Angela Washko
Angela Washko (b.1986 USA) is an artist and facilitator devoted to mobilising communities and creating new forums for discussions of feminism where they do not exist. In 2012 she founded The Council on Gender Sensitivity and Behavioral Awareness in World of Warcraft as a performative intervention and attempt to understand the misogynistic and homophobic communal language formation inside the massively multiplayer role-playing game. Washko’s practice is research-based, employing data as a storytelling tool to create prototypes for actions by others. “Misusing” software, Washko attempts to intervene on public opinion regarding proper etiquette, appropriate lifestyle choices, and limited gender designations. She recently created an archive of digifeminist practices called Out of The Kitchen Archive as well as a radio show called A CUPS in collaboration with Ann Hirsch. Washko is currently working on a public access TV show and performance persona departing from data sets she’s extracted from Bravo TV’s Millionaire Matchmaker.
A recent recipient of The Franklin Furnace Archive Grant, a Danish International Visiting Artist Grant and the Terminal Award, Washko’s practice has been highlighted in Time Magazine, The Guardian (UK), ARTnews, VICE, Hyperallergic, Rhizome, the New York Times, The Creator’s Project, Digicult, ArtInfo, Bad At Sports and more. Her projects have been presented nationally and internationally at venues including Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (Helsinki, Finland), the Biennial of the Americas (Denver), MOD: Monitor Digital (Guadalajara, Mexico), Moving Image Art Fair (London and NYC), K11 Concepts (Shanghai, China), Interaccess (Toronto, Canada), the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Institute for Contemporary Art Boston and Momenta Art (NYC) to name a few.