I Can See Canaan Land - National Federation for Just Communities

2016
Artists of Color EXHIBIT:
“I
Can See Canaan Land”
Exhibition Program
January 22 - February 21
Opening Reception 6-8 PM
The Niagara Arts & Cultural Center
1201 Pine Avenue
Niagara Falls, NY 14301
Meet The Exhibition Director:
Ray Robertson
Born Reginald Ray Robertson in 1949 in
Birmingham, Alabama to mother
(Elizabeth), father (Nathaniel), sister
(Mareatha), who relocated to Niagara
Falls, New York in 1952. I attended local schools graduating from Niagara Falls
High School in 1967. I entered Buffalo
State College in the fall of 1967 later
transferring to University of Buffalo
where I took a B. A. in Philosophy.
In 1968, I met C. Magnus Harrell who had formed the Masten Community
workshop located on the east side of Buffalo, New York. Magnus saw potential in my incomplete drawings and sketches. This was the beginning of
my art career. I would characterize my training as an Apprenticeship.
There were several professional artists that either worked out of the “shop”
or frequented with art related issues. I was exceedingly fortunate to be involved in the multi- cultural meeting place of artists from Mexico, Puerto
Rico, South America, and Europe.
As a kid, I had a desire for collecting things, usually natural things such as
rocks, leaves, wood, etc. I would put these things together in unique ways.
I would “collage” them. I am more of a collage maker than anything else.
My collages have evolved from two dimensional wall pieces of wood, metal,
and stone to three dimensional floor pieces of the same material. The organic form has always fascinated me from childhood. As a boy I was
ashamed to say how much I liked the colors and shapes of flowers and
trees. When I obtained my first car, the world of driftwood opened up to
me. I became an avid collector. So, today I consider myself to be a multidimension painter, photographer, sculptor, and collagist. I am looking forward to the evolutionary bleeding and bleeding of all mediums I work in.
EVENT COORDINATORS
Executive Director
Kathie Kudela
Program Director
Rachel M. Olszewski
Chair of the Gallery Committee
Elizabeth Kocsis
Marketing & Development Director
Kelly Buckley
The Niagara Arts & Cultural Center
1201 Pine Avenue
Niagara Falls, NY
Phone: 716-282-7530
E-mail: [email protected]
Artists & Artworks in the Exhibition
Artists NAME
Piece Title
Price
Ernest Hobbs Jr.
Fat Tuesday
$900.00
Ernest Hobbs Jr.
Soul Sister
$900.00
Ernest Hobbs Jr.
The Conversation
$900.00
Phyllis I. Thompson
Empowered
$500.00
Phyllis I. Thompson
She Liked Patterned Cloth
#2
$500.00
Dejuan Hunt II
No Discrimination
George Pagano
Power
$50.00
George Pagano
Bob
$75.00
George Pagano
Tears of the Father
$30.00
Michelle Costa
Butterfly Sky (Story Scroll)
Jonathan Rogers
Portrait of Joey
NACC Collection:
NFS
Jonathan Rogers
Raven
NACC Collection:
NFS
Gary Wolfe
Ghost
NACC Collection:
$1,000.00
Donation by Ruth
Thomas
African Woven Floor Vase
NACC Collection:
NFS
$3,500.00
NFS
Meet The Curator & Judge:
Jessica Thorpe And Michelle AgOsto
Jessica Thorpe is the owner of Outside the Box, a marketing
and development company in Buffalo, NY. She is an alumnus
of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, the country's oldest
HBCU. In 1974 she became the school's first female poet
laureate and captured first prize in a poetry contest sponsored
and judged by Gwendolyn Brooks.
Jessica has more than 30 years of experience in journalism,
public relations and marketing and development communications. During this
time she has worked as a writer, editor, and administrator for the Educational
Testing Service, Virgin Islands Department of Health, Gannett Publications, University of the Virgin Islands and SUNY-University at Buffalo.
Her feature and fiction writing has appeared in Essence Magazine, The Philadelphia Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Caribbean Writer, The Virgin Islands
Daily News, Artvoice and The Buffalo News, among other publications.
Michele Agosto is the Supervisor of Curriculum in
Art Education for the Buffalo City School District.
Her life has been dedicated to improving and enhancing the lives of all children through appreciation
and participation in the arts.
Born to Puerto Rican parents and raised in Washington Heights in NYC, Michele enjoyed a very happy,
vibrant, and diverse upbringing. It was her family,
especially her mother, grandmother, and aunts, who
instilled in her a love for the arts, discovery, inquiry
and independence.
