Cage Match Project, Round XXIV: Ritualware by Ariana Kimball

From The Museum of Human Achievement


Event Info
Date start 08.02.25
Date end 09.06.25
Start Time 6pm
Schedule
  • Opening Reception
    Saturday, August 02
    6–9pm
Format
Medium
Admission Free
Links · Resources
Resources

Cage Match Project Round  : "Ritualware" by Ariana Kimball
On view August 2, 2025 through September 6, 2025

This round is especially meaningful–it marks the first project produced throughout our new I/O Residency, launched earlier this year to support emerging artists with mentorship, studio space, and funding. Ariana Kimball was selected through an open call promoted specifically to universities and colleges in the Austin and nearby areas. "Ritualware" reflects CMP's expanded mission: to serve not just as a platform for exposure, but as a space for artistic development.

In "Ritualware," Kimball explores care, repetition, and the invisible labor of keeping things alive. Hydroponic plants, chia-covered pillows, beaded strings, and a carved mandala tree trunk come together to form a quiet, contemplative environment. These materials act as tools for grounding and orienting. A domestic cosmos that responds to the rhythms of body and sky.

Opening Reception

Saturday August 2nd, 2025 6pm-9pm 3600 Lyons Road, Austin, Texas 78702

Join us for the opening of Round 24: Ritualware, a new installation by Austin-based artist Ariana Kimball, presented by Cage Match Project.

Free and open to the public
Refreshments provided
Wheelchair accessible

Follow @cagematchproject on instagram for updates. We'd love to see you there and celebrate this new chapter with us!

About the Artist

Ariana Kimball is an Austin-based artist whose work centers care, ritual, and the emotional labor embedded in everyday gestures. Her sculptural language draws from the natural world and domestic life to challenge excess and prioritize presence.

Curated by

Manik Raj Nakra, Head Curator of Cage Match Project at the Museum of Human Achievement. Nakra's curatorial work spans art, music, and performance with an emphasis on collaboration and storytelling.

Aryel René Jackson, outgoing curator and interdisciplinary artist working across film, sculpture, and performance to explore memory, land, and speculative time.

Diar Enayatpour, Assistant Curator and Art History student at UT Austin, is also a Curatorial Research Associate at the Visual Arts Center.