This week our artists examine culture, colonialism and appropriation.

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1. Nancy Shaver and collaborators’ immersive exhibition Dress the Form at Derek Eller Gallery
2. “Edgar Flores (Saner) uses everyday life as the stage to introduce his magic beings full of energy and mischief, always concealing their identity, resisting the conservative mind. Those creatures represent the ideals and aspirations of people straggling for survival. This exhibit celebrates the spirit of our community, our culture, our love for life and the power to resist the taming of our ancient spirit.” at Museo de las Americas
3. Jorge R. Gutierrez’s Border Bang is a passionate love letter to the Tijuana and US border, documenting the bootleg artifacts sold to locals and tourists alike. Reappropriating the bombardment of pop culture images is the border’s reaction to global issues and events, telling viewers and consumers not to glorify these situations but rather to acknowledge them through their subversive presentation at Gregorio Escalante
4. Featuring a mix of visual influences of the Pacific Rim, Askew One’s latest works reflects on how colonialism has shaped New Zealand throughout the years, and tells a unique story through powerful portraits of the people, and the faces of this diverse community at Inner State Gallery
5. Disguise: Masks and Global African Art connects the work of twenty-five contemporary artists with historical African masquerade, using play and provocation to invite viewers to think critically about their world and their place within it. By putting on a mask and becoming someone else, artists reveal hidden realities about society, including those of power, class, and gender, to suggest possibilities for the future at Brooklyn Museum
6. Dylan Languell shrank hundreds of chip bags, giving new life as the “bodies” of the kachina dolls. Kachinas have a history dating to the mid 19th century or earlier. Around 1850, Hopi Indians carved wooden figures to make dolls that were used to instruct young women about deified ancestral spirits and their influence over the natural environment. During the early part of the 20th Century, kachinas became a commodification of Native American culture and were incorporated into Western artistic practices. Great Value, brings to mind new products, low prices, and issues of mass consumption at Bailey Gallery