Mary Patten
Chicago artist and activist
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Mary Patten (born 1951, Evanston, IL) is a Chicago artist and activist. Her works combine writing, video installation, performance, artists' books, drawing, photography, collaboration, and activism.[1] Her writing, lectures, videos, and artwork deal with the relationship between art and politics, visual culture, queer theory, terrorism, prisons and torture.[2] She has an MFA from University of Illinois at Chicago (1992) and a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute.[3] Her videos are distributed by the Video Data Bank[4] and she teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as an associate professor in the department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation.[5] She also teaches in the Visual and Critical Studies department and is currently the chair of the department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation (2016).[6]
Mary Patten | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951 (age 74–75) |
| Education | University of Illinois at Chicago, Kansas City Art Institute |
| Known for | Video art, writing, education |
| Awards | Artadia Grant, Maker Grant, Propeller Fund Award |
Recent exhibitions
- Organize Your Own: The Politics and Poetics of Self-Determination Movements, Averill and Bernard Leviton Gallery, 2016 [7]
- Mary Patten: Panel, Threewalls Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2013 [8]
- Whitewalls: Writings by Artists 1978–2008, Golden Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2012[9]
- Opening the Blackbox: The Charge is Torture, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL, 2012[10]
- The Archival Impulse, Gallery 400, Chicago, IL, 2011[11]
Awards
- Maker Grant, 2013[12]
- Illinois Arts Council Individual Project Grant, 2013
- Propeller Fund, 2013[13]
- SAIC Faculty Enrichment Grant, 2010–11
- Artadia Award, 2002[14]
Activism
Mary Patten was a member of DAGMAR (Dykes and Gay Men Against Racism and Repression) that began in 1984 and evolved to become CFAR (Chicago for AIDS Rights), an activist group addressing HIV/AIDS.[2] Patten was one of the founders of ACT UP/Chicago.[15][16] She is an organizer of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials (CTJM), aiming to seek justice for survivors of Chicago Police torture and their families.[17] In addition to her work in the LGBTQ communities, Patten has created and curated art for the feminist movement, such as the 2014 exhibit "Bad Girls: Video Program: She Laughed When She Saw It" at the New Museum in New York City.[18] Other projects of Patten include the Madame Binh Graphics Collective, Feel Tank Chicago, WhiteWalls, RIOT GRRRANDMAS!!!, and Bad Girls.[2] She is also a member of the art/activist group Feel Tank Chicago.[19]