Contact

studio@antonioserna.com

Bio

Antonio Serna is a Mexican-American artist with both a collective and studio based practice. His current projects include Documents of Resistance: Artists of Color Protest, an art/research project focusing on the history of art and activism of people of color, and The Same Sun / Calandar, a multimedia mediation on time, place, and race. Working collectively he is currently a member of the NYC Museum Workers’ Organizing Committee, a by-and-for worker empowerment and solidarity group.

Antonio's projects and collaborative work has been included the following books: Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities, Duganne, Erina and Abigail Satinsky, (Eds.), Inventory Press, 2022. Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest by Laura Raichovich, Verso Books, 2021. Making and Being: Embodiment, Collaboration, & Circulation in the Visual Arts by Caroline Woolard, Susan Jahoda, BFAMFAPHD. New York: Pioneer Works Press. 2020. Art As Social Action: An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art by Gregory Sholette, Chloe Bass, Social Practice Queens. New York: Allworth Press, 2018. Reflecting on Reconstructing Practice: Toward an Anti-racist Art & Design Field by Lauren Willaims. Pasadena, CA : Antiracist Classroom/ArtCenter, 2018

Previous efforts include contribution to the labor section of the People's Cultural Plan, Co-organizer of the Brooklyn Community Forum on Anti-Gentrification and Displacement via artists of color bloc an cultural worker advocate group focusing on artists of color, and Arts & Labor’s Alternative Economies Working Group, an Occupy Wall Street activist group which organized “What Do We Do Now?”, the first alternatives economies fair and resource guide for artists in NYC. Through these and other autonomous collectives he promotes self-organized cultural events, research, education, and artist-as-activist interventions.

Originally from Texas, Antonio has participated and organized projects in New York, Texas, Las Vegas, Taipei, Spain, Mexico, Berlin, and Romania. Antonio Serna holds a Masters in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College, and a BFA from Parsons School of Art.

download current cv:
aserna_cv2024_extended.pdf

cv

b., San Antonio, Texas
Lives and works between Texas and New York

EDUCATION

MFA, Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn, NY.
BFA, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
Gerrit Rietveld Akademie, Amsterdam, Netherlands

SOLO EXHIBITION

Moving Forward Together, Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Documents of Resistance - Our Oppressions Are Connected, PS122 Studios (Online), New York, NY
Documents of Resistance - To Date, CANCELLED Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art at James Madison University, VA
Energy of Place – Lloyd X Latimer, Lewis Latimer House Museum, Flushing, NY
Documents of Resistance: Our Time, Loisaida Center Inc., New York, NY
Antonio Serna: The Same Sun, Tiger Strikes Astroid, Brooklyn, NY
Some Kind of Primitive, Bihl Haus Arts, San Antonio, TX
Some Kind of Primitive, Chashama, New York, NY
Couplings, Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY
Three Stories Deep, NYPL Mulberry Branch, New York, NY

