Curator Daria Khan On Founding Mimosa House & Supporting Non-Binary Artists
By Something CuratedDedicated to artistic experimentation and collaboration Mimosa House is a new, independent, non-profit project space in the heart of Mayfair that works with emerging practitioners. Developed by curator Daria Khan, Mimosa House supports artistic process and exchange and delivers a public programme including four group exhibitions a year and connected events. The programme focuses on self-initiated artists’ projects and collaborations by female and queer artists in particular.
Discussing the thinking behind Mimosa House, Khan told Something Curated: “I founded Mimosa House to provide a platform to support international female and non-binary artists as they continue to be underrepresented, particularly in the commercial galleries of Mayfair that surround us. As a non-profit space, we offer politically engaged artists the opportunity to experiment and collaborate, freed from the restrictions of a white cube gallery whilst still having the benefits of being in a very accessible and central location. Our exhibition and public programme is aimed at building a community and learning space for female and queer empowerment.”
Offering some insight into her background, Khan said: “I have worked as an independent curator on different projects across Europe since graduating from the Royal College of Art, Curating Contemporary Art MA in 2013. My curatorial projects have been shown at Austrian Cultural Forum, London; Photographers Gallery, London; Freiraum 21 International, Vienna; and the 5th Moscow Biennial; and I did curatorial residencies at Palais de Tokyo, Paris and Museums Quartier, Vienna. Prior to working in contemporary art, my background is in the history of modern art; I wrote my thesis on Mark Rothko, and worked for one of the leading modern art galleries in Paris.”
Expanding on Mimosa House’s upcoming show, the curator continues: “Our next exhibition, Alter Heroes Coalition, opens on 21st September and marks our 1 year anniversary. The show features international artists who use alter egos to reinvent themselves and reflect on cultural displacement and belonging. It includes historical works by Tomaso Binga, Adrian Piper and Yolanda López, alongside contemporary artists including Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, Taus Makhacheva and Kent Monkman.”
Among the work being exhibited, tackling masculinity, vulnerability and heroism, Leah Capaldi’s new commissioned work features Hollywood stars alongside iconic Bauhaus chairs, while Kent Monkman’s drag alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, pays tribute to the Two Spirit tradition in Native American culture that recognises an ambiguous third gender. In a series of performative self-portraits, or Tableaux vivants, dating to 1978, Yolanda Lopez incarnates the Virgin of Guadalupe, a powerful symbol of Mexican identity and faith.
Alter Heroes Coalition | 21 September – 15 December 2018
Mimosa House – 12 Princes Street, Hanover Square, London W1B 2LL
Words by Keshav Anand | Feature image: Installation view of Tejal Shah, As It Is. Photo: Damian Griffiths (Courtesy Mimosa House)