Here s a look.
Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo):
This year, Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo) has four different programs that look back on the year that was 2020.
“Last Year on Earth,” a juried exhibition, is on view in RoCo’s main gallery. “Last Year on Earth” marks the first year after COVID-19 irreversibly changed life as we know it. RoCo said in a statement that “Last Year on Earth” “(provides) the community with a space to reflect on both our collective and private experiences over the last twelve months.” Judged by Tanvi Asher, Kelly Cheatle and Alexa Guzmán, the “Last Year on Earth” exhibition at RoCo is made of 90 selected pieces, out of hundreds that the jurors reviewed.
PHOTO PROVIDED Rochester-based artist Aaron Humby captured the making-the-most-of-it mood of 2020 with his digital illustration, titled When Life Gives You a Dumpster Fire, Roast Marshmallows. This month, Rochester Contemporary Art Center launches a group exhibition ominously but aptly titled “Last Year on Earth.” The title might conjure images of the End Times, but the name actually refers to our collective experience over the past life-altering year, which for many people felt like the march to Judgement Day. Rochester Contemporary invited artists in the region to submit work made after February 2020 that reflected on the bad and the good: traumas of the pandemic, political strife, racial injustice, as well as the human capacity for empathy, innovation, and hopefulness.