SUMMER FRIDAY ARTIST TALK : SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 6 - 9 PM

GA

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LL

440 E. OLIVER STREETBALTIMORE, MD 21202

FOREWORD

GA

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LL

Gallery CA is devoted to showcasing local, regional, national and international artists

and serves as an agent for community engagement by offering regular programming

and creating sustainable partnerships with local arts institutions and community

organizations. The gallery is located on the first floor of the City Arts building which

houses diverse artists’ whose practice consistsof many disciplines including Visual Art,

Theatre, Dance, and Music. City Arts and Gallery CA encourage an understanding of the

role the Arts and Artists play in the community.

I am fortunate to work with, give feedback, and collaborate with many artists and curators

in the Arts community and beyond. For me, the most rewarding collaborations

are the ones where the artists are pushing themselves, experimenting, and transforming

a space into a conversation. These conversations eventually lead to further problem

solving, a sense of community, and hopefully more art-making! It has been my honor

to work with Stephen Towns, and his team Jermaine T. Bell, and Kirk Shannon Butts

on co | partiot.

Catherine Akins

Director of GALLERY CA

co|patriot is a collection of new work inspired by Stephen Town’s readings of

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”,Solomon Northrup’s “Twelve Years

a Slave”,and Harriet Ann Jacob’s “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”. The classic

works have to inform and broaden Towns’ view of the systemic oppression that

has affected black people in America. Each work of art examinesthe relationship

African-Americans have had with their country and history,both known and lost.

Owens, Michael “Success in the Shadows: Contemporary Black Artists Struggle for Acceptance”Black Art in America. 23 July 2014.

ORGANIZERS

Catherine Akins has been involved with Gallery CA since 2012 as

co-curator of “Uh-Oh: A Whoop Dee Doo Thing”. In 2013, she was

promoted to Gallery Manager and has engaged in projects such

as “The Edgeless School: Design for Learning” with the U.S. Green

Building Council- Maryland, “Pull/Drift: In the Slipstream”, Michael

Farley’s “Goth Brunch”, and “Blush: Paintings + Prints by Xinyi

Cheng, Jeffrey Dell + Curtis Miller”.

gallerist

KIRK SHANNON - BUTTS

JERMAINE T. BELL

CATHERINE AKINS

Jermaine T. Bell is a Graphic Designer who specializes in museum

design, print, and web design. He recently designed a multi-format

identity and logo system for the English as a Second Language

program at Morgan State. In the Fall of 2013 his logo design

for Marguerite: Model Daughter, an iteration of Henri Matisse’s

signature was used at the Baltimore Museum of Art for the fall exhibit.

Kirk Shannon-Butts is a Filmmaker and Screenwriter. His debut feature

film “Blueprint” premiered in London and went on to screen in over 75

film festivals. His films have screened at Cannes, Sundance, OutFest,

Pan African and on MTV. Shannon-Butts, was nominated for “Best First

Feature” at Frameline and “Blueprint” was nominated for “Best Film

from the African Diaspora” by FESPACO.Born in Baltimore, Maryland,

Shannon-Butts holds an BA in Arts Management & Marketing and an

MFA in Film & Television Production.

studio manager & communications director

graphic designer & communications

PANELISTS

ASANTEWA BOAKYEWA

Asantewa Boakyewa is Associate Curator at the

Reginald F. Lewis Maryland African American History

& Culture. Before joining the museum, she served

as Senior Administrator of the Center for Africana

Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She has

diversified experience developing and managing

curatorial projects and educational programs for

museums and other educational institutions, as

well as local government agencies in the Baltimore/

Washington area. Ms. Boakyewa recently curated

two contemporary art exhibitions Making It Work:

Emerging African American Women Artists and Lydia

Douglas: Cultural Reflections of the African Diaspora

and served as Curatorial Assistant for the exhibition

Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists.

Ms. Boakyewa holds a B.A. in History from Morgan

State University.

moderator

STEPHEN TOWNS

Originally from Charleston,South Carolina,Stephen Towns

is a mixed-media artist and muralist currently based out

of Baltimore,Maryland. Towns holds a BFA in Studio Art

from the University of South Carolina and is a Program

Coordinator in the Office of Community Engagement at

Maryland Institute School of Arts (MICA).

