“We consider shelter in all its forms and meanings, that’s the theme for this year’s collaborative art venture in New Bedford coordinated by DATMA.” -Mindy Todd
Wednesday, August 3rd – DATMA Director Lindsay Miś sits down with “The Point” host Mindy Todd to talk about DATMA’s 2022 summer program “Shelter.” Todd first begins the interview by asking Miś to describe what DATMA is and explain how they came up with the idea of shelter for this year’s program.
Miś gets into the meat of the interview when she discusses the exhibitions that are included in the program and the artists and organizations that DATMA has worked with for each of them. She explains that the “Safe Station” exhibition, for example, was created during the Black Lives Matter Movement of 2020, and sought to bring light to artists of color who share their experiences through their art. With artists like Alison Wells and Fitzcarmel LaMarre, and Our Sisters’ School who helped out in the Black Spaces Matter Project. The “Safe Harbor” exhibition, she tells Todd, shows off a more literal interpretation of “Shelter” with New Bedford and Fairhaven’s Hurricane Barrier at the forefront of the exhibitions, with help showcasing it from The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and photographer Peter Pereira.
Todd also asked Miś to explain the importance of artists from around the world, and for this question Miś uses “Flexible Fibers” as an example. She describes how each of the artists–Abeer Seikaly, Do Ho Suh, and the artist duo Rael San Fratello–come from different places around the globe and showcase each of their different perspectives on the idea of shelter.
Todd then concludes the interview by asking what is on deck for “Shelter 2023” next summer. Miś describes projects like an installation at Custom House Square with artist Mark Reigelmann, and a mural at the main entry point to the city with muralist Silvia Lopez Chavez.
You can listen to the whole interview here.