Tapestry: Narrating a New Thread
Chineze Okpalaoka, Sydney Summey, Katie Davis, Blizzard Wilcher, Kirsta Niemie Benedetti, Dr. Mary Rodriguez
Urban Arts Space would like to welcome you to experience Tapestry: Narrating a New Thread, in which collaborating artists “honor the beauty and power of our [their] experiences through art and storytelling” and the display of “visual images of being a woman in the world.” Chineze Okpalaoka through Black Girl Miracle, Sydney Summey through A Timeless Love, Katie Davis and Blizzard Wilcher through Feral Mother/Domestic Instinct, and Kirsta Niemie Benedetti with collaborator Dr. Mary Rodriguez through The Whole Picture, explore the complexities and intersections of identity through authentic narratives as a medium, art form, act of solidarity, and vehicle for change.
The collective exhibit centers the overarching themes of space, the body, and womanhood (independently and wholistically) creating dialogue and tension in how they are understood. This collection of work reimagines art not as something to be seen only but positions it as a social investigation and interactive space for experiential learning. Viewers will engage and deconstruct how the built environment functions physically and domestically, while simultaneously considering it as a virtual space. How is womanhood situated and the physical body materialized in those spaces? How race is viewed and understood as the space forces the viewer to acknowledge its existence, unapologetically, and deconstruct its purpose. As the country and global communities deal with the corporeal politicization, expectations, and boundaries set on women, this exhibition serves as a space for the creation of moments to recognize, consider, listen, be heard and seen fully, and experience the beauty and struggles of women.
