Carnegie Museum of Art reveals opening programs for 58th International

Carnegie Museum of Art has announced opening weekend programs for the 58th Carnegie International, beginning Sept. 24. 

Visitors will be treated to the first public presentation of a new work by Malcolm Peacock, along with performances by Ali Eyal and Christian Nyampeta.

The exhibition will run through April 2 in the facility at 4000 Forbes Ave. in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

Peacock, a New Orleans-based artist whose work examines the emotional and psychic spaces of Black subjects, will present “The insistent desire for and impossibility of being” from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 24, as a work of performance art experienced by one visitor at a time.

“The work is sited in an undisclosed location in the museum. Visitors will be escorted to the work by a door person, whom the artist has selected for the work,” said Sohrab Mohebbi, the exhibition’s Kathe and Jim Patrinos Curator. “Visitors can request admission to the work at the admissions desk of the museum.”

The piece will bring together a diverse group of Black Pittsburghers whose identities will not be revealed beforehand, he said.

The presentation asks whether art museums can offer “the conditions to cultivate a means of holding space inside a future in which Black autonomy is uncontested,” according to a release.

One point of departure for Peacock’s work is a CMOA program called Mindful Museum, which provides early entry for seniors on Wednesday mornings.

“Similarly, Peacock’s work involves the museum offering space to convene for a specific demographic of people,” Mohebbi said. “In several private sessions among group members, they will work through the concept of autonomy, particularly considering the fraught relationship between Black life and public space in the U.S. of the past and present.”

Peacock’s work also will be accessible to visitors on Nov. 12, Jan. 28 and April 1.

Also slated for opening day are these special features, free with museum admission:

• Performance Activation of “Where Does a Thought Go When It’s Forgotten? And.,” by Ali Eyal, 4:30-5 p.m. in Heinz Gallery B

Eyal, an Iraqi visual artist working in Amsterdam, will activate and expand on an installation of drawing and painting that explores the contemporary history of Iraq through personal reflection and depictions of the flora and fauna from his family’s homeland. In this performance, a protagonist remembers the scent of a beautiful white flower, which has triggered nausea, thirst, fever and memory loss.

• Search Sweet Country — A Concert, with Christian Nyampeta, 5-6 p.m. in the Sculpture Court

Born in Rwanda and working in New York City, Nyampeta will present songs of love, loss and overcoming assembled and composed over the last decade, evoking what remains from everything washed away through catastrophes such as floods, hurricanes and human-made disasters.

A members’ reception, with refreshments and an exhibition tour, is set for 6 to 9 p.m.

Established in 1896, the Carnegie International is the longest-running North American exhibition of international art.

The 58th rendition comprises new commissions, existing works and projects by established and emerging artists working internationally, domestically and locally. The exhibition traces the geopolitical imprint of the United States since 1945, placing the international within a local context.

“Our hope was to create an exhibition that speaks to common entanglements, desires and shared experiences through divergent aesthetic currents and artistic practices,” Mohebbi said.

“The program is indicative to what we hope to achieve as Carnegie Museum of Art looks to the future — positioning us as an inquisitive and responsive institution dedicated to contributing to both local and global creative conversations,” said Eric Crosby, the museum’s Henry J. Heinz II Director.

The associate curator is Ryan Inouye and the curatorial assistant is Talia Heiman.

For information, visit cmoa.org.