Free Your Mind Project: Bringing Community Placemaking to Pennsylvania and Delaware

The “Free Your Mind” project is set to engage audiences in two dynamic locations this year: the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Pennsylvania and The Delaware Contemporary. This initiative will run from May 17 to September 20 at the Touchstone Center for Crafts and from June 7 to August 30 at The Delaware Contemporary. Here’s how these engagements will highlight the project’s commitment to placemaking through artist-guided community artwork.

Touchstone Center for Crafts: A Summer of Creativity and Conhttps://www.touchstonecrafts.org/events-exhibitions/free-your-mindnection

From May 17 to September 20, the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Pennsylvania will host the “Free Your Mind” project, transforming the center into a vibrant hub of artistic expression and community engagement. Here’s what participants can look forward to:

  • Interactive Exhibition: Throughout the summer, the Touchstone Center for Crafts visitors are invited to release a microaggression they have experienced on a ribbon. This dynamic display will encourage ongoing engagement and dialogue among community members and visitors alike.
  • Community Events: Special events, including two artist talks and open studios, and weekly community gatherings, will be held to celebrate the project’s progress. These events will foster social interaction and strengthen community bonds, making the Touchstone Center for Crafts a lively and inclusive space.

The Delaware Contemporary: A Season of Artistic Exploration

From June 7 to August 30, “Free Your Mind” will bring its transformative energy to The Delaware Contemporary. This engagement will offer unique opportunities for community involvement and artistic exploration:

  • Public Art Installation: The Delaware Contemporary will feature an immersive public art installation created through the project. In addition to providing an opportunity for visitors to release their microaggressions, an audio and video projection enhance the exhibition space.  
  • Engagement Programs: Participants are invited to explore their implicit biases and contribute to the project. This program emphasizes inclusivity, ensuring everyone has a voice in the artistic process. The project aims will bring together community members, artists, and visitors to reflect on the impact of microaggressions and celebrate the power of collective creativity.

Join Us in Transforming Spaces

The “Free Your Mind” project at the Touchstone Center for Crafts and The Delaware Contemporary offers an exciting opportunity to experience the power of placemaking through monumental art. By engaging with this project, community members can contribute to meaningful transformation that reflect their collective identity and aspirations.

I invite you to join this artistic journey, whether by participating in a talk or simply visiting to witness the transformative power of community-driven art. Together, we can create spaces that resonate with beauty, unity, and a deep sense of belonging.

Mark your calendars and be part of the “Free Your Mind” project as it brings communities together and transforms our collective consciousness.

May & Beyond Blog

OPENING THIS MONTH

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair with KATES-FERRI PROJECTS

Dates: May 1-4

Location: 1:54NY 601 W. 26th St. NY 10001 Booth #7

Free Your Mind @ Touchstone

Dates: May 17 – September 20

Location: Touchstone Center for Crafts; 1049 Sr2003, Farmington, PA 

Uncontained: Reimagining Basketry

Exhibition Dates: May 19, 2024 – September 2, 2024

Location: Hunterdon Art Museum, 7 Lower Center St, Clinton, NJ

ARTIST RESIDENCY

Touchstone Artist Residency

Dates: May 10-24

Location: Touchstone Center for Crafts; 1049 Sr2003, Farmington, PA 

ONGOING

Ponytails and Door Knocker Earring Installation

Dates: January 17-  July 17

Location: Time Equities Lobby 55 5th Avenue, New York NY

NEXT 

Free Your Mind @ 2024 Summer Discovery

Exhibition Dates: June 7 – August 30

Opening Reception: June 7, 5:00-9:00 pm

Location: Delaware Contemporary; 200 S Madison St, Wilmington, DE

American Tapestry Association’s Beyond: Tapestry Expanded

Exhibition Dates: August 1- December 15

Location: Peeler Art Center at DePauw University; 204 E. Seminary St., Greencastle IN  

Process and Delight: The New P&D

Curated by Patricia Fabricant and Jaynie Crimmins

Exhibition Dates: November. 9th – Dec. 2nd, 2023

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

October & Beyond

NEW THIS MONTH

quiet as it’s kept 

Exhibition Dates: October 6, November 10, 2023

Location: The Trolley Barn Gallery, 489 Main St. Poughkeepsie, NY

Four structure, Vintage hat, shoes and bag, 3 ply cotton rope, pears, rhinestones, wrapped rope, yarn, trim, beading on steel structure

World of Threads Festival

Exhibition Dates: October 10 – December 17, 2023

Opening Reception: October 14, 2023, 1:00-3:00pm

Location: Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre; 2302 Bridge Rd, Oakville, ON L6L 3L5, Canada

Blackity Black Blanket, ladders and emotional baggage cart installation

NEXT MONTH

Process and Delight: The New P & D

Exhibition Dates: November 9 – December 2

Location: Equity Gallery, 245 Broome St, New York, NY 10002

ONGOING

Venus & Serena @ Governors Island

Exhibition Dates: Through October 19 2023

Location: Art Crawl Harlem, 406B Colonels Row, Governors Island NYC

Despite the Spoils

Exhibition Dates: Through October 26, 2023.

