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Jun 10, 2010 - 6:00pm-8:00pm
Self Help Swap
A.I.R. Gallery and Self-Help TV are pleased to announce Self-Help Swap, an interactive event where participants swap self-help items with one another or merely take items at no cost. The gathering, organized by A.I.R. 2009-10 Fellowship Artist, damali abrams, will be held on June 10th from 6 to 8:00 pm. The event is free and is open to the public.

Self-Help Swap is an opportunity for the public to take free self-help items as well as give away self-help items that they no longer need. This communal interaction is based on Civil Rights era and feminist programs such as the Black Panthers’ free breakfast programs for children or Feminist Consciousness-raising groups. Even in challenging economic times people do not need money to have an opportunity to better themselves. At its core, Self Help Swap is a performative effort to highlight how self-awareness can enhance community-building efforts.

The public is invited to bring books, magazines, tapes, DVDs or CDs related to finances, health, relationships, abuse, and any form of general self-improvement material. Self-Help Swap takes place during abrams’ solo exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery, Autobiography of a Year. This four-channel video installation consists of daily video diary entries and video documentation from each day of 2009.

damali abrams (b. 1979) is a Guyanese-American video-performance artist who lives and works in New York City. She received her B.A at New York University and her M.F.A at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Abrams is a 2009-10 A.I.R. Fellowship Recipient.