Geovanni Barrios - VASD Program Friction Series Artist Talk

Join us for the inaugural presentation of the Friction Series, featuring classically trained musician, visual artist, and art historian Geovanni Barrios.

About the Talk 
In this artist talk titled Three Scouts, Three Artists: Nakashima, Still, Barrios, Geovanni will explore the tensions of claiming space and belonging within American institutions and the great outdoors. Drawing from his formative years navigating the Everglades with Scouting America (formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America), he examines how institutional rituals and sanitized cultural narratives shaped his early understanding of “Americanness.” He will discuss how those rigid ideals collided with his reality as the child of immigrants and as a gay man.

Despite these deep contradictions, Barrios will share how his work pulls from his experiences as a Scout and the well of Scouting’s visual history. On the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence, Barrios will highlight the legacy of the country's most influential youth program and how his work confronts a cultural inheritance that once excluded him. Spanning sculpture, painting, performance, and historical research, his practice grapples with these histories to reimagine belonging and expand definitions of national identity, masculinity, and our relationships to nature.

Doors open at 5:00pm

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Co-hosted with: VASD Program