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities, (Mar. 23–Aug. 6) DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
Watershed, SECAC (Southeastern College Art Conference), Decker Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, MD
Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities, (Sept. 6–Dec. 3) The University of New Mexico Art Museum, NM
Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities, Tufts University Art Galleries, MA
re:Generation, Freshkills Park (online), NY
The Art Workers Lab, PS122 Gallery, NY
Video Lounge Series 2: Delete Object History, Taipei Contenporary Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Reconstructing Practice, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
Artist Response, Aidekman Arts Center and SMFA at Tufts, Tufts University, Medford & Boston, MA
Past Live, 2016/17 SHIFT Residency Exhibition, EFA Project Space, New York, NY
Agitprop!, The Brooklyn Museum, NY (running inclusion 3rd wave)
A Project for a Revolution in New York, curated by Todd Ayoung, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca, NY
Just Cause : Bad Faith – Art Workers’ Activism and Organizing in NYC and Beyond, Art Handlers Alliance of New York at Interference Archive, Brooklyn, NY
Sporadic Democracy, The Luminary, St. Louis, MO
Respond, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY
#occupycommonground, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, NYC
HOT!, Bihl Haus Arts, San Antonio, TX
Justifiable Version of Events, ACUD Studio, Berlin, Germany
Currency as Space, HDLU Treasury and Mint, Zagreb, Croatia
Queens International 2013, Queens Museum, Queens, NY (catalog)
Warp & Woof, Rupert Ravens Nexxt, Paterson, NJ
Half•Life, Andrew Prayzner, Brooklyn, NY
Revolutum, Harlem School of the Arts, New York, NY
ExchangeCafe, MoMa, New York, NY (n.b.running inclusion)
MAD-LIB[rary] Vol.2, Independent Curators International, New York, NY
O Fim, Piratinanga, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Complimenta (I), The Manse, Ithaca, NY
Commonalities, Altes Finanzamt, Berlin, Germany
Defeat the Future, Contemporary Arts Center, Las Vegas, NV
Deck the Walls, Sardine Gallery & Goods, Brooklyn, NY
Sick, Leo Kogan Project Space, Amsterdam, NL
Read the Rules Before You Use the Pool, Index Festival, NY
The Natural Light, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, NY
Incongruent Sum, Mathematics Collective, New York, NY
Pretty Vacant, Mathematics Collective, New York, NY
Discrete Power, VizKult + Anarchist Book Fair, Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY
Voices from the Outside, Books Through Bars & Just Seeds, Not An Alternative/The Change You Want To See Gallery, New York, NY
Moonlight, Mai Tais, and Magic, The Wassaic Project, Allegra LaViola Gallery, New York, NY
VV2: Toxic Body, Vaudeville Park, Brooklyn, NY
An Exchange with Sol LeWitt, Cabinet, NY & MASS MoCA, MA
Bedlam, Bank Iran, New York, NY
Composition/Entropy, vizKult Transient Exhibition, Bucharest, Romania.
Brooklyn College MFA Thesis Exhibition, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Denatured, The Gershwin, New York, NY.
Soap Box Prints 2: Prints, Politics & Democracy, American Print Alliance at University Art Gallery, Saginaw Valley State University, MI
Higher Ground, curated by Astrid Honold, Metis NL, Amsterdam, NY.
Evolution of a Revolution, Encuentro 2009, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
The Wassaic Project 2009, Wassaic, NY
Soap Box Prints 2: Prints, Politics & Democracy, American Print Alliance at Wayne & Lynn Hamersly Library, Western Oregon University, Atlanta, GA
Will it Happen?, Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY.
Art Under the Stars, Anthony Quinn Foundation Scholarship Program Benefit Exhibition & Auction c/o Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY
After-Image, 315 West 39th St, New York, NY
Freedom of Expression, Encuentro 2008, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
OUT NOW!, e-flux Project Space, New York, NY, (n.b. running inclusion)
Soap Box Prints 2: Prints, Politics & Democracy, American Print Alliance at Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA
It's Not Easy, Exit Art, New York, NY
Works on Paper Benefit Exhibition, Cuchifritos, New York, NY
Working Artists, The New School, New York, NY
International Globus Dislocator, Passport/Roebling Hall, Brooklyn, NY
Centro+Media, Centro de Diseño, Cine y Television, Mexico City, Mexico
Triangles d'Art, A Les Palace de Grácia, Pl. del Sol, Barcelona, Spain
Longwood Studio Fellowship Exhibit, Longwood Arts Gallery, Bronx, NY
Subtec I, Gallery Taranto, New York, NY (catalog)
Subtec II, Deutches Haus, Columbia University, New York, NY (catalog)
About Time, Parsons Gallery, New York, NY
The Other America Film Festival, The Guadalupe Theater, The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, TX
Cinematique, Curated by Stom Sogo, Anthology Film Archives, New York, NY
Pivot, Curated by Prabda Yoon, Parsons Gallery, New York, NY

