It has been a few days since the opening of my show at Greenly Art space and I’ve purposely taken some down time to rest and take in the experiences I’ve been going through for the past few months. Back in my studio, my walls are bare and there has been minimal production but as the month draws near an end its time to get back to work. Now is as good a time as any to share my experiences of where I’m at in my artist residency at Greenly , how it went putting the show together with Greenly’s curation team, my experiences in the opening, and what I hope will happen next in my art practice.
Firstly, organizing a show is a lot of work, I’ve known this for some time but I think it’s easy to forget the amount of work that goes into the practices of curating. I’ve always had respect for curators and working closely with Greenly further reiterated my respect for the work and craft that goes into curating a show. The work and the logistics that went into preparing for the show really gave me a look into all the hats that Kimberly and David Hocking wear while setting something like this up. Personally, I was really happy with how the show looked, during the opening many visitors shared their enthusiasm for how the show was hung. This fact is a true testament to the expertise of the curators of this show. The whole art of logistics and process within curation made me further admire individuals with the capacity to this type of work within this field. I was proud and grateful to be a part of development of my show by assisting in putting work up, crunching numbers for proper measurements, and sharing my thoughts on the order of the show. I feel that these experiences are vital and that I can now incorporate them in my art practice and further assist me in developing into a well rounded artist.
After diligently working away with both Kimberly and David in the curation process, I’m very happy to say the show finally opened on October 19th. I’m very proud of the work that went into the show, proud of not only the work that I made for this show but the collective experience of working with Greenly Art Space to put the pieces together. It was definitely a celebration of all the stress, long nights, creative spurts, and creative blocks that occurred during the year to get the work ready for the exhibition, all this was definitely worth it. During the show it was interesting hearing peoples thoughts about my work and it was nice to express my ideas give people a glimpse into what I was thinking of while I created each piece.
It was also really nice to see my mom and siblings look at my work and see the people that came out to support me. It really struck me that some of my siblings really thought about some things from our childhood and even remembered some loved ones that are no longer here. I was thrilled to see a lot of friends, family, and colleagues that came out to support me and I’m really grateful to all of them. I really hope this is not the only time I get to do this but if it is I’m glad it was here.
Lastly, what I’m hoping is next in my path is to ride this momentum, expand my skills, and continue to make great work of importance. Right now it’s strange to be in a position where I feel I’m about to start creating with an empty slate. I’m a little unsure of how to continue; I can go on to work on ideas in relation to the pieces being shown or start on a completely new route. It’s a strange and exciting time for me, so I’m hoping I can capitalize on this. It is time to make stuff! As for the remainder of the show I will hold a few artist talks, one talk will be at an off site location to be determined and the last one will be during the closing reception of the show on January 11, 2020 at Greenly Art Space with details to follow. I’m looking forward to the artist talks and to continue sharing the ideas behind my work. Thank you all again for coming out to support me!!!
I want to invite you to respond to the supportive environment Greenly Art Space gives to its artists and guests by donating to the "Artists in Communities" grant matching funds campaign: https://squareup.com/store/greenlyartspace. This prestigious grant allows non-profit galleries such as Greenly Art Space, the ability to engage artists in a contemplative art-making process as they create a full body of work for a solo exhibition. A requirement of the grant is that we raise matching funds. As a participant of this process it’s important to support spaces that give artists such as myself a platform to have our voices heard. Please help us reach our goal of $9628 by donating today!
Any findings, opinions, or conclusions contained herein are not necessarily those of the California Arts Council.This activity is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.