// Past Artspace in the Community
Peter Marin, El laberinto y el tiempo
Peter Marin's Work in Abstracto/Latino: Latin American with an Abstract Fusion
December 2021
Artspace Studio Artist Peter Marin (Studio 105) has work in Abstracto/Latino: Latin American with an Abstract Fusion at the City of Raleigh’s Block Gallery through January 21.
From the City of Raleigh on the show: “This exhibition, curated by Georges Le Chevallier, questions the preferred notion in the United States that Latinx Art is based on Magical Realism, Politics or Regionalism. This exhibition brings together Latinx artists who are working in different styles of abstraction. These artists are exploring diverse art movements such as North American Abstract Expressionism, French Cubism, Russian Constructivism, and Japanese Shibui, without ever losing their Latin American roots.”
Tayler Drattlo, Luxuriate
Tayler Drattlo's Work in Illuminate Raleigh
December 2021
Now through January 7, take a free, self-guided tour of light-based art throughout downtown Raleigh. Artspace Regional Emerging Artist in Residence Tayler Drattlo‘s (Studio 215) work Luxuriate is part of the walk and is at 600 Glenwood Avenue, Hampton Inn & Suites! This neon work is made of clear glass and coated glass filled with neon, argon, and argon and mercury. Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s Illuminate Art Walk is presented by Wake Tech. Check out the route and all the works here.
Jackie Sanders, How long can this last?, detail
Jackie Sanders Participating in Launch Raleigh Entrepreneur Program
November 2021
Artspace Studio Artist Jackie Sanders (Studio 220) is in the middle of the Launch Raleigh Entrepreneur Program. Twice a year, 20 small business owners are selected for the program. The program was created to support and develop entrepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities in Southeast Raleigh, by providing access to business loans, business development services, and networking opportunities.
Maria Frati, Outlays
Maria Frati Juried into People of Print
November 2021
Artspace Studio Artist Maria Frati (Studio 208) was juried into the competitive UK-based printmaking group People of Print. Members include experimental and traditional printmakers across the globe.
Danyelle Lakin, Betrothed, detail
Danyelle Lakin's Work Featured in AOI Illustration Awards Annual for 2021
November 2021
Artspace Studio Artist Danyelle Lakin‘s (Studio 102) work, Betrothed is featured in the Association of Illustrators’ AOI Illustration Awards Annual for 2021, which showcases work being made by illustrators all over the world. There were over 5280 entries this year from 82 countries, and Danyelle’s work was one of 200 selected for the shortlist. Betrothed was created with a scratchboard and stylus. About the work Danyelle states, “For me, the theme ‘Betrothed’ is firmly linked with the idea of commitment. Commitment looks like different things to different people, but perhaps commonalities can include values like trust, fidelity, and the willingness to make an effort. The image has a serious highly detailed approach, emphasizing the concept’s light-hearted punchline.”
Artspace Announces Amy Etheridge as New Director of Development
October 2021
Artspace President + CEO Carly Jones has named Amy Etheridge as Director of Development; Etheridge began her new role on October 11. Amy said, “I have long admired Artspace as a creative hub in downtown Raleigh and am excited about its vision for the future. It’s an honor to join such a strong team working to uplift and amplify the arts playing a positive role in the lives of children and adults across communities.”
Etheridge comes to Artspace from the Dix Park Conservancy where she served as Director of Development and led fund development strategies for annual and capital campaign giving. Etheridge has also served as the Executive Director at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art where she directed all operations, budgets and development for $.3M nonprofit visual arts school and gallery, including care and preservation of two National Historic Register buildings. With a passion for cultural connections, Etheridge looks forward to working with the Artspace team, board, artists, and donors to help uplift and amplify the vision of the arts enriching the lives of youth and adults across communities.