Community Workshops & Discussions

En El Frente: Archive Projects by Artists and Designers. Antonio Serna, Alexandria Conchela, and Joshua Duttweiler, Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Happy Hour + Strategy Sessions (Spring-Summer), NYC Museum Workers Organizing Committee, New York, NY
Fostering a Healthy Art World Economy, Take What You Can't Get (Panel) @ ABC No Rio, New York, NY
Lessons from Detroit’s Revolutionary Black Workers Movement, Museum Workers Manifesto Session #2, Art Workers Lab @ PS 122 Gallery, New York, NY
Museum Workers Manifesto, Co-Organized with Megan Elevado, PS 122 Gallery, New York, NY
Museum Workers Happy Hour, Co-Organized with Megan Elevado, New York, NY
OUR TIME: Decolonial & Third World Studies (Panel Discussion & Exhibition Tour), Loisaida Center Inc., New York, NY
Waste Time: Breakdown, Decay, and Regeneration at Freshkills Park: Panel Discussion with Audrey Snyder, Joe Riley, Antonio Serna, and Mariel Villeré, moderated by Dylan Gauthier, The 8th Floor, New York, NY
IX TAAS - IBARRA 2018, Theory in South American Archaeology (TAAS) conference
Our Time: Sustaining the Movement for Equity in the Arts, Open Engagement 2018, Queens, NY
Civic Practice: MFA Graduate Colloquium, SMFA at Tufts, Boston, MA
New Memories for Tomorrow: Artist talk and screening of TimeTraveller™ by Skawennati and The Same Sun/Calendar by Antonio Serna, Tiger Strikes Astroid, Brooklyn, NY
Cultural Road Map for Equity: Report on strategies from Dallas and New York, Common Field Convening, Los Angelas, CA
At the End of the Day, at Least We Have Each Other, Common Field Convening, Los Angele s, CA
The People’s Cultural Plan, Launch and Discussion, Artists Space, New York, NY
Solidarity Mixer for Equity in NYC’s Cultural Plan, CUE Art Foundation, NewYork, NY
Who Produces NYC's Culture?, Flux Factory, Long Island City, NY
Out of the Studio and into the Streets: The Artist as Organize, Eco Practicum, New York, NY
Strength in Numbers: Equity and Cross-Racial Solidarity in NYC's Cultural Plan, CUE Art Foundation, New York, NY
A Museum for the People: How Can Cultural Institutions Support Communities?, in conjuncton with Brooklyn Community Forum on Anti-Gentrification and Displacement at The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.
Art & … Being In Solidarity, Triangle Arts, Brooklyn, NY
Art & … Being in Solidarity, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
From Civil Rights to Artists Rights: Artists of Color Protest 60s & 70s, part of 'Just Cause : Bad Faith' exhibition at Interference Archive. December 17.
Documents of Resistance: Artists of Color Timelines, Summer Series at Interference Archive. May–July.
Art-Handler Symposium: Organzied Art Workers (panelist), MoMA PS1 PrintShop/ALLGOLD, Brooklyn, NY. March 28.
'Tough Love' Documents of Resistance III, Letters of Protest by Artists and Workers of Color, Respond/Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY
From Civil Rights to Artists Rights: Collective Timeline of Artists and Workers of Color, Triangle Arts/ThePublicSchool, Brooklyn, NY
Documents of Resistance II, Letters of Protest by Artists of Color,w/guest Kenneth Petribono, 'Horizontal Art and Action Free U NYC/Art in Odd Places, New York, NY
Documents of Resistance I, Letters of Protest by Artists of Color, "Subtlies of Resistance" Free U NYC at Kara Walker, Domino Factory, Brooklyn, NY
Alternative To What?, Arts & Labor, Alternative Economies Summer Sessiosn, NYC. July 6, July 20, August 10.
ART MADE COMMON II: Sharing at Home, at Work, and In The Neighborhood, Panel Moderator, Queens International 2013, Queens Museum, NY
Alternative Spaces Mexico & Greece, Panel Moderator, What Do We Do Now? Arts & Labor Alternatives Fair, Eyebeam, New York, NY
ART MADE COMMON I: Perspectives from Hong Kong & New York, Artist talk with Jeff Leung (Hong Kong Arts Centre) at Museum of Chinese in America, New York, NY
Building the Commons, Making World's 2nd Annual Commons Forum, Brooklyn Commons, Brooklyn, NY
Alternative Economies + Haben und Brauchen, Haben und Brauchen @ NGBK Berlin, DE
Art & The Commons, Autonomous University, BB7 Berlin, DE; Catskill Community Center, Catskil, NY; Making World Forum, Greenpoint, NY
United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, presentation and discussion with Jim Hubbard and contemproary artists/activists. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.
The Garden as a Commons, NYC Community Gardens Occupy The Land! Unconference, New York, NY
Making Worlds Forum on The Commons, Greenpoint, NY
Re-Inscribing the City: Unitary Urbanism Today, Anarchist Book Fair, Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY
Baudrillard Camp, Organized by Andrea Liu, Trade School, New York, NY.
Art and Teaching, Panel Moderator, Brookyln College, Brooklyn, NY.
Making Sense of It All, Visiting Artist Lecture Series, Fine Arts Department, St. John’s University, Queens, NY.
Infomera 2002, Artist talk at Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico

