About

Kyra Berman-Gestring (she/her) is a queer and feminist artist, activist and educator. She believes in the potential and power of social practice art to foster healing, justice and change. She is committed to pursuing feminist and anti-capitalist practices of the handmade through her art and teaching of these endangered traditions. 

STATEMENT

The political potential of art and the role of creativity in activism are important to my focus on inter-subjective engagement as form, subject and context. Rooted in feminist and queer concerns of value and hierarchy in artistic praxis, I address the assumed division of craft and art as separate and unequal by framing my use of embroidery and quilting in a fine art lens. Through textile and stitch work I address the role of utilitarianism and gendered boundaries in the definition of art objects as well as the contemporary place of the hand-made in art. I attempt to further challenge these divisions by engaging in social practice as art. Feminist and queer community engagement enables me to use artwork as a political force, engendering social change through aesthetic activism.