Institute of Contemporary Art, November 7, 2019 at 7pm
(Boston) U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo is a storyteller, artist, musician, and a poet. Born in the U.S., to parents from what was then Rhodesia, U-Meleni spent much of her childhood in Zimbabwe and South Africa, before returning to the United States. Now she will share her life’s story at the Institute of Contemporary Art forum: Suitcase Stories Unpacked along with two other story tellers. The forum is a partnership between the International Institute of New England and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. The forum November 7th is part of the When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Migration through Contemporary Art exhibit. Her story is one of ten Suitcase Story videos included in the exhibit which can be viewed in the Poss Family Mediatheque. Tickets are free of charge and available at the door, or online 24 hours before the event at icaboston.org.
Born in Leominster, U-Meleni spent the first few years of her life in the United States before moving to what was then Rhodesia. She lived through the fighting, hearing gunshots at night and sleeping in concentration camps until Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980. She went on to school in Zimbabwe and South Africa before returning to the states for college.
U-Meleni’s performance will chronicle her immigrant journey that led her back to Boston, which she still calls home with her husband and son. Following the performance, she will participate in a Question and Answer session with audience members.
When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Migration through Contemporary Art considers how contemporary artists are responding to the migration, immigration, and displacement of peoples today, through artworks made since 2000 by twenty artists from more than a dozen countries. This exhibition highlights diverse artistic responses to migration ranging from personal accounts to poetic meditations, and features a range of mediums, including sculpture, installation, painting, and video. Artists in the exhibition include Kader Attia, Tania Bruguera, Isaac Julien, Hayv Kahraman, Reena Saini Kallat, Richard Mosse, Carlos Motta, Yinka Shonibare, Xaviera Simmons, and Do-Ho Suh, among others. The exhibit is open now and runs through January 26th, 2020.
Click here to watch part of U-Meleni’s Suitcase story which was aired on WGBH.
Photo credit: Ernesto Arroyo-Montana
Tickets for U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo at the Institute of Contemporary Art on November 7th at 7PM are available at icaboston.org 24 hours before the performance or by calling 617-478-3100.