Awards, Grants, Residencies


Grantee, 2023 Individual Artists Project Grant Program, Department of Arts & Culture, City of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award, SECAC (Southeastern College Art Conference), Baltimore, MD
Grantee, Creative Engagement Grant, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC
Grantee, Creative Engagement Grant, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC
Diversity Fellowship, AAM Annual Meeting The American Alliance of Museums, New York, NY
SHIFT Residency, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
Focus Residency, Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY
Artists of Color Research Project, Field Grant, Common Field
The Luminary Residency, The Luminary, St. Louis, MO
Triangle Residency, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
OnTheCommons: Commons Solutions Lab, Blue Mountain Center, NY
Charles G. Shaw Memorial Award, Brooklyn College MFA Dept, Brookyln, NY
Skowhegan Nomination, Brooklyn College MFA Dept, Brookyln, NY
Teaching Fellowship, Brooklyn College Art MFA Program, NY
Travel Grant, Graduate Investment Program, Division of Graduate Studies, Brookyln College, NY
Research & Materials Grant, Graduate Investment Program, Division of Graduate Studies, Brookyln College, NY
Emerging Artist Award, The Journal of Artists’ Books at The Hybrid Book University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Travel Grant, Graduate Investment Program, Brookyln College, Brooklyn NY
Research and Materials Grant, Graduate Investment Program, Brookyln College, Brooklyn NY
Studio Fellowship, Bronx Council on the Arts, NY

TEACHING

Adjunct Faculty, Fine and Performaning Arts Department, Alamo Colleges, San Antonio, TX
Art Portfolio Preparation & Advising, Pre-College (Online), Shanghai, China
Curation and Display in Art & Design, Pre-College Course (Online), Beijing, China
Introduction to Digital Arts, Fine Arts Department, Brooklyn College CUNY, NY
Drawing I, TA Dawn Clements, Fine Ar ts Depar tment, Brooklyn College CUNY, NY
Design Research & Presentation, Design & Technology, Parsons, New York, NY
Visiting lecturer at Parsons School of Design, Department of Design & Management Summer Sessions, New York, NY

Alternative Education, COLLECTIVE LEARNING, Course Development

The Garden as a Commons (web archive), NYC Community Gardens Occupy The Land! Unconference, New York, NY. June 2 (1 presentation, 3 workshops, and closing event taking place over five community gardens in Williamsburg Brooklyn and East Village, New York.
Ritual and Nature: a walk and reading, with Art CodexBrian ZegeerDillon DeGive, A Line in Nature, NYC. September 11
Urban Foraging Group v3 (7 meetings/sessions) aka , NYC Public School. June 20 & July 3
Urban Foraging Group v2 (1 session), screening: The Gleaners & I by Agnes Varda. NYC Public School. August 26
Urban Foraging Group v1 (2 sessions) with Ava Chin and Baruch Yageel, NYC Public School. June 20 & July 3 A Line in Nature/
A Line in Nature (later merged with Urban Foraging v3 NYC/Public School & Occupy the Land Unconference, June 1-3, 2012)(See above)

