ABOUT
indira allegra is a conceptual artist and founder of Cazimi Studio. Cazimi Studio uses weaving as a framework to creatively transform tension within different sites. The studio is unique in its emphasis on performance, publication and the integration of spiritual care as preferred design solutions. Thinking as a poet, threads of connection are discovered between seemingly disparate experiences. Moving as a weaver, these connections are interlaced into a greater whole. Researching as a polymath, they draw from diverse interests in weaving, critical phenomenology, end of life care, Buddhist philosophy, performance, traditional ecological knowledge and post-humanist thought.
allegra's work has been featured in The Art Newspaper, Artnet, Art Journal, BOMB Magazine, SF Chronicle, e-flux, Hyperallergic, All Arts, Topical Cream and ARTFORUM and in exhibitions and performances at the Museum of Arts and Design (New York, NY); Blaffer Museum (Houston, TX); SFMOMA (San Francisco, CA); Center for Craft Creativity and Design (Asheville, NC); John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI); de Young Museum (San Francisco, CA); Jacob Lawrence Gallery (Seattle, WA); Gray Area (San Francisco, CA); the Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco, CA) and San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (San Jose, CA) among others.
allegra is the author of Tension Studies and Dispersal of a Feeling: Bloodnotes on Choreography and Illness (Sming Sming Books). Their writing has been featured in Theater, TEXTILE: Cloth and Culture, American Craft Magazine, Panorama Journal, Leonardo and Material Intelligence among others. Their monograph Blackout (Sming Sming Books) is in the collection of major art museum libraries nationwide. allegra has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Burke Prize, Creative Capital, United States Artists Fellowship, Gerbode Choreographer Award, Art Matters Fellowship, Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Creative Project Grant and CripTech Metaverse Fellowship.
They have a Masters in Religion in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement from Union Theological Seminary, a BFA in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Visual Critical Studies from the California College of the Arts (& Crafts) and an Associates in Sign Language Interpretation from Portland Community College. allegra took the lay precepts/5 mindfulness trainings in 2007 at Deer Park Monastery founded by Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk Thích Nhất Hạnh and received their Raja yoga teacher training from the Niroga Institute in 2009. cazimistudio.space & substack.com/@indiraallegra
LISTEN
Tributary Ministries: indira allegra in Conversation with Allie Tepper, In this wide-ranging interview, in Topical Cream, artist indira allegra speaks to curator Allie Tepper about how the orientation strategies of a somatic-based practice can ground the self and provide a path toward liberation. Mirroring the peripatetic trajectory of a river, with its many branches and tributaries, the conversation traverses Allegra’s practice in writing, weaving, theology, and historical research to center the potential of healing within the constraints of our built and natural environments.
ETHOS
Space is not passive.
There is no such thing as ‘blank’ or ‘open’ space geographically, visually or ideologically.
As visitors it is our loving responsibility to learn who is/was there before.
Everything is animate and all animacies communicate in their own way.
Seeking permission is a form of spiritual care.
Spiritual care is a vital part of a wholistic design strategy.
The process of working together is as important as the product.
All workers contributing to the studio are compensated in a timely way.
Citation is a form of love and respect.
The success of a work is measured by changes of state, transformations of perspective and opportunities for future generations to imagine.
Not all projects require a built environment or objects. Material production requires storage, water and oil.
Heartbreak is the public health issue of our time and considered in all projects.
Listening is the most valuable tool an artist and designer can use.