Sanjé James, Untitled 06, detail, photography
Sanjé James has First Solo Exhibition at Gallery Kayafas, Boston
October 2021
Sanjé James, part of Artspace’s Visitor Services + Administration Team, recently had her first solo exhibition, Familiar Interplay, at Gallery Kayafas in Boston. The photographs, video, and installation represent James’ bedroom and her classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Excerpt from Sanjé’s artist statement: “My childhood bedroom has turned into my stage where I perform my growing desire for the attention of others on social media. My friend’s portraits scattered throughout the room as my adored audience. Through mixed media, collage, and photography, my altered avatars flutter through the cloud for anyone to bear witness as I struggle to grow up into an adult in the unaccompanied space. Conversing with AI intelligence has become my new normal.”
Newspaper Kiosk Gets New Design by Jane Cheek
October 2021
Raleigh’s newspaper kiosks are getting a makeover! Artspace Studio Artist Jane Cheek (Studio 217) has created a design for a kiosk on Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, so check it out next time you’re downtown! In this collaborative project with the City of Raleigh Department of Transportation, the Office of Emergency Management and Special Events, and Raleigh Arts, local artists created original artwork to be displayed on vacant newspaper kiosks that are located along Fayetteville Street, from Morgan Street to Lenoir Street. Participating artists: Sampada Kodagali Agarwal, Sydney Baldwin, Jane Cheek, Mayanthi Jayawardena, Tim Lee, Suijin Li, Shamica Phillips, JP Jermaine Powell, and Wendy Spitzer.
Artspace Artists part of Being and Belonging exhibition at UNC Global
October 2021
Congratulations to Artspace Studio Artists Adriana Ameigh (Studio 216), Alexandre Emmanuel (Studio 219) and Peter Marin (Studio 105) whose work is a part of the Being and Belonging exhibition at UNC Global. The exhibition brings together 13 artists of Latin American heritage from across North Carolina whose work evokes questions of identity, environment and home.
Adriana shared of the opening event: “My fellow participating artists … shared a variety of stories such as what it’s like to be Latinx in North Carolina, what inspires their artwork, and even insights on their process. And even though we come from a diverse range of countries, a lot of our stories had common threads.”
Carly Jones, image courtesy of INDYweek. Art by Jane Cheek; Brooch and earrings, by Bongsang Cho and Rings and bracelet by Hsiang-Ting Yen. All artists are studio artists at Artspace.
INDYWeek // Carly Jones Starts a New Chapter at Artspace
September 2021
Recently Carly Jones, our new CEO, sat down with Kyesha Jennings of INDYweek, and shared her path to Artspace and her plans looking forward.
Participants working on batiks at an Artspace Connect + Create at Dix Park
Artspace partners with Dix Park
2021
Artspace is happy to be partnering with Dorothea Dix Park to offer free family friendly Connect + Create classes in their newly renovated chapel. Our Tuesday evening classes this fall are sold out, but a waitlist is available.
The Lemonade Stand Project
September 2021
Artspace Studio Artist Allison Coleman’s (Studio 107) Lemonade Stand Project is coming to the Pocket Gallery (222 N Bloodworth St, #102, Raleigh) on Saturday September 18.
The Lemonade Stand Project is a mobile art-making, story telling, recipe gathering receptacle in the guise of a traditional lemonade stand. Traveling throughout the city, Allison invites people to enjoy free lemonade, and in return, she hopes to encourage people to share their stories, favorite family recipes and make some art. The Lemonade Stand Project seeks to activate nontraditional spaces with art and community dialogue.
Stop by the Pocket Gallery this weekend to share your recipe and be a part of the Lemonade Stand Project!
Want to host the Lemonade Stand Project? Contact Allison directly.
Clarence Heyward, Birth of a Nation; featured in Visual Vanguard exhibition
Visual Vanguard at the Harvey B. Gantt Center
September 2021
Next time you’re in Charlotte – check out Visual Vanguard: An Exhibition of Contemporary Black Carolina Artists at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. Curated by guest curators David Wilson and Stephen Hayes, Jr., the show, “surveys the struggles, strengths, and celebrations of Black creativity in the Carolinas through visual art, performance, video, and poetry. By examining the ambiguity and origination within retakes and variations, each artist amplifies the ideals of racial pride, social power, identity, and the importance of heritage and culture.”
