The Nuovi Arrivi [New Arrivals] exhibition synthesizes research and artistic production conducted by Jeannie Simms over seven years in Calabria Italy, exploring the intersections of economic injustice, community, identity and ecology. On display in the Coulter Gallery are a cyanotype textile, as big as a tree that was exposed by sunlight along the coast of the Strait of Messina, a large batik, a short single-channel video, and a kinetic sculpture. The cyanotype was created in collaboration with poet Karamo Barrow, and Hawa Sima, both of whom emigrated separately to Italy from The Gambia. The textiles include phrases from Barrow that refer to open air travel with descriptions of the natural world and economic power structures. The short video Nuovi Arrivi incorporates fragments of flora, fauna and tales of migratory movement and exchange in Reggio Calabria, an area simmering with environmental, economic and cultural change. Artificial aliveness is a kinetic installation of rising and falling water inside plastic bottles gleaned from ocean shores and waste piles around the world.

This exhibition is related to Simms' forthcoming film, Vivo Qui, a series of moving image portraits of new residents, long-term residents and care workers in Reggio Calabria, Italy who reflect on their lives, communities and talk back to historic sites and monuments with wishes, statements and demands. Simms will work on the project during the Holt Visiting Artist Program.

2025 Holt Visiting Artist Exhibition
On View: September 23-December 5, 2025
Coulter Art Gallery, 355 Roth Way, Stanford
Open Monday-Friday, 12-5pm
Free & open to the public

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 2, 4-6pm

Jeannie Simms’ works are rooted in histories of photography and the moving image. Simms produces photographs, videos, and objects in sites with border politics or rapidly changing geopolitical and economic situations, conjuring desires and fantasies from real people in settings of labour and migration--expanding imposed concepts of nation, identity and pleasure. Through an interplay of intercultural collaboration, conversation, and staging, Simms works incorporate performances, interviews, and observational filming to create media works that defy categorization.

VISITOR INFORMATION: Coulter Art Gallery is located at 355 Roth Way (McMurtry Building) on Stanford campus. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 12-5pm, and will be closed the week of November 24-28. Visitor parking is available in designated areas and payment is managed through ParkMobile (free after 4pm, except by the Oval). Alternatively, take the Caltrain to Palo Alto Transit Center and hop on the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle. This exhibition is open to Stanford affiliates and the general public. Admission is free. 

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