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Fred Schmidt-Arenales

@tfredsa

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artist / filmmaker

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WASTE SCENES opens in two hours @icaphiladelphia @tfredsa The most wild install yet thanks to heroic install team. A homecoming for a film risen 🐦‍🔥from the trash of Philadelphia @rair_philly - apply to their residency! @bdufala will say YES AND! Curated by @hallierr @ceciliaggodino 🩵 by @tfredsa

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5 days ago

🛶✨ For HOLD FAST 2026, featured artists Chelsea Dab Hilke & Fred Schmidt-Arenales presented 'SOMETHING’S HAPPENING IN THE BATTERY (and there’s nothing you can do about it)', a performance and community gathering reflecting on the loss of the neighbourhood formerly known as The Battery.

Presented as part of Art Crawl 2026, the performance began at Harbourside Park and ended at O’Brien’s Park, inviting the community to remember, mourn, celebrate, and share space with others who love this beautiful, unique, historic neighbourhood.
@chellllsssss @tfredsa

The performance featured Sam Chaulk, Collin Glavac, Olivia-Graeme McNabb, and Melissa Williams, with dramaturgy by Sam Chaulk.

📸 Photo Credit: Daniel Griffin, Ritche Perez & Kailey Ikkusek-Rogers

This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.
@cdn.heritage

#holdfast2026 #holdfastfestival #easternedgegallery #artfestival #artistruncentre #yyt #exploreyyt #stjohns #localfestivalfund by @tfredsa

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12 days ago

TONIGHT from 6-9pm, join ACRE as we celebrate the opening of a solo exhibition of work by Fred Schmidt-Arenales, featuring his film “Committee of Six.”

“Committee of Six” is an enactment of archival meeting minutes held at the University of
Chicago. The meetings took place in 1955 between community leaders and University officials for the purpose of creating an “Urban Renewal Program" for the neighborhood of Hyde Park, situated in the south side of Chicago. Schmidt-Arenales’ film documents the process of a group of performers, academics, residents, and activists interpreting the archival documents, inviting comparison between the language of the past and the contemporary reality of gentrification and racist real estate practices in Chicago.

“Committee of Six” will be screened at the top of each hour during ACRE Projects’ open hours for the duration of the exhibition. The film includes English language captions and audio descriptions.
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Fred Schmidt-Arenales: “Committee of Six” will be on display at ACRE Projects from September 26 to October 26. Join us at the opening reception tonight or visit during gallery open hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12-4pm and by appointment.
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Image description in the alt text... An open door reveals several tables pushed together to create a large meeting table in a room lined with bookshelves. There are several place cards on the table indicating people’s seats. A woman in a blazer is seated at the head of the table looking at her hands as two other people, a gray-haired man with glasses in the process of sitting down and a person with their back to the camera setting down a folder, take their seats on the two sides of the table. A fourth individual is in the middle of an unseen task obscured by the door. by @tfredsa

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a year ago

Fred Schmidt-Arenales IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT opens October, 3rd 6-8PM @the_power_station annex. Details soon 🛰️ #fredschmidtarenales #picniccuratorialprojects
. by @tfredsa

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a year ago

In Maia Chao and Fred Schmidt-Arenales' two-channel "Waste Scenes," the artists transform a functioning recycling facility into a stage where bureaucratic structures unravel into absurdity. The work was filmed while the artists were at residency at @rair_philly (Recycled Artist in Residency) in Philadelphia.

Scripts sourced from corporate training manuals and discarded documents are reanimated through performance. Waste is not only material but also linguistic, procedural, and structural. Absurdity is not a disruption but the only remaining language of a system in decline. In this space, refuse becomes an opportunity for playful reinvention—a rehearsal for alternative futures made from the remnants of the present.

Now on view as part of “Remains to be seen,” the summer group emerging artist exhibition, guest curated by Pallavi Surana (@pallavisuranaa).

Maia Chao and Fred Schmidt-Arenales, Waste Scenes, 2024, 2-channel video installation (40:39 minutes.)

Installation image, "Remains to be seen," 2025. Curated by Pallavi Surana. Images courtesy of Smack Mellon. Photos by Etienne Frossard @etienne_fro taken in Smack Mellon by @tfredsa

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a year ago

Have you checked out the review of IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT by Lachlan Taylor in @glasstire ?

Taylor offers a thoughtful look at Fred Schmidt-Arenales’ three-channel video installation, exploring its take on infrastructure, power, and the plans for the Texas Coastal Barrier Project or “Ike Dike.” 🌊

🔗 Hit the link in BCWK’s bio to read the full review on Glasstire.

