ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Archives can be a link to the past while reflecting the present. They often take the form of objects, memories, or contemplations from histories.
Archives in Practice features eight artists whose work is influenced by archival research. Drawing from personal, familial, and public collections, cultural heritage, and various reference materials, their work communicates the diversity of what an archive can be and how artists can activate them to retell histories that might otherwise be lost, hidden, or erased. Collectively, these artists illustrate the interconnectedness of the past, the individual, and the presentârevealing the importance of connecting to one’s diaspora and community, building representation of histories, and conducting object research.
This exhibition also demonstrates the expansive quality of craft research. The artists’ work embodies themes of identity within historical contexts and through personal explorations. It engages with social issues and prompts important questions about the significance and impact of objects, photographs, and the intangible on everyday material practices.
The featured artists are Jacqueline Bishop, N.E. Brown, Ruth Hallows, Margaret Jacobs, HĂčng LĂȘ, Aaron McIntosh, and Ruth Tamura & Helen Lee.
Seven of these artists are alumni of the Center for Craft. Two of the artworks on displayâGisma̱xsa G̱a̱tgyedm Na Sigidmhanaa’na̱gm, Our Matriarchs Endow Our Strength by Ruth Hallows, and Sojourner Truth Ain’t I A Lady by Jacqueline Bishopâare the direct result of research funded by Center for Craft grants and fellowship programs.
ARTISTS
Jacqueline Bishop
N.E. Brown
Ruth Hallows
Margaret Jacobs (Akwesasne Mohawk)
HuÌng LeÌ
Aaron McIntosh
Ruth Tamura
Helen Lee
CURATED BY
Mellanee Goodman
Jacqueline Bishop is an accomplished writer, academic, and visual artist with exhibitions in Belgium, Morocco, Italy, Cape Verde, Niger, USA, and Jamaica. In addition to her role as Clinical Full Professor at New York University, Jacqueline Bishop was a 2020 Dora Maar/Brown Foundation Fellow in France; 2008-2009 Fulbright Fellow in Morocco; and 2009-2010 UNESCO/Fulbright Fellow in Paris. Bishop has received several awards, including the OCM Bocas Award for her book âThe Gymnast & Other Positionâ, The Canute A. Brodhurst Prize for short story writing, The Arthur Schomburg Award for Excellence in the Humanities from New York University, A James Michener Creative Writing Fellowship, as well as several awards from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission. Jacquelineâs recent ceramicâŻwork consists of brightly colored bone China plates used symbolically in Caribbean homes and explores how they hid the violent legacy of slavery and colonialism in the Atlantic world.
