2024-25 McAndless Professor Joey Quiñones
Dr. Joey Quiñones, a nationally recognized artist and scholar, and the Head of Fiber at Cranbrook Academy of Art, was the 2024-25 McAndless Distinguished Professor in the Humanities
Quiñones engaged with EMU through the Marking Place project, which included a series of discussions, interactive assignments, public lectures, an ekphrastic poetry reading, major exhibitions and use of the Windgate Arts Complex on our north campus. Activities included EMU faculty, students and the wider community of Ypsilanti.
The starting point was the study of the existing sculptures on EMU campus and throughout Ypsilanti to consider ways students can open dialogues and offer multiple narratives through art. “In the past decade, there has been substantial discussion on the role of statues, monuments, and memorials, and how they reflect (or don’t reflect) the people, histories, and events of a place,” said Dr. Quiñones. The Marking Place project invites students from all disciplines to consider: “What do we as a community need to remember? How do we honor multiple histories in a public space? And, what are alternatives to the idea of 'the monument'?"
Quiñones' mixed media sculptures focus broadly on issues of race, class, gender and sexuality, and recent work specifically examines how narratives of the domestic, family, and womanhood are complicated by a history of slavery, stolen labor, and racism. As a queer Black artist, Quiñones has a distinctive vantage point from which to probe these consequential issues, and indeed reflects the ideals of the CAS position on diversity, equity, and inclusion. While Quiñones’s work has achieved impressive recognition in the art world, we are excited by how their work and engagement at EMU will impact our uniquely diverse student body. Quiñones' Marking Place project will investigate local monuments and sculptures as a way of exploring multiple narratives – a direct reflection of EMU’s commitment “to more fully account for the contributions or counter-narratives of previously neglected or marginalized groups."
Photo credit: Kohler Co. Courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Events
"Marking Place: Art, Artists, and Monumentality"
Thursday, October 24, 5:00 – 6:15 p.m.
Halle Library Auditorium
McAndless Visiting Professor Dr. Joey Quiñones delivered a keynote lecture for the Marking Place project, which explores how statues, monuments, and memorials at EMU reflect the people, histories, and events of our University community.
Marking Place Exhibition
January 3-31
University Gallery, Student Center
Opening Reception January 9 from 4:30-7:00 pm
A juried exhibit of 38 works exploring the themes of memory and commemoration by graduate and undergraduate students at Eastern Michigan University, the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University, Michigan State University and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Marking Place Celebration
Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
The College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Art and Design hosted a celebration of three art installations that engaged with the University’s past and place. The three works were the creations of 2024-25 McAndless Distinguished Professor Dr. Joey Quiñones, EMU graduate student Lydia Vollavanh, and Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate student Maddie Gordon. Creative Writing faculty members and students presented an ekphrastic poetry reading.