I am a conceptual entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, California. I use familiar formats to tell new stories and share better ideas.

I’m currently working on American Ritual, a documentary exploring what television does for us and what it means to American culture. Earlier this year I completed “Implications and Distinctions: Format, Content, and Context in Contemporary Race Film,” a book that examines performances of blackness in mainstream cinema from 1990 – present.

I’ve lectured on the relationship between commercial culture and identity at Cabinet, Project Row Houses, the Houston Museum of African American Art, California Institute of the Arts, University of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and MoMA PS1, among other venues.

My artwork has been exhibited and screened extensively, including presentations at the New Museum, New York, NY; MCA Chicago, Chicago, IL; Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI; Gene Siskel FIlm Center, Chicago, IL; Capricious Space, Brooklyn, NY; Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY; and White Flag Projects, St. Louis, MO. I was also the co-founder and director of Golden Age, a project space focused on exhibitions, performances and printed matter.

Specialties: the color purple, modern comedy and strategic swearing.

I can be reached at +1 626 826 3036, martine.syms@gmail.com or @martinesyms.