8/6/2019 eyakem gulilat: the promised land - press release

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Urban Roots

322 N.E. 2nd Street, Suite AOklahoma City, OK 73104405.278.7906

For Immediate Release

Urban Roots presents Eyakem Gulilat’s The Promised Land Opening reception: Thursday June 9, 2011 at 6pm

Oklahoma City, OK (June 9, 2011) Urban Roots is pleased to present Norman-basedartist Eyakem Gulilat’s The Promised Land , the third installment of Urban Roots’ visual art

initiative. The Promised Land opens Thursday, June 9th and features still and movingimages that capture the obscure cultural landscape of historic Boley, Oklahoma.

In The Promised Land , Gulilat explores his own personal history by documenting tworesident populations – African Americans and Mennonites. Both cultures have a long, richrelationship with the town yet rarely interact with one another. With the simplicity of rurallife as a backdrop, The Promised Land poignantly highlights the complexities of identityand belonging. Gulilat operates as a sort of tourist, capturing the subjects in the interiors of their own homes. The artist’s snapshot and portraiture aesthetic make the viewer questionwhether or not the scenes are staged; further highlighting Boley’s fractured religious andracial landscape and the larger construct of identity.

Eyakem Gulilat’s photographs, video performances, and multimedia installations explorethe formal properties of photography, the politics of identity, and the artist’s personalhistory and memory. Gulilat was born in Ethiopia, raised in Kenya, and considers Austinhis first stateside home. He received his MFA in Media Art and Photography from theUniversity of Oklahoma. He lives and works in Norman, Oklahoma.

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8/6/2019 eyakem gulilat: the promised land - press release

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The Promised Land runs June 9 – July 16 and includes a series of public programs. UrbanRoots will also host an artist-led youth workshop using pinhole cameras on Saturday, June18th at 1pm. For more information on the work of Eyakem Gulilat, visit www.eyakem.comor see Photo Recall: Eyakem Gulilat in the May/June 2011 issue of Art Focus Oklahoma.The Promised Land is co-curated by Tiffany Barber and Arif Smith.

About Urban Roots Urban Roots is a flexible, communal space where art and food intersect. Located in one of the last original buildings in Oklahoma City’s historic Deep Deuce, Urban Roots fostersculture, comfort and creativity by offering fresh, artful programming and dining alternatives.Urban Roots is committed to supporting local artists and uses food as a medium to createcommunity.

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