Make Believe in the Mirror, Nekisha Durret, 2016. Courtesy of Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery..
Opening Reception: Friday, September 16 from 7pm to 9pm
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Participating Artists: Ani Bradberry, Hebron Chism, Jim Doran, Nekisha Durett, Rita Elsner, Heloisa Escudero, Emily Fransisco, Adam Griffiths, Key Han, Jeffery Paul Herrity, Tom Hill, Wayson R. Jones, Chandi Kelley, Kelly King, Aaron Mertes, Joseph Orzal, Patrick McDonough, and Alma Selimovich.
Programming Events:
- Opening Reception – Friday, September 16, 7:00-9:00pm
- Artist and Curator Talk – Saturday, October 15, 3:30 – 5:30pm
- A Night of Two Performances – Thrive: performed by Kelly King and Contradiction Dance & Select By The Translated Movement: Performed by Heloisa Escudero – Thursday, October 20, 6:30-8:30pm
Throughout time, there has always been a creative connection between artists and musicians, where inspiration and collaboration has flowed between the vocations seamlessly. When an artist leaves this world from one genre, the other inevitably shares the pain.
Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery is proud to present Life Soundtrack: Prince/Bowie & … Eighteen of the most influential artists in the Washington DC area have been invited to create a visual remembrance, inspired by the recent loss of some of our greatest musical icons and examine the elusive connection between a person and a brilliant stranger.
The outpouring of grief from the loss of two of the most influential pioneers in music, Prince and David Bowie still resonates, leaving a void that will never be filled. The innovation, courage and vulnerability that each musician demonstrated throughout their illustrious careers was ever-present.
Contributions to their respective genres of music was palpable, but what set these great icons apart was the ability to transcend musical categories to inspire a larger audience. They were inter-generational, cross-cultural and had the ability to blur gender norms.
Though Prince and Bowie dominated the headlines, the year of 2016 has taken so many other influential musicians as well, such as Merle Haggard, Maurice White, Denise Katrina Matthews (Vanity), Glen Frey and Phife Dawg of Tribe Called Quest, to name a few.
These artists will not only celebrate these musical pioneers who transcended their genres, but also explore the ideas of loss and investigate the intimate connection that is made between an artist and a musician who is most likely a stranger. This show will also examine contemporary art-making methods to acknowledge masters in other fields of creativity. This is not to be a simple portrait show of these icons or meditations in purple, but a farther-reaching exploration into personal inspiration.
The Joan Hisaoka Gallery is located at 1632 U Street NW. For more information visit www.smithcenter.org or contact Spencer at gallerydirector@smithcenter.org or 202.483.8600.
