Join SculptureCenter for an art workshop that coincides with its fall group exhibition, “to ignite our skin.”
“to ignite our skin” artist Umico Niwa will lead a workshop for youth (8-12) that channels inner “Memory Palaces,” personal spaces of meaning and identity. Participants are invited to build internal landscapes and place within them a mental sculpture. This symbolic object or Gremlin, can represent an ideal self, a grounding force, a part of oneself to be released, or a constellation of admired traits. The “Memory Palace” serves as a tool for reflection and an emotional sanctuary.
Participants are asked to prepare by bringing organic matter, such as sticks and twigs, a wrinkly apple, a wilting bouquet, the remains of a bee, a snail shell, big potatoes/small potatoes, or a pitiful acorn to build their sculptures, which can be taken home or added to Niwa’s installation in the exhibition.
Space is limited, and advance registration is required. Please provide the participant’s name, age, and contact information for the day of the event.
Due to the historic nature of our building, this location is not fully ADA accessible. The event is located on a second-floor loft, which is only reachable by stairs.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Umico Niwa received her MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, in 2020. Rejecting Western notions of personhood, Niwa considers alternative modes of existence, unbridled by bodily restrictions or gender constructs. Her creations speak to a state of being defined by perpetual movement—a flower wilting, a fruit ripening, a somatic memory bank, a valley full of weeds bursting with life.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Wed, Sep 17, 6-8pm
Exhibition Dates: Sep 18-Dec 22, 2025
“to ignite our skin” features newly commissioned and recent works from an international group of artists whose contributions, spanning sculpture, installation, photography, and architectural intervention, explore shedding as a condition of the body today, locating it as an act of transition, becoming, regeneration, and refusal. For more information, please visit our website at sculpture-center.org.