As “post-racial” America morphs slowly into cliché,Towns’

work is deeply rooted in the reality of race and its efforts on

society and more importantly the legacy of effect on

Americans. For his first solo show at the trending Gallery

CA in Baltimore, Maryland, Towns paints “co|patriot.”

“co|patriot” is the pathway to a much hyped post-racial

society. Through his new series of breathtaking portraits,

Towns boldly constructs the notion that before we,

Americans, can live harmoniously together, we must first

see each other , invest fully in one another ,socialize together

in order to co-exist happily together. “Before we can start

to melt together ,we must be co|patriots”.

painter

EDUCATION

2014 Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) ,

Baltimore, MD (Course Work)

2004 McMaster College,University

of South Carolina,Columbia,South Carolina,BFA Studio Art

HONORS & AWARDS

2013 Second Prize. Salvage:A Waste of Materials ,

A Wealth of Art

2003 First Prize. Moja Arts Festival Juried Art Exhibition

2003 Ed Yaghjian Undergraduate Studio Art Award

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

2014 co|patriot ,Gallery CA,Baltimore,MD (Solo Exhibition)

2014 For Whom It Stands,TOO, Star - Spangled Banner

Flag House and Museum,Baltimore,MD

2014 Tradition & Interpretation,

Platform Arts Center ,Baltimore,MD

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2005 Into My Looking Glass ,City Gallery

at the Dock Street Theatre,Charleston,SC

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2014 Baltimore 1,Gallery CA,Baltimore,MD

2014 10+1,Gallery 788,Baltimore,MD

2013 Collaboration,Station North Arts Cafe,Baltimore,MD

2013 Salvage:A Waste of Materials ,

A Wealth of Art ,Baltimore,MD

2012 MICA Juried Staff Exhibition,Maryland Institute

College of Art , Juried by James Rieck

2012 Mask-Ulinity ,Maryland Institute

College of Art ,Baltimore,MD

2011 Femme Fatale ,CCBC Catonsville ,MD

2003 Moja Arts Festival Juried Art Exhibition,Old Slave Mart

Museum,Charleston,SC. Juried by Tyrone Jeter

2003 Noble Fine Art Gallery ,Columbia,SC

2003 Piccolo Spoleto Juried Art Exhibition,Visitor’s

Center ,Charleston,SC. Juried by Angela Mack

2003 USC Student Art Exhibition,

McMaster Gallery ,Columbia,SC

2003 Unity in Sepia ,Wachovia Gallery ,Richland County

Library,Columbia,SC. Curated by Quincy Pugh

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2011 Fractured Myths-Altered Truths,

Gallery CA,Baltimore,MD

2011 Loss and Consequences, Case[werks] ,Baltimore,MD

LECTURES & PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

2014 Presentation,Jubilee Arts ,Baltimore,MD

2011 Presentation,Community College of

Baltimore County,Catonsville ,MD

MURAL COMMISSIONS

2010 Fort Meade Youth Program,Fort Meade,Maryland

2009 Fort Meade Middle School Program,

Fort Meade,Maryland

2008 Pepperhill Elementary School ,Charleston,South Carolina

2006 Fort Story Boys and Girls Club,Virginia Beach,Virginia

2005 Pepperhill Elementary School ,Charleston,South Carolina

2000 Carteret Street United Methodist Church,

Beaufort ,South Carolina

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS City of Charleston,Charleston,South Carolina

The Shepherd of Sandtown

2014

The Prophet of Pennsylvania Avenue

2014

Unauthorized

2014

For the first time I am really proud of my country

2014

co patriots

2014

A native of Chicago, Frazier completed a BFA at the School

of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MFA at the Maryland

Institute of College of Art. She has resided in Baltimore forthe

past twenty years. In addition to her art she has developed a

"wood graphics” process over 25 years ago that uses colored

inks on relief wood carvings. She also works with mixed media

(mosaic tiles, glass, beads and copper nails) in her work.

Frazier attributes artist Charles White as a strong inspiration

of her work. "His understanding of light, shadow, and depth

of emotion was powerful and showed me the importance of

mastering the ability to draw well all the time," says Frazier.