The exhibition is up through January 17, 2022 and features twenty-five artists working in a variety of media, many of whom have been involved with Artspace throughout the years, including: Marcus Kiser (Marcus’ exhibition, MMXIX: I’M GLAD YOU BELIEVED ME, opens at Artspace later this month); Clarence Heyward (current Artspace Regional Emerging Artist in Residence); Lakeshia Reid (Artspace Regional Emerging Artist in Residence, 2019); Antoine Williams (past Artspace exhibiting artist); Jermaine Powell (past Artspace Studio Artist); and André Leon Gray (Artspace Regional Emerging Artist in Residence, 2000). Learn more about all of the artists in this exhibition here.
Artspace Welcomes Carly P. Jones as its New President + CEO
August 2021
At a virtual press conference on Thursday, Aug. 5 at 10 am, Artspace announced its new leadership team, introducing Steven Martin as the new board chair and Carly Jones as the arts organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. Incoming Artspace Board Chair Steven Martin said: “We conducted a nationwide paid search to find the next Artspace CEO. We were presented with outstanding candidates from all over the country, and we found our best fit with Carly Jones, a Raleigh native with deep community connections and a shared love of the arts. We are thrilled she is joining Artspace.”
We Made a Happy Little Tree
August 2021
Jane Cheek, (Artspace Studio Artist 217) has created an installation at Trophy Pizza on Morgan Street, We Made a Happy Little Tree. Invited by Artsplosure to add kinetic elements to the original sculpture by Jennifer van Orton, Jane created the colorful leaves that move in the wind. The piece will be on display until October.
Ashlynn Browning talks with Let's Talk Durham
August 2021
Past Artspace studio artist, Ashlynn Browning was recently interviewed in Let’s Talk Durham magazine, an independent, interview-based online magazine that focuses on local community, and especially artists. Check it out to delve into Ashlynn’s creative process, her studio life, and thoughts on living in the Triangle.
“I often think about my work as being 50% autobiographical and 50% just about the adventurous act of painting itself. So much of what’s going on in my life at any given time makes its way into the work. I can see when I look back with some perspective, and the paintings always serve as a visual journal.”
Ashlynn is currently working towards a show in November at the newly renovated Pullen Arts Center in Raleigh.
Creative Director Annah Lee being interviewed for PBS North Carolina Weekend in Danyelle Lakin’s studio (then Studio 213). Photo courtesy of Hsiang-Ting Yen (Studio 201).
Artspace on PBS North Carolina Weekend
July 2021
Artspace was featured on PBS North Carolina Weekend, Thursday, July 22, where Artspace Creative Director Annah Lee and the show’s host Deborah Holt Noel chatted about and toured Artspace. The special focused on different creative making spaces across the state, including in addition to Artspace, Penland, the Yadkin Valley Fiber Center, Mary’s Gone Wild, and Bolick Pottery.
Get Born Song-Poems
July 2021
Get Born Song-Poems is a collaborative project by Olivia Gone and Skully Gustafson, both artists and musicians based in Hillsborough, NC (and both also teach with Artspace!). The project brings art to the streets of the Triangle Area every weekend by asking the public to give a word prompt for them to write a poem on. After the poem is written the duo offers an improvised song played on their guitar and Omnichord 84 synthesizer. The poem is sung and the participant gets to take the typewritten piece home with them. Their quirky gesture hopes to bring joy and happiness to the communities of the Triangle. Olivia (@caterpillarmother) and Skully (@skullygustafson) will announce where they’ll be performing next on their Instagram accounts!
Curated Craft Summertime Market
July 2021
// Saturday August 14, 2-6pm at Cultivate Coffee in Fuquay-Varina, NC
Curated Craft Market is an artisan pop up market that showcases the talent of artists, makers, and unique small businesses who create handmade goods and original artworks with a story (and was also founded by former Artspace Education Coordinator Taylor McGee). Join them in August for one of their Summertime Markets, where you can meet and shop the work of local artists, enjoy freshly roasted coffee and homemade ice cream, and hear live music from a local musician.
Artspace Studio Artist, Fernanda Batista (Studio 103) and local artist, Rebekah Evans will be at the August 14th market!
