversations about safety, abolition, community care, mutual aid and world building. Weaving different messages of resistance and solidarity, Lexy invites you to imagine a more collaborative future and to consider your role within it. Using the fabric + markers provided, viewers are encouraged to leave their own messages of resistance into the piece. Culture is something we collectively create, and another world is possible! Consider donating to or getting involved with Greensboro Mutual Aid (linktr.ee/GSOMutualAid, Instagram: @gso_mutual_aid, CashApp $GSOMutualAid PayPal: GSOMutualAid@gmail.com) or your local mutual aid group.

Turn your home into Elsewhere with seven at-home versions of museum experiences.

Playshops is a skill-building and skill-sharing workshop with talented members of our communities. Curated by the Creative Catalyst Fellow, these experiences range form professional skills to skills that can be used in the home.

The Perceiver of Sound League teams up with Elsewhere Museum to present a new and unique kind of program for everyone who makes or listens to sounds.

We are launching an outdoor vending space in front of the museum twice per month that will feature up to 8 BIPOC LGBTQIA2S+ vendors. We want to support local vendors as an economic justice effort, leveraging our space, networks, and connections to build with vendors and bring support for their work.

Chairs are turned into musical instruments in this waiting room for the Bureau of Illumination.

Sukkot is a weeklong Jewish festival celebrating harvest and the shelters built with it.

Children and adults are invited to decorate and gather in our Sukkah in the Elsewhere garden!