Light of the Guiding Star

Light of the Guiding Star explores the role of the magical and supernatural in experiences of migration and the search for home. Curated by Stass Shpanin, the exhibition features Layo Bright, Gulnur Mukazhanova, Natalia Mejía Murillo, Katya Muromtseva, Bony Ramirez, and Yao Qingmei, all artists who were born outside the countries in which they now live and work. Their practices consider what is carried across physical and cultural borders—including memory, ancestry, ritual, spirituality, cultural traditions, and personal histories—and how those inheritances transform in new environments. The exhibition unfolds through three principal themes: Magical Landscapes, Rituals, and Transformation of Bodies. Visitors move through imagined environments, ritual objects and actions, and representations of bodies changed by migration and displacement. The exhibition frames immigration as an uncertain expedition in which encounters with unfamiliar cultures can reshape understandings of identity, belonging, and collective memory. It also enters into dialogue with the 2024 Venice Biennale, Foreigners Everywhere, extending questions around foreignness, movement, and cultural identity into the context of New Jersey and its substantial immigrant population. Stedman Gallery, Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts, 314 Linden Street, Camden, NJ 08102. Runs through December 12, 2026.