Cage Match Project Podcast

The curator of the Cage Match Project and host for this podcast, Ariel René Jackson, interviews Betelhem Makonnen, an Austin-based artist whose practice challenges societal limitations regarding identity, migration, and time. On this episode we focus on time as our metaphorical cage regarding the demand for productivity and how we might resist having to choose between that and exile. Makonnen talks about the ideas behind their solo exhibition, "Rock Standard Time (RST)" at Big Medium Gallery. How much time does inner wellbeing require? We discuss the importance of slowing down time in Makonnen's practice as well as their personal life. You can find more information about Makonnen's practice on their website www.betelhemmakonnen.com

The curator of the Cage Match Project and host for this podcast, Ariel René Jackson, interviews Round 14 artist,  Taylor Barnes, an Austin-based artist whose interdisciplinary fiber practice engages a research-based approach to internal and external complexities of her experience as a Black woman in America. Her current research in Barracoons utilizes wood, nails, and fiber to transform the cage into an enclosed shelter, complicating the notion of confinement and shifting meaning towards safety. We spoke about the possibilities and limitations of understanding the experience of enslaved Africans held in Barracoons before being boarding onto Atlantic slave ships–not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Relating this sense of not knowing to our reality of shelter-at-home, Barnes talks about the necessity to create in order to relieve anxiety and we chat about society’s seemingly psychic preparedness for social distancing via social media and cell phones. Between now and whenever the Austin area is relieved of social distancing, it is my intention to bring on individuals to speak further about notions of being confined but in the meantime enjoy the show! @cagematchproject  @barnes_artistry__  @arielrenejacksonstudio

The curator of the Cage Match Project and host for this podcast, Ariel René Jackson, interviews Round 13 artist Kara Springer about her practice as well as her installation for CMP titled  "Hold. Elmina, Ghana (2012), Austin, Texas, United States (2020)". Check out photos of Kara's installation at www.cagematchproject.com

We talk about Kara's transition from an industrial designer, founding the Kaya Birth Stool, to her interdisciplinary practice, where she is concerned with armature–the underlying structure that holds the flesh of a body in place. We talk caring for bodies, motherhood, memory and place, mobility and stillness, and the diasporic relationship between chattel slavery and the separation of families at the US Border. 

The Cage Match Project is a gallery that lives in an industrial caged-trailer. This weathered and rusted container resides in a gravel parking lot in Austin, Texas where it is under constant exposure to the elements and 24-hour public viewership.

The Cage Match Project was developed by Ryan Hawk, a Houston based artist, with support by The Museum of Human Achievement, The Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, and Big Medium gallery. 

Instagram : @cagematchproject