Autumn Knight (born 1980) is an American

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

artist working with

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

, installation, and

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory) In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothi ...

from

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

who lives and works in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life and education

Knight attended the

High School for Performing and Visual Arts Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District ...

in Houston, TX . She went on to achieve an M.A. in

Drama Therapy Drama therapy is the use of theatre techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote mental health. Drama therapy is used in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, mental health centers, prisons, and businesses. Drama ther ...

, from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and a B.A. in Theatre Arts/Speech Communications from

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

. Knight holds certificates in

Arts Management Arts administration (alternatively arts management) is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming within cultural organizations. Arts administrators are responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operations of the organization as we ...

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

from

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

in London, U.K. and in

Speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

from Central School of London.

Career

Artistic practice

Knight is recognized for her performance pieces, which are influenced by her background training in

therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...

. Often, the works play off the social dynamics of her audiences, amplifying the race, gender, and power relationships in the room. Her work has been described as having an "absurd and comedic effect." In ''Sanity TV'' at

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) is a contemporary performance and visual arts organization in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. PICA was founded in 1995 by Kristy Edmunds. Since 2003, it has presented the annual Time-Bas ...

’s

Time-Based Art Festival The Time-Based Art Festival (TBA) is an annual interdisciplinary art and performance festival presented each September in Portland, Oregon by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). History TBA is modeled on similar European and Aust ...

(TBA) in 2018, Knight performed the role of an "absurd host of a talk show," directing audience members to participate through prompts and interviews. Knight was one of the artists who contributed to

Solange Solange may refer to: People with the given name * Solange Knowles (born 1986), American R&B/soul singer * Solange of Bourges (d. 880), Christian saint * Solange (psychic) (1952–2021), Italian TV personality, psychic and commentator * Solange A ...

's 33-minute music video to her album '' When I Get Home'' (2019). She is the winner of the 2021–22 Nancy B. Negley Rome Prize from the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

. Knight is also a recipient of a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship in Film-Video.

Performances and exhibitions

Knight has been widely exhibited, including at institutions such as Marfa Contemporary (2018), DiverseWorks Artspace (2018),

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a not-for-profit institution in the Museum District, Houston, Texas, founded in 1948, dedicated to presenting contemporary art to the public. As a non-collecting museum, it strives to provide a forum for visua ...

(2018),

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

Krannert Art Museum The Krannert Art Museum (KAM) is a fine art museum located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It has of space devoted to all periods of art, dating from ancient Egypt to contemporary photography ...

(2017), Art League Houston (2016), She Works Flexible (2016),

The New Museum The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-nam ...

(2015), Blaffer Art Museum (2014),

Skowhegan Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously held state fair in the Unite ...

Space (2014), CounterCutrent (2014) with Lisa E. Harris and M'Kina Tapscott,

Project Row Houses Project Row Houses is a development in the Third Ward, Houston, Third Ward area of Houston, Texas. Project Row Houses includes a group of shotgun houses restored in the 1990s. Eight houses serve as studios for visiting artists. Those houses are ...

(2013), and Crystal Bridges Museum. In 2019, Knight performed at

Human Resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

in Los Angeles, and was selected to be included in the 2019

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...

, curated by

Rujeko Hockley Rujeko Hockley is a New York–based US curator. Hockley is currently the Arnhold Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Life and education Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Hockley relocated to Wa ...

and

Jane Panetta Jane Panetta is a New York City, New York-based curator and art historian. Panetta is currently an associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Career Curating Before working at the Whitney, Panetta spent five years in the Painting and ...

. As MF Problem with artist Robert Pruitt she is a performer in the 2019 CounterCurrent Festival. In January 2020, Knight was part of Artpace's exhibit titled ''Visibilities: Intrepid Women of Artpace''. Curated by Erin K. Murphy, ''Visibilities'' not only kicks off Artpace's 25th anniversary celebration, but also highlights past artists from their International Artist-in-Residency program, such as Knight who was a resident there in Spring of 2015. Knight's 2017 video entitled ''Meesh'' was part of ''Visibilities.'' In July 2020, Knight created a two-hour performance series for The Kitchen in collaboration with artist Adebukola Bodunrin. The performance was streamed live over

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

due to COVID-19 restrictions. The three segments of the performance explored

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

how these dynamics affect artists, institutions, and the art industry in general. In this performance, Knight is depicted being followed by multiple cameras, while the feed is interrupted with security camera footage from inside The Kitchen. She then proceeds to gradually tear down The Kitchen while also giving different speeches to the audience. Reviewer Madeline Seidel praised Knight's performance noting that her "...actions frame The Kitchen as a complex setting: the institutional space is simultaneously described as a 'cage' in which racial, gendered and classist power mechanisms are at play, yet it also provides a blank slate for her artistic exploration of these societal ills."

Residencies

* The Kitchen *

Pioneer Works Pioneer Works is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit cultural arts center in the Red Hook, Brooklyn, Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City that was founded by artist Dustin Yellin in 2012. Pioneer Works includes a large exhibition spac ...

Studio Museum The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...

of Harlem *2015-2016 - Dance Source Houston *2014 - In-Situ (U.K.) *2013-2014 - Galveston Artist Residency *

Millay Colony for the Arts Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...

(Austerlitz, NY) *YICA (Yamaguchi, Japan) *

Artpace Artpace (also known as Artpace San Antonio) is a non-profit contemporary art foundation located in downtown San Antonio, Texas that is free and open to the public. Founded by artist, collector, and philanthropist Linda Pace, Artpace opened its d ...

(San Antonio, TX.)

References

External links

Art in America - REVIEW - May 26, 2017 - Autumn KnightBAIA - Autumn Knight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Autumn 1980 births Living people 21st-century American artists Dillard University alumni New York University alumni African-American women artists American performance artists American installation artists Artists from Houston African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American women