Location: Robeson Campus Center Gallery, 350 Dr MLK Blvd 

Cross Cultural Perspectives

Exhibition Dates: Through October 30, 2023

Location: Newark Museum of Art; 49 Washington St, Newark, NJ

Triggered, Truth & Transformation @ Wa Na Wari

Exhibition Dates: Through  October 30, 2023

Location: Wa Na Wari, 911 24th Avenue, Seattle WA  

Excellence In Fibers

Exhibition Dates: Through January 7, 2024.

Location: San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textile; 520 S First St, San Jose, CA 

September & Beyond

Despite the Spoils

Exhibition Dates: September 13, 2023 -October 26, 2024.

Location: Paul Robeson Galleries, 54 Halsey Street, Newark NJ

Excellence In Fibers

Exhibition Dates: September 15, 2023 – January 7, 2024.

Location: San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textile; 520 S First St, San Jose, CA 

Cross Cultural Perspectives: Newark Arts Festival 2023

Exhibition Dates: September 27- October 29, 2023

Location: Newark Museum of Art, 49 Washington St, Newark, NJ

ONGOING

Theda Sandiford: Triggered, Truth & Transformation @ The Lab 

Exhibition Dates: July 1, 2023- September 17, 2023   

Location: The Lab at Krasl Art Center.  707 Lake Blvd, St Joseph, MI 

For Venus & Serena @ Governors Island

Exhibition Dates: May 5- October 2023

Location: Art Crawl Harlem, 406B Colonels Row, Governors Island, New York NY

Upcoming

quiet as it’s kept 

Exhibition Dates: October 6, November 10, 2023

Location: The Trolley Barn Gallery, 489 Main St. Poughkeepsie, NY

World of Threads Festival 2023

Exhibition Dates: October 10, 2023 – January ? 2024

Location:  Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre; 2302 Bridge Rd, Oakville, ON L6L 3L5, Canada

Fall in New York Artmobidia

Exhibition Dates: November 1-  30, 2023

Location: 38 Gansevoort Plaza, New York NY

Process and Delight: The New P & D

Exhibition Dates: November 9 – December 2

Location: Equity Gallery, 245 Broome St, New York, NY 10002

Uncontained: Reimagining Basketry

Exhibition Dates: May 19, 2024 – September 2, 2024

Location: Hunterdon Art Museum, 7 Lower Center St, Clinton, NJ

Art House Is OPEN!

The construction over at Art House’s new home base on Marin Blvd is finally complete. The first official show to show off the finished digs opens this week.

I’ll be showing Chutes & Ladders, which is most fitting, because Andrea McKenna donated the net I used for this piece when Art House was moving out of their last location…

I can’t wait to experience all the art and see all my Jersey City Art folks at the Opening reception. Other participating artists include Tim Daly, Loura van der Meule, Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern, Troy Jones, Mark Kurdziel and Candy Le Sueur.

Congratulations Art House, welcome home!

Exhibition Dates: July 8- July 30th

Opening Reception, Saturday July 8th 5 to 8pm.

Official Ribbon Cutting, Thursday, July 13th at 2pm

Open for Downtown Art Crawl, Thursday July 27th 6-9pm

Location: 345 Marin Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07302

June Exhibitions & Beyond

NEW THIS MONTH

Surface Design: Safekeeping

Exhibition Dates: June 2- July 23

Textile Talk Virtual Program – June 21, 2023

Location: 108 Contemporary; 108 E Reconciliation Way Tulsa OK

Free Your Mind@ MAFA 2023 Conference

Exhibition Dates: June 22- June 25, 2023

Location: Millersville University, Millersville, PA

ONGOING

Each One Teach One: Preserving the Legacy in Perpetuity 

Exhibition Dates: March 17 – August 27, 2023

Location: The Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road Morristown, NJ

Triggered, Truth & Transformation @ Wa Na Wari

Exhibition Dates: April 22, 2023- July 17, 2023

Location: Wa Na Wari, 911 24th Avenue, Seattle WA 

For Venus & Serena @ Governors Island

Exhibition Dates: May 5- October 2023

Location: Art Crawl Harlem, 406B Colonels Row, Governors Island, New York NY

Black Art in the Sun

Exhibition Dates: May 15- August 15

Location: Atrium Gallery; 10 Court Street, Morristown NJ

Afterlives – SDA’s Spring 2023 Selections Online Exhibition

Exhibition Dates: May 19-June 30

See it HERE

UPCOMING

Triggered, Truth & Transformation @ The Lab

Exhibition Dates: July 1, 2023- September 17, 2023   

Location: The Lab at Krasl Art Center.  707 Lake Blvd, St Joseph, MI

Excellence In Fibers

Exhibition Dates:August 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024.

Location: San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles; 520 S First St, San Jose, CA

For Venus & Serena Installation

This is for all the girls with beaded braids, that grew up cheering on the Williams sisters. Daring to see ourselves, reflected in Venus and Serena’s grace and unapologetic prowess both on the court and in the court of public opinion. The Williams sisters are black excellence, personified. And for this, I salute you

Venus & Serena @ Governors Island

Exhibition Dates: May 5- October 2023

Location: Art Crawl Harlem, 406B Colonels Row, Governors Island

Open studios, art talks and special programing, runs Friday thru Sunday 11:00am – 5:00pm. Governors Island is accessible by ferry. Visit www.govisland.org/ferry for schedules, tickets, and more information.

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