Artists Unmasked

AnkhLave Arts Alliance at Queens Botanical Garden
On exhibit through September 8
AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc. works to highlight Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in contemporary art. AnkhLave selected six Queens-based female artists of color, the 2020 AnkhLave Garden Fellows, to create site-specific art installations throughout the grounds of Queens Botanical Garden (QBG). They consist of five immigrant artists and one first-generation US citizen.

AnkhLave also interviewed the artists and captured their socially distanced art installations on video for a virtual audience, which can be viewed below, along with a map, descriptions of the works, and artists’ bios.

By presenting artists and art-making in a nontraditional setting like the Garden, AnkhLave aims to promote BIPOC artists who represent and reflect the Garden’s diverse audience.

This project is made possible by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.

  • Dario Mohr
    Director
  • Dario Mohr
    Film Maker
  • AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc.
    Producer
  • Asano Agarie-Gomez
    Key Cast
  • Kayo Shido
    Key Cast
  • Natali Bravo-Barbee
    Key Cast
  • Christine Sloan Stoddard
    Key Cast
  • Mariana Tonini Vilas Boas
    Key Cast
  • Cecilia Andre
    Key Cast
  • Matthew Ecclesiastre
    Post Production
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Observational Documentary, Performance Documentary
  • Runtime:
    34 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 20, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Dario Mohr

Dario Mohr is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker. Born in 1988, Mohr received a BFA from Buffalo State College (2010), and an MFA from The City College of New York (2019). He combines nostalgic personal objects of varying heights with found materials to form sanctuaries existing as free standing sculptures or immersive experiences. Although created from a personal vantage point, the work functions publicly to open the audience’s perspective to ways they can reimagine nostalgic objects as symbols for memories, people, and experiences that can take on a spirituality of their own when revered in a way that is decontextualized from religion. He is also the Founder and Director of AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc. which is a non-profit for the recognition and representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

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Director Statement

AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc. presents art programming featuring BIPOC beyond the traditional white-walled gallery space, and in alternative public spaces for the greater community to appreciate. This year we received an organizational grant from the Queens Art Fund for our six artist fellows to receive funding to create their on site installations in the Queens Botanical Garden. Due to COVID-19, our live demonstrations and talks were put in jeopardy due to quarantine restrictions preventing the possibility for an audience. The Queens Botanical Gardens had closed to the public until further notice, and we needed to figure out a way to present the the work that our 6 AnkhLave Garden Project Fellows had worked so hard on. We worked out an agreement with the Queens Botanical Gardens to allow the artists to come install on site and be interviewed about their work in a socially distant way. We documented this through film, and are excited to present the work of 6 strong female artists of color, with immigrant background's work, as well as their COVID-19 experiences, with the community.