The Brooklyn Museum, one of ArtsConnection’s valued Culture Connected Partners, is hosting a compelling exhibition featuring artists from across the ArtsConnection community. This diverse showcase brings together the creative voices of alumni, staff, and contributors, each exploring themes of identity, culture, and belonging through innovative artistry.
Assane Sy’s work contemplates the evolution of tradition, culture, and self through space and time, often incorporating local and international references. Photographed on 35mm film in Brooklyn, Sy’s Eid al-Fitr project draws inspiration from Malian photographer Seydou Keita (1923-2001). The works showcase the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. During Eid, Muslims come together in gratitude, forgiveness, and festivities after a month of self-reflection.
Madjeen Isaac’s hybridized landscapes center Black and immigrant experiences, particularly within the Caribbean diaspora and its relationship to liminal spaces and feelings of longing as forms of healing, resiliency, and wellness. Longing for a Sweet Getaway draws inspiration from the artist’s annual family camping trips to Upstate New York. This painting depicts figures at leisure and rest, surrounded by familiar images such as prewar buildings, a river, mountains, and the Creole pigs indigenous to Hispaniola that often appear in Isaac’s work. Together, these motifs represent economic and agricultural stability, abundance, and protection.
“Having my work featured at the Brooklyn Museum is thrilling! Brooklyn is my hometown and it deeply inspires my work as an artist.” – Madjeen I., ArtsConnection SAP Assistant Alumni
Framing Las Americas II is a multi-layered “collective portrait” that encapsulates the complexities of identity and transformation across the Americas. As part of The Map in My Skin (2022) series, this piece continues my longstanding exploration of the cinnamon hue, a symbolic color in my work since 1997. This inclusive tone emerges from blending every color in the palette, representing the creation of an “inclusive race” and the aesthetic evolution of Las Americas. The work reflects the intricate layers of cultural transplantation, appropriation, accumulation, and movement that inform this side of the Atlantic.
This layered and fluid identity entails collage, scanning, enlargement, inkjet printing, silkscreen printing, charcoal, and acrylic on canvas. These techniques symbolize the layered and multifaceted experiences that frame who we are in the Americas.
“I am honored to be featured in Brooklyn Museum exhibition, celebrating a stellar community of artists who live and have their studio in the borough”. – Scherezade G., ArtsConnection Artist Council Alumni
Blending weaving techniques with found objects, Wendy Cohen creates playful and often precarious-looking forms that embody physical comfort and anxiety. Gram’s Door re-creates the front door of Cohen’s grandmother’s apartment, complete with the fixtures from the original door. In the same way that Cohen’s crochet process becomes a record of her time and hand, these objects hold memories of her grandmother’s touch.
Visit the Brooklyn Museum to experience these powerful works firsthand and explore the rich artistry emerging from our community.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
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