My work seeks to strike a balance between curation and art making and this summer I have the privilege of showing in my very first commercial gallery. H2O/20 Elemental Retribution, is a group exhibition featuring 11 Charlotte based and national artists at Alchemy C3 Labs. This new space is an operational artist studio, coworking lounge, fine dining restaurant and arts gallery in the South End neighborhood of Charlotte, NC. This group exhibition was originally inspired by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan; a crisis that began the same day as my birthday and originally scheduled for opening in April. However the unique occasion of being met with a pandemic shifted by focus for this project to integrate a wider scope of disasters born out of the natural world. As a social practice artist, I’m also interested in focusing on an emphasis on social justice as it applies to contemporary works that reflect the times and heighten awareness of social narratives that visually narrate the impact societal disparities have on human lives. The following paragraph is taken from my curatorial statement:
The original intention H20/20, Elemental Retribution was to spotlight one of many major social-political controversies of the modern-day American society; water. The world’s focus has since shifted towards another universal crisis; COVID-19. The objective of this show remains focused on the conflict between humans and catastrophic disasters born out of the natural world. The collective experience of sanitizing self and space, social distancing and economic hurdles are all humbling reminders of the scale of our vulnerabilities. Featuring the work of 11 Carolina, Chicago and California based artists who traditionally share visual narratives of a society that struggles with equitable existence; this collection marks a moment in history where artists have had to forge through the chaos of a new reality, to create work that reflects the pandemic era.
From a curatorial approach, the focus of how I “studio” is a conscious effort to tell the story of each exhibiting piece through weekly guided private tours with featured artists from the show. These weekly, socially distanced, masked small gatherings are not only helping me develop the chops for how to discuss art with a diverse audience but is also a grime reminder of just how much the access to public/private space has changed due the nature of this novel virus and the impact it is having at a state, local and federal level in addition to awkward adjustments towards new social norms. In addition to all the new forms of navigating these external factors affecting this industry, commercial galleries are a new territory for me. As a social practice artist, my support has traditionally come in the form of grants, fellowships or other foundation/institutional endeavors however working in commercial space, I’m discovering that my focus needs to adjust towards aesthetic valuation.I’m developing a better understanding of how to engage audiences in conversational settings surrounding not only featured work but the wider scope of mediums, disciplines and stories behind the work by scheduling formal meetings with other curators and gallerists to better inform my understanding of how to I attract potential buyers. I recognize that this focus veers slightly off the path of curatorial practice into art dealing; however I feel that the two are closely related and I’m interested in engaging both areas of practice.
