Brief Profile

September 9th, 2009

Lives: MIT – Cambridge, MA  – USA
Home Base: San Francisco, CA – USA
Born: Chile

Negrete is a resident of the USA since 1988, where she earned an Interdisciplinary Art degree with a concentration in Public Art, Multimedia and Education from the San Francisco Art Institute (2006). This will be her second year of graduate work at MIT Program of Art, Culture and Technology (former Visual Art Program), School of Architecture and Planning. Working from her studio and participatory process The Counter Narrative Society, she is researching creative counter narratives as systems for critical social engagement to address disparate ideas about mass punishment and inequality in the USA.

Before coming to MIT, she had been working in the development of the Sensible Housing Unit (SHU) project, which is a tactical object that engages audiences in critical dialogue about the human rights issues of prison control units. She has presented this project at the University of San Francisco (2009), Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Art (2009) and the Mission Arts Performance Project (2008).

She is currently a nominee for the Bridge Residence 2010-11 (Headlands Center for the Arts) and a recipient of the MIT Presidential Award 2009-10 and MIT Department of Architecture Fellowship 2010-11. Upon graduation she expects to return to San Francisco, where she would like to pursue a career in Academia and Critical Arts.

At MIT:

September 8th, 2009

This is the 1st day in Cambridge, unloading our stuff and feeling to hot.

It is a month and 6 days since I moved to MIT campus and I am finally starting to relax. So off! I guess, I am still tripping from time to time about the changes.

Anyways, this Wednesday Sept. 9th will be my first day of class.  Exciting! and tomorrow is registration day. I will be meeting with my adviser Ute to chat about my academic future. Generally, I will be spending most of my time exploring methods for critical social engagements and real time actions to address various ethical-social dilemmas about how mass punishment manifest through the social and spatial landscape of the USA. This is a loaded subject matter but very important to look at in our times. Though, I need to refine these ideas. So, don’t take me as an expert on the subject, that’s why I’m here doing graduate work! Trying to figure things out!

Another note, I just added more pictures to the Sensible Housing Unit (SHU) archive page from The Counter Narrative Society. They document up to the 4th version of the project.  Visit this link.

Last note, here is the link to my profile at MIT. Here you can also meet my colleagues and their art.

[Picture: this is the 1st day in Cambridge. We are unloading our stuffs and feeling to hot.]

Crossing the Desperado – PARTY! July 4th & 5th

June 22nd, 2009

farewell_party_mabel_joshua

Celebrate Joshua’s and Mabel’s farewell party.
Send them off – as they venture into a new settlement in the east coast.

3327 Cesar Chavez St. Apt. 2, San Francisco, CA 94110

Program:

JULY 4th

3pm Potluck-Barbecue with iPod DJ, Lottery & Garage/Art sale
7-10pm Dance party w/ DJs, short movies, & a mix of artistic flairs
10pm Party continues at Sub-Mission Art Space for late nighters!

JULY 5th

11am-5pm Brunch / Lunch / Barbecue … Garage/Art sale continues

Seeking Submissions:

  • Potluck suggestions: Salads, Salsa & Chips,Cheeses/Crackers, Wine, or your Gourmet Home-Made Dish. We will have two grills 1 for veggies and 1 for meats & Please limit the amount of non-recycle packaging. Thanks!
  • If you have 1 to 2 short artistic or documentary videos of 5 minutes or less, send them to info(at)mabelnegrete(dot)com. Mabel will be compiling them to show them at the party.
  • You are welcome to dress up as your most favorite dictator or liberator!

RSVP or Questions:
Phone – Joshua: 415-646-5541 / E-mail – Mabel: info(at)mabelnegrete(dot)com

Update and Coming Up:

April 21st, 2009

Thursday, April 9th 2009
I accepted to attend the Visual Art Program at MIT to do graduate work from  2009-2011.

Thursday, May 21st 2009 | $5
6pm Food, Performances & Speakers, 7pm Movie Screening
Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts
2868 Mission Street, San Francisco CA 94110

My group Bay Area STOPMAX is presenting UNLOCK THE BOX a documentary movie depicting the struggle to Shutdown Control Units in USA. The movie was produced by www.abolishcontroluntis.org

Saturday, May 23rd 2009 | 2pm, FREE
Artist Talk with Migdalia Valdes and Mabel Negrete
Intersection for the Arts
446 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 www.theintersection.org

Every Day in Black and White is a poetic documentary of contemporary urban life shown through photographs, film, portraits, and sculptural journals. Ten years ago, Migdalia Valdes pledged to create at least one photograph a day for the rest of her life. Her commitment allowed photography to become more than a fascination, but rather, a compulsion, allowing her to blend both city and home, creating an intimate documentary of modern life. Vacillating between the journals and the photographs found within them, Valdes transforms what we see as ordinary into something beautiful.