Bolshakova & Whiteside: Catching Reindeer
UNBANNABLE
LIBRARY
The Unbannable Library is a library-based art exhibition designed to challenge the rise of censorship and commemorate Banned Books Week 2024. The exhibitions feature a rich collection of interactive book sculptures that are literally too big to ban. The result of collaborations between local artists and writers, these unique larger-than-life books employ text and image to draw attention to the voices and stories subject to censorship. This exhibition will span multiple locations across Middle Tennessee to allow wide access for viewers to experience and interact with the voices of those affected by book bans.
The Unbannable Library serves as a platform for dialogue, encouraging conversations about the importance of intellectual freedom. By presenting this exhibit in public and private institutions across Middle Tennessee, the project highlights the valuable role libraries play here in fostering knowledge and connection across locations and all ages. These institutions exist to celebrate and not suppress the voices of our communities. Unbannable Library is designed to showcase voices from myriad backgrounds and celebrate our libraries and the stories that challenge us.
Catching a Reindeer
Writings by Kseniia Bolshakova Welch @haka.huruksut
Art by Ripley Whiteside @ripleywhiteside
Kseniia Bolshakova is a Dolgan language activist and writer. Born and raised in the settlement and tundra of Popigai on the Taimyr Peninsula, she holds deep concerns about the loss of the native language and traditional knowledge, as well as issues of colonization and assimilation. Kseniia crafts her prose in the native Dolgan language, specializing in the genre of flash fiction. Her debut bilingual book, "The Frost Also Melts", slated for release in June 2024, comprises 17 flash novellas. These narratives encapsulate memories from her nomadic childhood in the tundra and reflections on the destiny of the Dolgans.
Ripley Whiteside is a Nashville, TN based artist who makes work about the complexities of ecological movement. He has a BFA from UNC-CH (2008) and MFA from SUNY-Buffalo (2012). He has participated in solo and group exhibitions in the US and Canada, and he teaches at Metro Parks Visual Arts and Austin Peay State University. His work is represented by Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain in Montreal.