PRESS RELEASE
KANDIS WILLIAMS
A SUMMARY: CASSANDRA PRESS IMPACT REPORT
JUNE 20 – JULY 27, 2024
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a Trojan princess given the divine power to foresee the future but was cursed with a fate that caused no one to believe her prophecies. Cassandra Press, founded in 2016 by artist Kandis Williams, is a publishing and pedagogical platform that seeks to establish a dialogue-based distribution of ideas by printing lo-fi readers with texts from Black critical theorists, organizing courses, and commissioning artist zines and catalogues covering a broad range of subjects that coalesce questions of ethics, racial colonial violence, white supremacist hegemony, and aesthetics. Developed out of Williams’ own studio practice, Cassandra Press reconfigures existing tools of perception and their dominant role and articulations within current sociocultural systems. It operates in a sphere where Black scholarship is often ignored, decontextualized, or made unavailable. By creating these alternative educational spaces, Cassandra Press challenges the marginalization of Black intellectual contributions, fostering a more inclusive and critical discourse that confronts systemic racism and its pervasive impact on the accessibility and recognition of Black knowledge.
For A Summary: Cassandra Press Impact Report at Heidi, Kandis Williams has transformed the exhibition space into a reading room featuring the complete catalogue of the publishing house’s readers and artist zines, setting the groundwork for exploration and facilitating a collaborative form of community learning. Following numerous institutional presentations around the world, the show at Heidi concludes Cassandra Press’ exhibition-making activity. This marks the final opportunity to read, reflect upon, and discuss the entire body of work in one place.
Rendered a central element of the exhibition, the Impact Report functions as a summary of Cassandra Press’ practice since its inception. By retracing its history and development, it acts as an instrument of self-reflection and provides a critical account of the past discursive climates the publication has lived through. This exhibition revisits Cassandra Press’ own history and sheds light on its future scope of action. Every reader on display can be acquired by taking a ‘Vow of Transmission’, ensuring the circulation of the readers beyond the confines of this presentation.
Alongside the printed materials, lectures with artists and academics are being organized throughout the exhibition.