Imposter syndrome was telling me I was not accomplished enough to apply, but then I applied anyway and forgot all about my submission until today…
I just found out I was selected as the U.S. Virgin Islands Fellow for the 2023-24 National Leaders of Color Fellowship Program, representing the Mid Atlantic Arts (MAA) jurisdiction.
The National Leaders of Color Fellowship is a transformative leadership development experience curated by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) to establish multicultural leadership in the creative and cultural sector.
Selected fellows receive access to specialists in the field, strategic learning objectives determined to deepen thought on anti-racist and culturally-oriented leadership practices, and national-level network and cohort building.
Upon completion of the 8 month program, participants transition to alumni status and have opportunities to collaborate in their region as advisors, funding panelists, and/or other professional capacities.
Im still going through boxes unpacking and looking for my weaving tools. In the meantime, I’ve been foraging grasses and yucca leaves around Little Fountain, St. Croix USVI to make a woven grass skirt like these in this video as a sculptural form.
There is much to learn from indigenous cultures from around the globe…
Opening Reception: Thursday. November 9th , 6:00 – 8:00PM
The Pattern and Decoration movement was born to counter male-centric minimalistic trends.
Emerging in the 1970s, it foregrounded elaborate patterns interwoven with global influences and boldly challenged Eurocentric paradigms through its distinct voice, especially when interpreted through a feminist perspective. The Process and Delight: The New P&D; exhibit illustrates this movement’s enduring impact on contemporary art and pays homage to the tradition of the 1970s P&D movement.
The contemporary artists showcased, informed by this tradition, are more than mere revivalists. Their layered surfaces carve out immersive worlds that reflect our zeitgeist—spaces that celebrate complexity in form and content through an unabashedly maximalist ethos—artworks abundant with detail, pattern, and repetition. Highlighting the P&D continuity, one cannot miss the inclusion of Arlene Slavin and Dee Shapiro, two pivotal figures from the original movement.
Slavin and Shapiro enrich the exhibit with their signature use of luminous colors and intricate grids. Marcy Rosenblat and Oriane Stender also use bold colors and detailed motifs, specifically referencing textiles, evoking an engaging dialogue with what was traditionally perceived as women’s; Patricia Fabricant, David Ambrose, Charles Clary, and Kit Warren masterfully intertwine natural motifs with patterned details. Simultaneously, Sui Park and Jaynie Crimmins offer critiques on materialism, Park with her repurposed industrial objects, and Crimmins through her use of post-consumer remnants. The materiality in Caroline Wayne’s and Theda Sandiford’s works taps into deeply personal stories while resonating universally. Seren Morey, Amy Cheng, and Chris Arabadjis further diversify the collection, drawing intriguing lines between art and physics, abstraction, and representation.
Collectively, the voices in Process and Delight; vibrantly celebrate the fusion of artistry, craft, technique, and the intertwining of beauty with excess. – Etty Yaniv