Inspired by African, Caribbean, Egyptian, and Japanese Art,

Frazier’s creative themes include both the female as goddess/

life/giver and the integral beauty of African people. Frazier’s

media is mainly illustration and some wood carving. Her work

speaks to the universal quest to understand who people are

beyond race, age, and gender.

A native of Chicago, Frazier completed a BFA at the School

of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MFA at the Maryland

Institute of College of Art. She has resided in Baltimore

for the past twenty years. In addition to her art she has

developed a "wood graphics” process over 25 years ago

that uses colored inks on relief wood carvings. She also

works with mixed media (mosaic tiles, glass, beads and

copper nails) in her work.

illustrator / sculptor

ESPI FRAZIER

EDUCATION

BFA: School of the Art Institute of Chicago

MFA: Maryland Institute College of Art

(Hoffberger School of Painting)

HONORS/AWARDS/RESIDENCIES

AWARDS:

Phillip Morris Fellowship

Mannequins Guild

GRANTS: Chicago Office of Fine Arts

Chicago Office of Cultural Affairs

Chicago Board of Education

School 33 Mural Grant

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

2009 Contemporary Craftsman, Folk Arts Gallery Syracuse NY.

2007 Medusa Muse Group Show, Silver Spring MD.

2006 Athena’s Daughter (Featuring Grace Hartigan) MAP.

Baltimore, MD.

2005 Modern Masters HGTV Broadcast.

2001 Choices and after thoughts and Reflections,

James H. Lewis MuseumBaltimore, MD.

1991 African American Art and Spirituality, Smithsonian

Anacostia Museum Washington, DC.

1991 The Return of the Watermelon (Redefining a Stereotype)

PrairieAvenue Gallery, Chicago, ILL.

1995 Superbia, WPA Washington Project for the Arts.

Washington DC.

COLLECTIONS:

HFC House Hold Finance collection, Baltimore, MD.

Fredrick Douglas - Isaac Meyers Maritime Museum

Baltimore, MD.

Rocklin, Settleman, Dobres Law Firm Baltimore, MD

PUBLIC ART:

Fish Out of Wat er, Inner Harbor Baltimore, MD.

Umbrella’s for Art, Arundel Mills Mall. Owings Mill, MD.

Black Cherry Puppet Theater (Mural) Baltimore, MD.

Baltimore Crabs Baltimore, MD. At Friends School of Baltimore.

Good News! Your Message Here, Public billboard, Chicago, ILL

Painted Body Series

2009

Josephine Baker Series: Josephine with Watemelon

2007

Curch Lady Hat Series: StrawHat

2014

Hackett has completed multiple residencies at Vermont Studio

Center where he was recipient of the Civil Society Institute

Fellowship. He has received numerous honors and awards,

including Best in Show Award at the 2014 Bethesda Painting

Awards Exhibition.

painter

Kyle Hackett , born 1989 in Still Pond, Maryland , lives and

works in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned his BFA in Fine Arts,

as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar from the University of

Delaware and his MFA in Painting from the Hoffberger

School of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art.

KYLE HACKETT

EDUCATION

2013 MFA in Painting, Hoffberger School of Painting,

Maryland Institute College of Art

Teaching Certificate in the College Teaching of Art

2011 BFA in Fine Art, McNair Scholar, University of Delaware

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2015 Solo Exhibition, Strathmore, Bethesda, MD

2015 Solo Exhibition, Hamilton Street Club

Exhibit A, Baltimore, MD

2014 Bethesda Painting Awards, Gallery B, Bethesda, MD

2014 Unsung, Downtown Cultural Arts Center, Baltimore, MD

2013 Select Fair, Torus Collective New York, Miami, FL

2013 Sharper Image Part II, Ethan Cohen New York at

artSTRAND, Provincetown, MA

2013 Sunset for the Arts, Bel Air, MD

2013 Academy 2013, Connersmith, Washington, DC

2013 Sharper Image, Ethan Cohen New York, New York, NY

2013MFA Thesis Exhibition, MICA Studio Center, Sheila

Richard Riggs Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2012 Hoffberger School of Painting Fall Exhibition, Sheila and

