Youth-Led Programming | Reflections on Kenzi Shiokava

About the Event

Exploring Borderlands

Join art history graduate students Amira Manzur and Madeleine Afable for a conversation and carving-based activation in response to the work of Kenzi Shiokava. Explore how personal and ancestral narratives can be shaped through material and mark-making, centered on the totemic wood assemblages that carried Shiokava across borders, cultures, and continents.

Together, we’ll gather in the gallery to reflect, converse, and carve. Afable and Manzur first guide participants through a discussion of borderlands theory and cultural hybridity, considering how Shiokava’s own transnational journey—from Brazil to Japan to Los Angeles—shapes a visual language that resists single origins and fixed identities. This is followed by an open carving reflection, inviting visitors to engage with wood and tools at their own pace as a meditative extension of Shiokava’s process. Visitors are invited to join at any point—instructions are available throughout the space. By the end of the session, we’ll have created a collection of individual carved reflections—shaped by many hands, histories, and moments of connection.

Access Information

To request accessibility services, please contact us at [email protected] or 312-397-4076.

About the Speakers

Madeleine Afable is a recent graduate of Loyola University Chicago with a strong commitment to making art and cultural heritage accessible and meaningful to diverse audiences. Pursuing a master’s at the Courtauld Institute of Art in the fall concentrating on early modern Asian art, Madeleine is especially passionate about cultural leadership and is dedicated to exploring how institutions can evolve as dynamic centers for community connection, learning, and social impact. With experience in museum youth programming, she has led interactive workshops, coordinated educational events, and developed creative strategies to engage young people with contemporary art.

Amira Manzur is an art historian and practicing artist who recently graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Art History. Entering the Master of Arts program at the University of Illinois Chicago this fall, she focuses her research on Latin American modernism and is dedicated to creating inclusive cultural spaces where non-Western art is celebrated. Bringing a unique dual perspective from her own studio practice, which spans hand-bound book arts and design explorations, Amira is passionate about using creative programming to provide representative role models for youth who see themselves outside the traditional Western canon.