ShowUp Presents Bait/Switch: Affect & Cause

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2024, Boston – ShowUp is pleased to announce its upcoming pop-up exhibition, Bait/Switch: Affect & Cause, a survey of artworks from the interdisciplinary call-and-response art publication Bait/Switch. Presenting a full mapping of the corpus of over 340 artworks Bait/Switch has published to date, the show showcases this interconnected body of works transcending time, space, and creative discipline. Bait/Switch: Affect & Cause will run from February 21st through March 2nd. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 21st from 5 to 8 pm. 

Bait/Switch is a non-profit, Boston-based, artist-run publication that connects artists of all stripes using classical creative stimulation techniques such as the French Surrealists’ Exquisite Corpse. Participating artists come from all over the world, and range in age, life experience, career stage, and creative medium. All of the pieces featured in Bait/Switch are original works created in response to a preceding creative iteration in an ongoing and unbroken chain of participation. The opportunity to present the works visually in space, rather than on subsequent pages, highlights surprising synchronicities and coincidences that play out as these artists communicate with each other across time, space and sensory experience.

During the limited run of this pop-up exhibition, ShowUp will host a live music event featuring contributing composers, as well as a virtual artist talk featuring several participating artists. Interactive components of the exhibition will also allow visitors the opportunity to contribute to the publication.

About Bait/Switch

Bait/Switch is an artist-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit publication dedicated to creative throughlines generated by the collaborative inspiration of new work. Artists in any discipline and at any point in their career are invited to engage with the call-and-response print publication to further their own practice and contribute to the ongoing and unbroken chain of work. Launched in 2018, the print publication Bait/Switch has printed almost a dozen issues and is now producing collectible limited editions of each. With over 340 original works of visual art, music, poetry/prose, food & drink, film, dance, fashion, and architecture, this thoughtfully produced publication offers the unique opportunity to discover new creative voices of all stripes. Read more about Bait/Switch at www.baitswitch.org.

About the Curator

Lu Valena (they/them) is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, writer, designer, consultant, healer, and the executive director of Bait/Switch. They hold a BA in Studio Art from Hampshire College and a Masters in Gastronomy from Boston University. Their work explores themes of expansion and the space in between, which manifests in their creative practice as sculpture, research into the intersection of food and art, and energy healing. They are the former owner and operator of Voltage Coffee & Art (2010-2015), currently work as the Events and Exhibitions Manager at ShowUp, and as an independent creative consultant. Valena has created artwork for permanent installation in corporate and non-profit settings, and their art is held within multiple private collections. Their artwork has been shown in galleries throughout the United States over the last 15 years. Their curatorial eye has been honed through 20 years of experience curating at a variety of locations including Voltage, Aviary Gallery, ShowUp and is ongoing at Bait/Switch. They currently live in Jamaica Plain with their husband, and two cats named after celebrity chefs.

About ShowUp 

ShowUp is a 501c3-designated art activism-focused exhibition, education, and community-building space, creating an innovative environment for underrepresented artists' voices and visions. It exhibits art activists and engages in its own art activism. ShowUp promotes its mission via its “Three Es": Exhibitions, Education, and Engagement.

Its mission is to

CONNECT artists to local communities and beyond 

AMPLIFY artists and their voices

PROVIDE artists tools for self-sufficiency

EMPOWER artists and curators to experiment, learn, and have meaningful exchanges 

Learn more on its website and Instagram.

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