Suzanne Lacy: Between the Door and the Street | Preview

About the exhibition

Encompassing Lacy’s critical politics and the formal hybridity characteristic of her projects, Cooper Gallery hosts a unique exhibition of material drawn from her highly lauded 2013 project for Creative Time and the Brooklyn Museum in New York City; Between the Door and the Street. Featuring a selection of texts, archival material and a three-channel video installation, Cooper Gallery captures Lacy’s and those she worked with, absolute sense of urgency to tackle how the politics of women’s bodies enter into the realms of public discourse and governmental policy.

Developing out of six months of conversations between Lacy, 400 women and a few men from activist groups in New York City, Between the Door and the Street culminated in a one-day performative public action that took place on 64 stoops in a Brooklyn neighbourhood. Witnessed by over 2500 people who entered the closed-off street, the performance audience became a ‘listening voyeur’ to unscripted conversations among groups of women, identified by yellow pashmina scarves, seated on the steps and porches of individual homes. Choreographed by activist inspired and group generated questions on gender, race, ethnicity and class, the conversations weaved together multiple intergenerational narratives that grappled with the politics of immigration, labour, poverty, all of which have significant impacts on women’s lives.

Artist's Biography

Suzanne Lacy is renowned as a pioneer in socially engaged and public performance art. Her installations, videos, and performances deal with sexual violence, rural and urban poverty, incarceration, labour and aging. Lacy’s large-scale projects span the globe, including England, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Ireland and the U.S.  

In 2019 she had a career retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and at Yerba Buena Art Center. Her work has been reviewed in major periodicals and books and she exhibits in museums across the world. Also known for her writing, Lacy edited Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art and authored Leaving Art: Writings on Performance, Politics, and Publics, 1974-2007. She is a professor at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California and a resident artist at 18th Street Arts Centre.  

www.suzannelacy.com

Access

Cooper Gallery is located to the right side of the DJCAD buildings on Perth Road. The entrance is via double doors which face onto a car park.

The gallery is on two floors. Ground floor has ramped access. First floor is accessible by an internal lift and six steps with a handrail. Wheelchair access is via a stairclimber. Please email in advance if you require lift or stairclimber access.

First floor is also accessible via 24 steps. Two flights of 12 steps with handrails are separated by a landing.

Exhibition video is subtitled and captioned in English. Audio will be played aloud via speakers. Seating is provided and/or additional seating available, please ask an invigilator. 

For all enquiries please email: [email protected]

Toilets

The ground floor has a wheelchair accessible toilet. The toilet is gender neutral.

Interpretation

Large print versions of the exhibition information handout are available, please ask our Guides. If you require alternative formats for material in exhibitions please email or ask our Guides.

Image credits

Header:
Suzanne Lacy, Between the Door and the Street, 2013 
Courtesy Suzanne Lacy, Creative Time & The Brooklyn Museum

Cooper Gallery Preview 
Photography by Sally Jubb

Funding support

Between the Door and the Street is supported by Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design with funding from the DoJ Centenary Trust and Creative Scotland.