Bona Roba Equine Arts Program of Nashville is hosting artist and academic, Daniel Forbes, of Walla Walla, Washington, to facilitate experiential workshops on Embodying Possibility – a mix of art-making and interaction with horses – as a way of exploring beliefs about identity and the soulful and physical body.
Forbes’ sculptural and assemblage work uses mediums ranging from ceramic and steel, to textile and found objects, while his academic work mines the complicated territories of identity, gender, difference and what he calls the “extraordinary body.” Having exhibited in group and solo shows throughout the Northwest, Colorado, Alaska and New England, much of Forbes’ commercial metal sculpture reveals his attachment to, and reverence for, animals – especially horses – making his work a natural fit with equine assisted learning.
“The horse is significant in my life, my art, and my ability to experience my own body,” says Forbes who, at age 42, is in the midst of a gender transition process. “Like the body, the horse is both a real and symbolic vehicle, carrying us from one place to the next, physically, spiritually and psychologically.”
“My sculptures and assemblages emerge from integrating disparate parts – reconfiguring that which is fragmented into a unified and resurrected whole,” says Forbes, adjunct professor of art and director of the Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College.
“I find that our culture of homogenization – evident in big box retailers, chain restaurants and popular media – carries over into how we view our bodies. The qualities that mark us as individuals become cast in suspicion, putting us at war with ourselves,” asserts Forbes. “I want to reassert the value of difference in all its amazing and wondrous configurations.”
Forbes will co-lead a variety of workshops from March 18 - 21 at the Bona Roba Equine Arts facility on Sneed Road in Nashville, near Temple Hills Golf Club. Workshops are appropriate for adult and teen artists, animal lovers, helping professionals, LGBTQ community members, and anyone wanting to explore the idea of the authentic body. Those interested in attending can contact Bona Roba executive director Jennifer Jewell at 615-815-0545 or online at www.bonarobaequinetherapy.com.