Art museum posts two exhibits

Susquehanna Art Museum (SAM), 1401 N. Third St., Harrisburg, has announced two exhibits, both of which will be on display from Saturday, Feb. 10, to Sunday, May 19, in the Beverlee and Bill Lehr Gallery.

Curated by artists Maureen Joyce and Carrie Breschi, "I'm fine. Pennsylvania" is a community-engaged exhibit of ceramic masks, stories, and portraits dedicated to sculpting mental health awareness and conversations through art. The project was born out of crisis, collective voices, love, and loss, and its title includes the phrase "I'm fine," which many people say even when they are not fine.

Initiated in 2019, the project has seen Breschi and Joyce facilitating more than 80 workshops and school residencies across Pennsylvania and curating more than 15 individual community exhibits. The workshops are a way for participants to express their emotions by creating the ceramic mask they wear to portray, overcome, hide, or minimize their mental health struggles. The SAM installation is the first exhibit to showcase all the masks in one space.

Further details about the "I'm fine." project and events are available by visiting http://www.imfineproject.com or contacting Carrie Breschi and Maureen Joyce at Imfine.info@gmail.com or 717-858-4821.

"Cocoon Steelton, PA: The Migrations of Many" is the seventh and most recent iteration of artist Kate Browne's international performance and installation series focused on forced and voluntary migration. The exhibition comprises recorded interviews with Steelton steelworkers and residents, portraits taken by Eric Etheridge, and the "Cocoon" sculpture, which was part of a performance installation in Steelton in 2023.

As viewers walk through the sculpture, they will hear stories about Steelton, the steel mill, and family histories - a soundtrack derived from Browne's interviews, which explore the reality of living in a small town with a single-industry economy where job opportunities have declined considerably since the 1950s. As the steel plant changes hands again, Browne has sought to document the existence of Steelton and the mill through the stories told by generations of local families and union members and to examine how these narratives help them make decisions about the future now.

Browne has been working since 2008 on the international "Cocoon" series, which examines sites of forced and voluntary migrations and the events that follow these migrations. She has previously created "Cocoons" - works incorporating installations and performances - in Paris; Mexico City; Greenwood and Jackson, Miss.; the Bronx; and Miskolc, Hungary.

Browne grew up in rural Pennsylvania, graduated from Hampshire College, and now lives in New York City. Etheridge has photographed Browne's "Cocoon" projects since 2008. He is also the author and photographer of "Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders."

Browne will give an artist talk on Friday, March 8, at 5:30 p.m. For more information about "Cocoon," visit http://www.bykatebrowne.com.

SAM is open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Thursdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free parking is available to visitors in the lot behind the museum at Calder and James streets. More details are available by visiting http://www.susquehannaartmuseum.org or calling 717-233-8668.

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