Michele has exhibited her photography and mixed media works throughout Buffalo, NY in such places as El Museo Art Gallery, Buffalo Arts Studio, , Daemen College Art Gallery, Betty’s, Impact Artists Gallery and elsewhere, and she has received several recognitions and awards for her work. A few additional accomplishments were: Woman of Distinction: National PTA Award (2010); National Arts
Program: Professionals in Art-First Place Blue Ribbon (2011), Mayoral Hispanic
Heritage Award in the Arts (2012), and the New York State Art Teacher Association Art Educator of the Year Award- Region One (2012).
Artists of Color: I Can See Canaan Land
Artworks By Ray Robertson
Price
Artists & Artworks in the Exhibition
Artists NAME
Artwork Title
Price
Betty Pitts Foster
Tribal Dance
$400.00
Betty Pitts Foster
Everybody Getting Down
$400.00
Timothy A. Maloney
Watch 'n the River Flow
$95.00
Youssou Lo
Liberty of Senegal
$500.00
$250.00
Youssou Lo
Mali Lady
$250.00
Geometric
$250.00
Youssou Lo
The Village
$750.00
Forest Flower
$500.00
Youssou Lo
Wedding Happy
$400.00
Luminous
$350.00
Michael Beam
Untitled (Pledge of Allegiance)
Thicket
$250.00
Cornelia Dohse-Peck
these men had slaves
$799.00
Father & Son
$200.00
Cheryl Gorski
Regrets
$50.00
Cheryl Gorski
Welcome to America Series I
$350.00
Sunday Worship
$200.00
Cheryl Gorski
Welcome to America Series II
$200.00
Funeral for a Friend
$200.00
Cheryl Gorski
Peggy
$300.00
Reanimate
$250.00
Cheryl Gorski
Papa
$200.00
Price
Cheryl Gorski
Father Time
$500.00
$1,000.00
Cheryl Gorski
Packer Series I
$500.00
Disaster Recovery: Haiti After the Quake
$750.00
Cheryl Gorski
Reeds
$225.00
Head Case
$565.00
Richmond Futch Jr.
Face to Face
$1,800.00
Richmond Futch Jr.
Crossing Over
$1,800.00
Richmond Futch Jr.
Prays to the Father
$1,800.00
Boys In The Park
$200.00
Baptism
$200.00
Ceremonial
$200.00
Aesthetic
Artworks By Jessica Thorpe
Fly Away Home
Psalm 91: See Me
Uncle Ezra's Church
The Road North
Yellow Brick Road Syndrome
$1,250.00
$750.00
$1,000.00
NFS
NFS
Meet The Judge:
Michelle Agusto
Michele Agosto is the Supervisor of Curriculum in Art Education for the Buffalo
City School District. Her life has been
dedicated to improving and enhancing
the lives of all children through appreciation and participation in the arts.
Born to Puerto Rican parents and raised
in Washington Heights in NYC, Michele
enjoyed a very happy, vibrant, and diverse upbringing. It was her family, especially her mother, grandmother, and
aunts, who instilled in her a love for the
arts, discovery, inquiry and independence.
Michele is an alumnus of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and
the Arts in New York City. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, followed by a Master of Science in Teaching in Art Education at Rochester Institute of Technology’s
School of Art and Design. She then received a Master of Education in Educational Administration, earning advanced certification in School District
Administration as a Specialist in Educational Administration at University
at Buffalo’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy.
Michele has exhibited her photography and mixed media works throughout
Buffalo, NY in such places as El Museo Art Gallery, Buffalo Arts Studio,
Karpeles Manuscript Library, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, Project
Gallery 308, Daemen College Art Gallery, Betty’s, ArtS pace, Impact Artists
Gallery and elsewhere, and she has received several recognitions and awards
for her work. A few additional accomplishments were: Woman of Distinction: National PTA Award (2010); National Arts Program: Professionals in
Art-First Place Blue Ribbon (2011), Mayoral Hispanic Heritage Award in
the Arts (2012), and the New York State Art Teacher Association Art Educator of the Year Award- Region One (2012).
The Celebration Continues!
“CALL & RESPONSE”
February 6, 2016
5-8 PM, Main Gallery
Featuring Poetry, spoken word, storytelling and
performance of “Butterfly Sky”
by Michele Costa of Theatre Figuren.
“FREEDOM CROSSING”
February 21, 2016
2-6 PM, Grand Theatre / Gallery
Featuring a Drummers & Dance Class & Performance by The African American Cultural Center,
poetry from Priscilla Hill & Jessica Thorpe, and a
Lecture on the Underground Railroad.
COMING SOON!