The early 16th century novel Las Sergas de Esplandian, by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo, described a mythical California as a rugged island paradise, populated entirely by women, and ruled by the great Black queen Calafia with the help of her army of warriors and their man-eating griffins. This legendary version of California serves as a point of departure to examine the region and its peoples as a collective territory, criss-crossed and scarred by political, psychological, and geological borders. Featuring projects from contemporary artists on both sides of the border, the exhibition weaves urgent questions about feminism, indigenous rights, gentrification and displacement, misogyny, post-colonialism, and resistance movements into and through the current and historical political climate of the region. Calafia: Manifesting the Terrestrial Paradise is organized by curatorial team of the MexiCali Biennial: Ed Gomez, Luis G. Hernandez, and Daniela Lieja Quintanar. The MexiCali Biennial is a non-profit, contemporary visual arts organization that focuses on the area encompassing the California and Mexico border as a region of aesthetic production. Originally started as a project critiquing the proliferation of international and regional art biennials, it operates nomadically and may appear at any time and at any location. Its exhibitions appear on both sides of the California/Mexico border through partnerships with arts institutions to showcase both emerging and established artists working in all media. This fall, the MexiCali Biennial brings Calafia: Manifesting the Terrestrial Paradise to the Armory. Exhibiting Artists Juan Bastardo, Chelle Barbour, Mely Barragán, Miguel Buenrostro, Chris Christion, Cog-nate Collective, Abigail Raphael Collins, Yutsil Cruz, Nikki Darling & Dean Erdmann, David de Rozas, Melora Garcia, Invasorix, Maya Mackrandilal, Hillary Mushkin, Chinwe Okona, noé olivas, Jeniffer Pereda, Adee Roberson, Mónica Rodríguez, Sandy Rodriguez, Julio M. Romero, Enid Baxter Ryce, Timo Saarelma, Paulina Sánchez, Jessica Sevilla, Amanda Trager & Erik Moskowitz, Diane Williams, Kim Zumpfee Image: Chris Christion, The Unauthorized Histography of California Vol. 1 (2018); Single channel video, color, sound; 10 mins, 45 sec, Courtesy of the artist and the MexiCali Biennial. ---- Armory Center for the Arts is proud to present the Berman Board, a group project with Fiona Connor, Neil Doshi, Michala Paludan, and Gala Porras-Kim. The Berman Board formed in 2017 as a collaborative think-tank, made up of three artists and a designer, to consider the future of eleven objects gifted to Fiona Connor by Jane Berman. The objects were originally acquired by Berman's stepfather Edwin Janss Jr., who along with his wife Ann, Berman's mother, were avid contemporary art collectors in Los Angeles. These works were left to Berman upon the death of her mother in 2013. With the aim of getting to know the collection, the participating members have produced new works that engage with these objects, while taking into account how we come to understand and value works through the collectors and collections to which they belong, as well as through their reproductions. Centered around the question of what to do with Berman’s collection–which includes objects that originated from regions and cultures across Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North America–the project contemplates what it means to trace the hidden travels and worlds of objects and artifacts, and looks at the ways in which they hold or withhold information and history. This discursive endeavor incorporates two parts: a group exhibition of commissioned multi-media works including sculpture, photography, and exhibition furniture, alongside the gifted objects; and artist-led programming with invited participants, including reading groups, board meetings, observational drawings sessions, and more. The programming aims to interpret these objects throughout the run of the show, and to make space for the board, participants, and audience to discuss issues around restitution, display and documentation, the administration surrounding collections, and the production of artistic value. Berman Board was organized for the Armory by guest curator Suzy Halajian.