The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) is pleased to present Black Shedding(s), curated by Cheyenne Wyzzard-Jones, from June 5 to July 10, 2024, at the Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos.
Black Shedding(s) features six (6) artists, who tell a collective story of Black, indigenous, and queer traditions through visual art, sound production, literary reflections, and educational resources. Throughout the exhibition, viewers will be inspired by the diverse quests for liberatory transformation.
This exhibition is part of the 2024 Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos’ season titled Against the Grain, which seeks to challenge hegemonic narratives and advocate for the restitution of overlooked stories to build up a more inclusive historical account. Black Shedding(s) highlights BCA’s unwavering commitment to the intersection of arts and social justice and to amplifying the voices of artists from under-resourced communities—artists of color, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Upon entering the space, viewers are met with Mikailah’s intricate beadwork, a contemporary expression of Nimîipuu Nation influence, rooted in her Afro-indigenous heritage. Mikailah’s Nimîipuu wall canvas uses seed beads and brass with a traditional color scheme and geometric pattern commonly found within the nation. This work inspires the viewer to question who they are and what they are rooted in. Complimenting Mikailah’s work, Land Effigy by Nikesha Breeze is a site-specific sculpture using soil, cotton, flowers, willow branches, and more, with the intention of serving as a guardian.
The exhibit’s narrative continues to unfold through tasha dougé‘s Justice, a sculpture that confronts the history of enslavement in the United States, and Gouled Ahmed‘s black and white self-portrait series, Our Earth Will Remember Us Again Someday, that reflects on the artist’s inability to describe their gender non-conforming identity in both Somali and Amharic. A central altar designed by Ehime Ora featuring glasses of water, pillows, sacred medicine, and a bench, invites the viewer to take a break in the center and reflect.
The final room, designed as a home, features Jaleeca Yancy‘s Pigment Series, celebrating ancestral influence through upcycled fabrics and indigo dye, and 108 Death Masks by Nikesha Breeze that honors forgotten voices of color. Breeze’s accompanying video, RE: TURN | RE: MEMBER, calls for reflection on systemic violence and communal healing.
Featured artwork: Salt Water Bodies, Caged Wind, and Ode to the Old Land, 2021-2022, Gouled Ahmed.
For more information about this exhibition and the Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, please visit here.
Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos
450 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
Tel.: 718-518-6728
E–mail: longwood@bronxarts.org
About Bronx Council On The Arts
Founded by visionary community leaders in 1962, the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) is dedicated to advancing cultural equity in Bronx. From creative placemaking and arts advocacy to the provision of services for artists and arts organizations, as well as programming for children and seniors, BCA was the first organization in Bronx to focus equally on supporting local artists, serving the community, and catalyzing relationships between the two.
Since its founding, BCA has focused on the work of underrepresented groups, especially artists of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. We provide direct services to over 1,000 artists and 250 community-based arts groups each year, and thanks to our granting programs, we are able to touch the lives of over thousands of audience members.
Location:
Bronx Council On The Arts
2700 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461
Tel.: 718-931-9500
E–mail: contact@bronxarts.org
