To mark the conclusion of her performance installation, POLICE STATE, Nadya Tolokonnikova joins artists Fulton Leroy Washington (aka MR WASH) and Aleksandra "Sasha" Skochilenko for a conversation on art, activism, and prison reform. The talk is followed by a live concert with Tolokonnikova’s performance collective, Pussy Riot Siberia.
Pussy Riot Siberia is a new project that exists at the intersection of performance art, noise music, and visual art. Known for her art and activism in Russia, Siberian-born frontwoman Nadya Tolokonnikova grapples sonically and in a raw display of action with her identity, life in exile, war, and the continuing struggle for rights for women and LGBTIQ+ people around the world. PUSSY RIOT SIBERIA is the code name for the group, including Nadya Tolokonnikova, Max Lawton, Riley Bray, and John Caldwell. The group has previously played in museum settings for the American Folk Art Museum, OK Linz, and Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie.
Nadya Tolokonnikova is a conceptual performance artist, activist, and the creator of Pussy Riot, a global feminist art movement. In 2012, she received a two-year prison term following the anti-Putin performance Punk Prayer, which The Guardian later named among the best artworks of the 21st century. In 2023, Tolokonnikova's installation, Putin’s Ashes, at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles, propelled her into a new criminal case and put her on Russia’s most wanted criminal list. Her debut museum exhibition RAGE, (2024) was presented at OK Linz, Austria, and the eponymous performance at Neue Nationalgalerie, Germany. Tolokonnikova's work is in the collections of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Brooklyn Museum, New York; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Museum of Art and Design, New York; and the American Folk Art Museum, New York among others. With thanks to Galerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin and Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles.
In 1997 Fulton Leroy Washington a.k.a. Mr. Wash was wrongfully convicted of three nonviolent drug offenses, and due to mandatory minimums, sentenced to life in prison. Over two decades he taught himself how to paint, creating hundreds of artworks. In 2016, Mr. Wash’s case was recognized by President Obama, who granted his release. Now living and working in Compton, Mr. Wash continues to tell stories through his artwork, which has been shown and acquired by the Hammer Museum, and exhibited at the Huntington Library, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, HVW8 Gallery, and Open Space Gallery in Los Angeles. Mr. Wash with the help of Help Us Help Wash 501 (c)(3) is building the Art By Wash Studio and Community Center in the City of Compton.
Aleksandra "Sasha" Skochilenko (b. 1990, Leningrad, Russia) is an artist, musician, author, and former political prisoner. Skochilenko studied at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts and received a BA from Smolny College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, St Petersburg State University. In 2014, Skochilenko founded the anti-hierarchical music collective and art community, Free Random Jam. In 2022, following protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Skochilenko was arrested and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for distributing pacifist leaflets and ’knowingly spreading false information about Russian Armed Forces.' Her arrest precipated two durational performances, Imprisoned for Peace and The Liberation. Amnesty International named Skochilenko a prisoner of consciousness and the BBC featured her in their list of 100 Women for 2022. After more than two years in prison, Skochilenko was released in 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange program between Russian, the US, and Germany. Recent solo exhibitions include Skochilenko: The Price of Freedom, (2023) and The Koppel Project, London, organized by The Russian Democratic Society. Skochilenko's work has been exhibited in group shows in Europe and the United States. She has published several books including, A Book About Depression (2014), What Is Mania? (2023), and Notes on Depression (2023). Skochilenko currently lives and works in Germany.
Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs is organized by Alex Sloane, Associate Curator, and is produced by Amelia Charter, Producer of Performance and Programs with Michele Huizar, Performance Coordinator, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.
Wonmi's WAREHOUSE Programs is founded by Wonmi & Kihong Kwon and Family.
Performances at MOCA are supported by the MOCA Fund for Performance with generous funding provided by Betsy Greenberg and The Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Fund.
Panelists from L-R: Fulton Leroy Washington A.K.A. MR Wash. Photograph courtesy of the artist; Aleksandra "Sasha" Skochilenko; Nadya Tolokonnikova. Photo by Gilberto Tadday.
