Channel 25: Miguel Rivera and Erykah Townsend

Erykah Townsend and Miguel Rivera as PBS Kids

Channel 25 is a collaboration between Sculpture junior Miguel Rivera Vera and Painting junior Erykah Townsend. Both artists grew up in Cleveland and lived without the experience of premium cable television. Inspiration for this exhibition is drawn from the broadcasting channel WVIZ/PBS, which was one of the only basic cable stations to provide children’s programming. The exhibition includes works of sound, video projection, sculpture, and painting and refers to televisions shows, such as Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Teletubbies, The Big Comfy Couch, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, and Dragon Tales. Rivera and Townsend capture an environment corrupted by childlike imagery as a means to confront the ephemeral experience of childhood as they transition into adulthood.