The online exhibition Funny People is a graduation project curated by Amanda Poorvu

The exhibition opens online on May 12 at 12pm GMT and can be accessed at funnypeopleexhibition.com.​ 

Funny People pairs artworks, text, and external media in a conversation dissecting normative expectations around gender. With its centering element of humor, the artists question gender roles and hierarchy, challenge beauty standards, and argue for body autonomy, making serious assessments in pointing out the absurdities of reality. Thus, they themselves are funny people. Funny People examines the origins of the word “queer” as a derogatory term meaning “strange” or “funny” used against gender and sexuality non-conforming people and inquires how this association with being funny in turn becomes demonizing. It also dissects the pop culture trope that requires one to either be attractive or to make up for this lack by being amusing or having entertaining personalities. Lastly, it discusses the naked body or the nude as an expression of beauty and gender or sexual liberation in retaliation against increasing censorship online.

The artists and collaborators in this show are: Auður Lóa Guðnadóttir, Eva Lín Vilhjálmsdóttir, Eyja Orradóttir, Guðmundur Thoroddsen, Hildur Ása Henrýsdóttir, Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir, Liz Correll, Maria Sideleva, Noah Kantrowitz, Rakel Mcmahon, Regn Sólmundur, Yasmin Morgan & Ýrúrarí.

Funny People is curated by Amanda Poorvu, under the supervisor of Becky Forsythe. 

This is the first graduating class of the new MA program in Curatorial Practice at the Iceland University of the Arts taught by Hanna Styrmisdóttir.