Lesley Estrada is a Chicana artist, born in Washington DC and raised between Mexico City, Mexico and the DC area. She is the owner of a small business, “Piper’s Pintadas”, an online art shop soon to include party and workshop bookings. Born into a family that was surrounded by art and living in an epicenter of such diverse cultures and artists in the DC area, she was exposed to art at an early age. Her mother operated one of the first Female Latina owned International PR firms, A.B.L. Associates, in the late 70’s in Washington, DC.
Genie is an expatriate artist born in Seoul, South Korea, and is a first-generation American. She attended the Corcoran School of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Genie holds a (BA) East Asian Studies from the University of Maryland and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Studio Art from American University in Washington, D.C. where she received the Ruth Meixner-Bird Scholarship, the Robyn Rafferty Mathias Research Grants, and the Stanley G. Wolpoff Award. She is an awardee of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) Artists & Scholars Project Grant FY25.
Kat seeks to enrich her local, national and world community. While she is a well rounded artist with traditional skills in drawing, painting, ceramics, and bronze casting, the quiet voice of the prehistoric art form of stone carving calls to her. Although few contemporary artists hear this still, small voice, Kat responds to the stone's call. This response has altered her artistic journey in an inspiring way.
Scott currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland and works closely with ArtFarm teaching young future artists. He'll be starting as an instructor at Maryland Hall in the fall of 2023 teaching encaustic classes and workshops.
ART INSTALLATION
Marie is a muralist using stones, metal, wood, and concrete to make unique large and small murals.
Mourning Discourse
Mourning Discourse
Defines the everyday blackness in America since the enslaved landed upon these shores. Although the media has been drawing attention to the senseless murders of unarmed black men and boys somewhere in this narrative the dehumanizing and patriarchal acts enforced upon black women can become seated in the back of our minds as a moment.
Breonna's murderers still haven't been held accountable. The murders of countless other black women killed by no knock warrants, or police shootings unresolved.
Neither have the countless rapes and stereotypical pressures placed upon our bodies forced us to create an added layer to our (black women) skin giving us no permission to be anything less than strong.
In this mourning it is my hope that through performative discourse layers of historical suppression are peeled back and the audience analyzes the silent gaze that watches the black female body negotiate such structural violence.
Mourning Discourse is a collaboration of performance, sound, and installation art. The performance/dance is choreographed by Kay Harris (a former Alvin Ailey dancer) and her daughter Nya Harris (Kennedy Center dancer). Both sound and installation are created by artist Nikki Brooks.
Defines the everyday blackness in America since the enslaved landed upon these shores. Although the media has been drawing attention to the senseless murders of unarmed black men and boys somewhere in this narrative the dehumanizing and patriarchal acts enforced upon black women can become seated in the back of our minds as a moment.
Breonna's murderers still haven't been held accountable. The murders of countless other black women killed by no knock warrants, or police shootings unresolved.
Neither have the countless rapes and stereotypical pressures placed upon our bodies forced us to create an added layer to our (black women) skin giving us no permission to be anything less than strong.
In this mourning it is my hope that through performative discourse layers of historical suppression are peeled back and the audience analyzes the silent gaze that watches the black female body negotiate such structural violence.
Mourning Discourse is a collaboration of performance, sound, and installation art. The performance/dance is choreographed by Kay Harris (a former Alvin Ailey dancer) and her daughter Nya Harris (Kennedy Center dancer). Both sound and installation are created by artist Nikki Brooks.
Medium: video
Year: 2021