Press & Publication

Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities, Duganne, Erina and Abigail Satinsky, (Eds.). CA : Inventory Press; MA : Tufts University Art Galleries
Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest by Laura Raichovich. NY : Verso Books
Making and Being: Embodiment, Collaboration, & Circulation in the Visual Arts, Woolard, Jahoda, BFAMFAPHD. New York: Pioneer Works Press
Antonio Serna, 280Ma: Marfa • World Trade Center • Jebel Irhoud, 2018,” Artforum.com, February 12
Art As Social Action: An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art, edited by Gregory Sholette, Chloe Bass, and Social Practice Queens, Allworth Press
Reflecting on Reconstructing Practice: Toward an Anti-racist Art & Design Field by Lauren Willaims. Pasadena, CA : Antiracist Classroom/ArtCenter, 2018
Art as Social Action. An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art Book Review,” we-make-money-not-art.com, May 30
Two Artists Envision the Future by Traveling into Their Pasts,” Benjamin Sutton. Hyperallergic, February 6
Looking Back 2017: Listening and Learning,” Margaret Lee. Frieze, December 5
Art Handlers, Long Overlooked, Push for Better Wages and Union Representation,” Daisy Alioto. Artsy, September 25
How to Address the Shortcomings of New York City’s Official Cultural Plan," The People's Cultural Plan. Hyperallergic, September 21
Empowering Latinx Arts Practitioners at the Latinx Artist Retreat (LXAR),” Lynnette Miranda. Chicago Artist Writers, June 7
Can Protest Art Survive And Thrive During A Trump Presidency,”Anjali Enjeti. Pacific Standard, May 27
Antinomies of Art Activism and Documentation: The Curatorial Approach of Agitprop at the Brooklyn Museum,” Izabel Galliera, Issue 4, Field Journal
In Brooklyn, a Forum Focuses the Fight Against Displacement,” Alexis Clements, Hyperallergic, August 1
Stop Being Nice And Other Activist Strategies At The Brooklyn Community Forum on Anti-Gentrification and Displacement,” Emily Colucci, ArtFCity, July 27
Activism Pays Off, as Brooklyn Museum Embraces Anti-Gentrification Forum,,” Ben Davis, ArtNet , July 7
Faced with Brooklyn Museum Inaction, Protesters Target Two Exhibitions,” Rebecca McCarthy, Hyperallergic, May 8, 2016
Brooklyn Museum Puts Artwork From Its Critics on Display,” Colin Moynihan, New York Times, April 8, 2016
Art Workers of New York, Unite!,” Tiernan Morgan, Hyperallergic, Dec 11, 2015
On Eve of Union Vote, Hundreds of Arts Professionals Sign Open Letter [...],” Claire Voon, Hyperallergic, Nov 3, 2015
Art and The Commons - Antonio Serna, Interview by Maria Byck, Edge Ryders (online)
Queens International 2013, exhibition catalog, Queens Museum, Queens, NY.
Outsider Art Heads Indoors,” Brian Chidester, The American Prospect, Nov 26, 2013
Could local currency be the future of money?” Jillian Steinhauer, The Brooklyn Quaterly, Reprinted in Salon.com Nov.10, 2013
What Do We Do Now?: Arts & Labor Alternative Economies Fair,” Mary Coyne, Temporary Art Review. Oct 24, 2013
How Are Artists Getting Paid?” Alexis Clements, Hyperallergic. July 22, 2013
OnTheCommons: Commons Solutions Lab, Nov 21, 2012
NYC, About Production,” Consonni, Nov 6, 2012
Gardening Art Grows into Activism In The Age of Occupy,” Martha Schwendener, Village Voice, Jun 13
“Emerging Artist & Awards,” Brad Freeman. The Journal of Artists’ Books. Fall 2009, p. 48
“Five Minutes with...” Around the Quad, V15, No.1. Fall 2009, p. 6
“Sorprende Con Arte Digital De América,” Ernesto Vargas. El Universal, Año 2 Nu.160, ¡Porfin! Aug 20-26, pg. 35
The Complete Guide to Japanese Electronic Mail, Asahi Press, (illus.)
Way Up in the Bronx, A Hardy Spirit Blooms,” Holland Cotter. New York Times, May 7, pg. E29, E33.
“Creativity - It’s A Bronx Thing,” Matthew Corey, Norwood News, Dec 31- Jan 13, pg. 14.
Subtec I & II, exhibition catalog, introduction by Payam Sharifi and Orianne Kets De Vries, New York, NY.

Affiliations & Links