WORCESTER — Syrian-Armenian visual artist Kevork Mourad's immersive installation "Memory Gates" will be on view at The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross from March 4 through April 11.
Mourad has been at Holy Cross in February as an artist in residence in collaboration with the college’s Arts Transcending Borders program.
Using his signature style of spontaneous drawing and printmaking techniques, Mourad has been creating “Memory Gates," a work imagined as a series of doors and passageways that visitors can pass through. The work explores themes of cultural plurality and collective memory.
During Mourad’s residency, students have been invited to work alongside the artist, assisting in the execution and installation of the work as it unfolds. Meredith Fluke, director of the Cantor Art Gallery, said "Our goal is for Holy Cross students to be involved directly in Kevork’s process, and to benefit from Kevork’s deeply collaborative and generative practice."
More content will be added on as the exhibition continues to be created on site.
All related programs will be available to the Holy Cross campus community as well as the general public.
Mourad has lived and worked in Brooklyn, N.Y., since 1998. He was born and grew up in Syria to a family of Armenian heritage, his ancestors having sought refuge there from the Armenian Genocide. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts in Armenia, an institution which places an emphasis on cultural traditions in addition to its intensive studio curriculum.
He has visited Holy Cross before as the sole visual artist of the Silkroad, the acclaimed music ensemble that has had a multi-year residency at the college.
Mourad will give an artist's talk on YouTube at 4 p.m. March 4. Visit https://memorygates.holycross.edu.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in-gallery visits from off-campus visitors will take place by appointment only. Hours are Tuesday through Friday noon – 5 p.m., with limited Saturday availability. To book an entry time, email [email protected] or call (508) 793-3356. Masks and social distancing practices are required.
(This story has been amended to correct the web address for the artist's talk.)