Richard Riggs Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2012 Mask-Ulinity Juried Exhibition,

MICA Brown Center, Baltimore, MD

2012 MICA First Year MFA Student Exhibition, Baltimore, MD

2011 Mysteries of the Young Black Male Identity,

MICA Place, Baltimore, MD

2011 Studio 33 Open House Exhibition, MICA, Baltimore, MD

2011 Hoffberger School of Painting Fall Exhibition,

MICA Fox Building, Baltimore, MD

2011 Veneration Portraits, Public Collection in

YWCA Garden, Wilmington, DE

2011 Final BFA Senior Exhibition,

University of Delaware, Newark, DE

2011 Juried Undergraduate Show, Wilmington, DE

2011 AP Studio Art Past and Present Show, Chestertown, MD

2011 Art in the Garden Show, University of

Delaware, Newark, DE

2010 Summer Scholars Undergraduate Research Show,

University of Delaware, Newark, DE

2010 Juried Undergraduate Art Show, Wilmington, DE

2009 Amnesty Juried Art Show,

University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Press Publications Collections

2014 Bethesda Painting Awards, The Washington Post

2014 Some Highlights Make a Strong

Showing...Gazette.Net Alumni Brochure

2013 Academy 2013 at Connersmith, Washington City Paper

2013 Black Contemporary Art Tumblr Blog

2013 LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting,

Alumni Profile/Interview

2013 MICA Juxtapositions Magazine/April-May

2013 MICA Juxtapositions Magazine/

January-March featured artist

2012 MICA Annual Report, Graduate Student Artist

Profile/2010 Advanced Placement Studio Art,

Guest Speaker, Kent County High School

HONORS/AWARDS/RESIDENCIES

2014 Best in Show Award, Bethesda Painting Awards

2014 Unsung Artist Award, Downtown Cultural Arts Center,

Baltimore, MD

2013 Vermont Studio Center, Civil Society Institute Fellowship

2013 Vermont Studio Center, Artist Grant

2013 Toby Devon Lewis Fellowship Finalist, MICA

2013 Alumni Student Leadership and Sidney

Lake Award Nominee, MICA

2011 Hoffberger Scholarship, MICA

2011 Roberta Polevoy Scholarship, MICA

2011 Best Exhibition in Show Award, Final BFA Show,

University of Delaware

2011 Office of Equality and Inclusion Distinction of

Academic Excellence, University of Delaware

2011 Honorable Mention, Juried Undergraduate

Art Show University of Delaware

2011 Honorable Mention, My Art Contest.com Portraits III

University of Delaware

2010 Calloway Fine Art Scholarship, University of Delaware

2010 National McNair Scholars Conference Excellence

in Scholarship and Research

2007 Kent County High School Art Show Senior Purchase

Award, Permanent Library Collection

Approbations Portrait

2013

CONTD...

2006 MD Distinguished Scholar Visual Arts and Academic

Award

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2014 Bethesda Painting Awards, The Washington Post

2014 Some Highlights Make a Strong Showing...Gazette.Net

2013 UD/Art Alumni Brochure

2013 Academy 2013 at Connersmith, Washington City Paper

2013 Black Contemporary Art Tumblr Blog

2013 LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting, Alumni Profile/

Interview

2013 MICA Juxtapositions Magazine/April-May

2013 MICA Juxtapositions Magazine/

January-March featured artist

2012 MICA Annual Report, Graduate Student Artist Profile

Interview: Thriving

2011 A Portrait of Identity II MayArtist Portfolio Magazine

2010 Special Collections, University of Delaware

2010 Deconstruction Magazine, University of Delaware

LEADERSHIP/SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

2013 Visiting Artist Talk, University of Delaware

2013 Courageous Conversations

(Issues of Social Justice, Privilege & Masculinity)

