Beside Between Beyond

Join 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis to view Beside Between Beyond, a temporary art installation by Sukanya Mani. The artwork will be on display beginning on Sunday, May 24 at 3:00 p.m. and culminating in a reception for 21c St. Louis’s Community Impact non-profit partner of the month, Safe Connections on Thursday, May 28 at 6:00 p.m.  

Beside Between Beyond is a community based, research driven art installation by St. Louis- based artist Sukanya Mani. Through the ongoing project, the artist intends to raise awareness about domestic abuse with a highlight on immigrant and refugee populations. Mani collects knowledge gathered from research, oral traditions, data and interviews, and transforms it into intricate paper cut silhouettes and found object installations.

With the installation at 21c St. Louis, Mani’s artwork converses with The Future is Female exhibition, specifically Votive (You Are Going To Have To Save Yourself) by Julie Levesque. For nearly a year, the interactive artwork by Levesque, inspired by a Catholic church votive station, has invited visitors to “Take One and Pay What You Can,” offering bracelets with the simple phrase “You are going to have to save yourself” in exchange for donations that will be presented to Safe Connections for their mission to reduce the impact and incidence of domestic and sexual violence. In Beside Between Beyond, Mani aims the lens towards immigrant and refugee communities, a group that is particularly vulnerable to domestic abuse. The artist is hopeful that conversation and greater awareness will encourage those experiencing violence to take the first step in saving themselves by seeking assistance.

Join us for a reception and celebration for Safe Connections on Thursday at 6:00 p.m., including a presentation from Sukanya Mani.