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This summer, Mandeville Art Gallery at UC San Diego presents a new commission exploring liberated Black realities by artist LaJuné McMillian. “The Portal’s Keeper” was created specifically for the gallery’s permanent exterior three-sided LED screen that transforms the building’s façade into a sleek canvas. The installation is co-sponsored by the university’s Black Studies Project and is on view daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Sept. 26.
McMillian is a new media artist and creative technologist whose art integrates performance, extended reality and physical computing. Many of their projects are in response to the cultural appropriation of Black movement and dance in the motion capture industry. McMillian promotes creative practices that encourage vulnerability, honor Black people’s stories and lives and makes space for community growth.
“’The Portal’s Keeper’ is a reminder that movement not only represents our individual experiences, but it also represents our collective memory, transcending space, time and oppressive social structures,” said McMillian. “It allows us to connect to each other, our ancestors, our deepest selves, and gives us space to communicate to our future. Movement is a technology, holding the stories of our existence globally.”
The new installation is just one example of the many exhibitions, concerts, theatrical performances and creative experimentation that happens across UC San Diego. “Through ArtsConnect, the new Chancellor’s Arts Initiative, we are activating the entire university as a place to become immersed in culture and creativity,” said Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities Cristina Della Coletta. “The program, co-led by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life, pairs the innovation of the academic arts with lively events that engage diverse audiences on and off campus.”