DC Arts Center Presents Public Displays of Privacy Group Exhibition

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Opening Reception: Friday, September 9 from 7pm to 9pm

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Closing Reception and Artist Talk: Sunday, October 16 at 5 pm

Public Displays of Privacy is a visual exploration of the intimate moments which define and shape our existence. This group exhibition blurs the lines set in place to demarcate what is kept private and what is for public consumption, while exploring the complexities of identity, memory and subjectivity in relation to Black Womanhood.

DC Arts Center presents Public Displays of Privacy, an exhibition featuring four local women artists who explore the complexities of identity, memory and subjectivity in relation to Black Womanhood. Artists featured are Nakeya Brown, Adrienne Gaither, Danielle Smith and Khadijah Wilson.

With a particular focus on hair, the body acts as a site of agency for Nakeya Brown, as her photographs draw attention to the ways beauty standards can reflect politics, cultural memories and racial identities.  Khadijah Wilson’s installation physically binds her subjects together using deconstructed material and applies pressure to their communal existence, causing them to literally tug at their freedom. Their strained necks mimic the double burden of race and gender experienced by Black women, while their limited mobility hints at a loss of individual agency.

Using images of family members as her source of inspiration, Adrienne Gaither investigates the social constructs and constraints of familial ties by “merging traditional techniques of painting and digital manipulation.”  Danielle Smith’s soft brush strokes portray intimate moments of joy, pain and vulnerability as she distinguishes between reality and perception. This group exhibition blurs the lines set in place to demarcate what is kept private and what is for public consumption and examines how personal and collective experiences shape our existence.

DCAC’s Curatorial Initiative is their curatorial mentorship program, now in is tenth year. The program pairs an established curator with an apprentice to produce two exhibits; in the first the established curator selects the artists, writes the conceptual statements, and prepares a full color catalog with the assistance of the apprentice. The second exhibit reverses the roles and will be in September.

Gallery hours:

• Wednesdays through Sundays: 2pm to 7pm

All events are free and open to the public and are at DC Arts Center (DCAC), 2438 18th Street NW, Washington DC. For more information call 202-462-7833, email info@dcartscenter.org, or visit dcartscenter.org.