#Surgeforward #coastalbarrier #protectourwaters #Glasstire #visualarts by @tfredsa

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a year ago

This Friday! 🚮 ‘Waste Scenes: Maia Chao & Fred Schmidt-Arenales’, curated by Laurel V. McLaughlin is opening in the Mills Gallery! Join us for the opening reception on Jan. 17 from 6–9pm, featuring a two-channel video, wall drawings, a print series, a movie poster designed with Kristian Henson, and a sound-based performance event with Erik DeLuca and Mobius Artists Group members Jimena Bermejo and Sara June.

Opening on the same night in the Project Room is ‘absorption’ by BCA Studio Resident, chelsea silbereis, and next door from 5–8pm, the Artist Studios Building will be hosting an Open House! Learn more via links in bio.

🗑️ ‘Waste Scenes’ and ‘absorption’ are on view from Jan. 18 – Mar. 29

*The exhibition is organized by Laurel V. McLaughlin in dialogue with the artists at the Boston Center for the Arts. The film Waste Scenes (2024) was funded by the Recycled Artist in Residency (RAIR), the Velocity Fund, Illuminate the Arts, the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

#BCA #BosArts taken in Boston Center for the Arts by @tfredsa

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2 years ago

💥 New Exhibition Alert 💥 We’re kicking off the new year with ‘Waste Scenes: Maia Chao & Fred Schmidt-Arenales’, curated by Laurel V. McLaughlin! Join us for the opening reception on Jan. 17 from 6–9pm, featuring wall drawings, a print series, a movie poster designed with Kristian Henson, and a sound-based performance event with Erik DeLuca and Mobius Artists Group members Jimena Bermejo and Sara June.

Also opening on the same night in the Project Room is ‘absorption’ by BCA Studio Resident, Chelsea Silbereis @chelseasilbereis and next door from 5–8pm, the Artist Studios Building will be hosting an Open House. Learn more via links in bio.

🗑️ ‘Waste Scenes’ and ‘absorption’ will be on view from Jan. 18 – Mar. 29. We can’t wait to see you there in 2025!

*The exhibition is organized by Laurel V. McLaughlin in dialogue with the artists at the Boston Center for the Arts. The film Waste Scenes (2024) was funded by the Recycled Artist in Residency (RAIR), the Velocity Fund, Illuminate the Arts, the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

#BCA #BosArts taken in Boston Center for the Arts by @tfredsa

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2 years ago

The Visual Arts Center on UT campus is opening their exhibits for the Fall 2024 season - join in for the FREE opening reception on Fri, Sep 20 from 5-8p with an artist-led tour starting at 4p.

The Visual Arts Center is always free and open to the public every Tues - Sat from 12-5p.

Fall exhibits:

1. Fall 2024 artist-in-residence Violette Bule presents “Una Luz: Photography Under Confinement in Venezuela,” which explores how images spark conversations on creative agency and autonomy through photos, video, and archival materials.

2. Fred Schmidt–Arenales’s video installation, “IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT,” focuses on bureaucratic processes underpinning the development of storm surge infrastructure on the Texas Gulf Coast.

3. Retracing the Rubicon,” the VAC’s fall Center Space Project show, presents work by current UT students, faculty, and alumni and asks, “How can communities move on with grief and trauma together rather than moving away from it in isolation?” taken in Visual Arts Center by @tfredsa

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2 years ago

by @tfredsa

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2 years ago

‘IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT, an exhibit by Bayou City Waterkeeper’s Artist-in-Residence Fred Schmidt-Arenales, opens tomorrow, August 24, at 2521 Ships Mechanic Row, Galveston, TX 77550 at 6pm.
You can catch Fred Schmidt-Arenales’ work in two key locations: in Austin, just presented a stone’s throw from the Texas State Capitol, where state and local politicians are debating the Ike Dike’s feasibility and future & in Galveston, where the project is proposed.
See the exhibit in Galveston from August 24 - November 2, and in Austin from September 20 - December 7. For more details, visit the Galveston Artist Residency website linked in our bio.

#SurgeForward #StopthelkeDike
#JustClimateTransitions #ArtistinResidence #ClimateJustice #ProtectCoastalCommunities taken in Galveston, Texas by @tfredsa

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2 years ago

This is the last chance to see IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT by Fred Schmidt-Arenales! The show is only open for another week so come by on Wednesday through Saturday between 12-6pm. The artist will be at Storefront on the closing day, Saturday June 1 at 4pm to give walkthroughs. Don’t miss it!

For more info about the exhibition, see link in bio.

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Images:

1. Still from IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT, 2024 by Fred Schmidt-Arenales
2. Still from IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT, 2024 by Fred Schmidt-Arenales
3. Still from IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT, 2024 by Fred Schmidt-Arenales
4. Swamplands: Fred Schmidt-Arenales Newsprint (poster side). Design by Estudio Herrera
5. Swamplands: Fred Schmidt-Arenales Newsprint (newsprint side). Design by Estudio Herrera

@tfredsa #itisagoodproject taken in Storefront for Art and Architecture by @tfredsa

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2 years ago