Discussion Panelist

2012 McNair Scholar Alumni Representative at

Captiol Hill, DE State Senate, Washington, DC

2012 MICA Annual Scholarship Reception

Graduate Speaker & Host

2012 McNair Scholar Alumni Discussion Panel,

University of Delaware

2011 Mysteries of the Young Black Male Identity Panel

Discussion, BMI Project, Baltimore, MD

2011 Upper Chesapeake Summer Center for Arts Guest Artist

and Speaker, Washington College

2011 SSSP Senior Reflections Speech Male Representative,

University of Delaware

2011 Artist: Melvin Edwards’s Presentation Assistant,

University of Delaware

2010 Advanced Placement Studio Art, Guest Speaker,

Kent County High School

Progress After Biddle

2013

Brad

2012

Steven

2012

GRACIE XAVIER

Born in St. Louis du Nord, Haiti, Gracie Xavier calls on her

Creole memoirs as a child, her southern upbringing in South

Florida to bring into life her artistic expression. Through the

passing of her beloved mother, her intimate relationship with

her beautiful sister, and her traumatic experience as a Child

Abuse Investigator, Gracie seeks to explore the impact of

severe poverty on the lives of women and children. With the

use of mixed media, Gracie captures women and children in

their different moments of strength, beauty, and despair.

As a graduate student at Maryland Institute College of Art

in Community Art, Ms. Xavier utilizes art as a tool to engage

community while building a safe space for individuals to share

their experiences and celebrate their lives.

Currently, Ms. Xavier works with youth organizations to

develop and complete a digital survival guide for young

African-American males in Baltimore City.

painter / photographer / community artist

EDUCATION

2014 MFA in Community Arts,

Maryland Institute College of Art

2009 Certificate of Graphic Design,

CUNY - College of Technology

2003 BFW in Social Work, Florida State University

2003 BS in Pyschology Florida State University

EXHIBITIONS

2013 MICA Graduate Studio Center Baltimore, MD

2012 MICA PLACE Baltimore, MD

2012 Haitian Heritage Festival, Nassau County, NY

2012 ‘We Remember’, New Jersey Arts Incubator, NJ

2012 ‘Art for Humanity’, Susan Ely Gallery, NY

2010 ‘Essence of a Woman’, Bread & Rose Gallery, NY

2009 ‘Memoirs of a Diaspora’, Brooklyn College, NY

2007 ‘Toussaint Louverture’, Brooklyn Borough Hall, NY

2007 ‘Calling All the Spirits’, Gallery 228 Brooklyn, NY

2007 Black History Month Exhibition, Brooklyn

Borough Hall, NY

2006 ‘Spirit Move’, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (Solo)

2006 ‘Caribbean Anthology’, Studio 60, NY

2006 Haitian Heritage Celebration, New York City Hall, NY

2006 Caribbean Heritage Month, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

2006 ‘Haiti Cherie’, Globe Institute, NY

2006 ‘Remembering Tiga’, Queens Museum, NY

2005 ‘18 Mai Festival’, Atlanta, GA

PROJECTS

2013 SPEAR : A Survival Guide for Young African-American

Men is a web-based resource kit designed to assist young

African-American males in Baltimore to navigate the

economic and social challenges associated with living in often

volatile communities.

2013 BLACK MEN IN FOCUS : The Black Men in Focus Art

Project is a community photo-shoot experience that seeks to

promote positive images of men of color by capturing their

images and stories.

2014 ISTWA DJAKOUT MWEN : The Story of My Bags is

a storytelling and Collage Workshop which utilizes found

objects to help participant share stories of their immigrant

experience to the United States from Haiti.

COMMUNITY ART PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Jan 2013 - Present, Praise College Readiness,

John Hopkins School of Education

June 2014 - Aug 2014, DMD Summer Art Institute,

Morgan State University

Dec 2013 - Jan 2014 Jakmel Espresyon, Haiti

Sep 2013 – May 2014, Living Classroom, Fresh Start

Sep 2012 – Jun 2014, Americorps, Muse 360 Arts

Jun 2008 –Sep 2008, Brooklyn Public Library,

Caribbean Literary & Cultural Center

AWARDS & GRANTS

2012 MICA Community Engagement Grant

2010 CUNY Emerging Scholars

Black Men In Focus Series : Pops

2014

Black Men In Focus Series: The Myth 1

2014

Black Men In Focus Series: The Myth 2

2014

Cut

2014

“before we can melt together we must be co | patriots”

“before we can melt together we must be co | patriots”

new works by

AUGUST 21, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 22, 2014