Venus Flytrap specialty plate, designed by Preston Montague
Preston Montague Creates Specialty License Plate
August 2021
Current Artspace artist member, Preston Montague created a specialty Venus Flytrap license plate that has been proposed in NC, in collaboration with North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation and Friends of Plant Conservation. The venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), featured on the plate, is native almost exclusively to North Carolina, and is considered a threatened species, largely due to habitat loss from development and poaching (which has been such a serious issue that it became a felony offense in 2014).
Right now The Home of the Venus Flytrap specialty plate is in a combined bill (House Bill 435) that was unanimously passed by the NC House of Representatives (116 to 0) and now languishes in the Rules and Operations Committee of the Senate. Please consider helping make this plate a reality by signing the petition and/or contacting your local senator.
Proceeds from plate purchases will support the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation and Friends of Plant Conservation to conserve native plants and promote restoration of healthy landscapes across NC.
Peter Marin, The Present Was Evident in its Contradictory Point of View
Peter Marin (Studio 105) featured at The Pocket Gallery
June 2021
Peter Marin will be the featured artist at The Pocket Gallery for the month of June 2021. Marin has been painting over 20 years, and exhibits both nationally and internationally in Mexico, Spain, California, New York and North Carolina. In addition to painting and educating, he is also a curator emphasizing contemporary painting and an arts community advocate who supports 501c3 organizations by volunteering, fundraising, and donating artwork.
Art Studio Insights Podcast
June 2021
Visual artists Jaclyn Sanders (Studio 220) and Adriana Ameigh (Studio 216) recently launched Art Studio Insights, a podcast that aims to demystify the creative process and exchange ideas with career-minded artists. Their lively episodes are informative and cover a variety of topics for creatives including mindset, business practices, technology, and skills that working artists need in order to succeed.
Both artists have studios at Artspace in Raleigh and bring to the podcast diverse voices: Adriana is a Puerto Rican artist with a background in finance and technology. Jackie is a Maryland artist with a background in fine art and marketing. Current episodes record the dialog between the two artists, but they will soon include panel discussions with other artists, art administrators and creative professionals.
Art Studio Insights is available for listening on Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and as videos on YouTube.
Familias Separadas at Artspace
June 2021
On June 4, 2021, artist Michelle Angela Ortiz unveiled Phase 3 of her Familias Separadas project, which focuses on the stories of families living in the US and how they have been impacted by detention and deportations.
On Artspace’s exterior, Ortiz installed three banners, 10 x 20 feet, of portraits that highlight the stories of undocumented community members that reside in or near Raleigh:
- Angelica Davila worked with her family in farms and then became a Mechanical Engineer for Duke Energy. In 2011, Angelica’s brother was detained when he went to pay a traffic ticket. He was held in detention at Cary Prison where he would be transferred to another detention center. Angelica shares her family’s fight to stop the possible deportation of her brother to Mexico. “We are the pillars of our family…” shares Angelica. She and her brother are both DACA recipients and spent the majority of their lives in the US.
- Carmen Rodríguez Rios is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. Carmen is a mom and activist in her Raleigh community. On October 29, 2015, Carmen made a civil disobedience against the then governor of NC, Pat McCrory, because he had just signed an anti-immigrant bill, HB 318. Carmen coordinates meals every Sunday to raise funds for undocumented families who are most in need. As a participant in the project, Carmen shared her story and firmly believes that “A movement would be useless if we don’t get involved.”
- Oscar Menendez Serrano is from El Salvador and immigrated to NC 14 years ago. He remembers being in chains on a bus to Atlanta and the trauma of being detained. Oscar believes in the importance of being prepared and having the support of the community when faced with the threat of deportation. He works in construction and performs as Gaga L’Draga, his drag persona. Oscar shares, “When I am in drag, I feel free.”
The project’s Creative Team led by Ortiz in NC includes Playwright Paul Flores and Artspace studio artist Peter Marin. MomsRising / MamasConPoder was the national connector to the project’s local community partners that include the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center in NC. Funding for the project is provided by the Art for Justice Fund.
Clarence Heyward, Portrait of William Paul Thomas
Clarence Heyward, Artist in Residence at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School
May 2021
Clarence Heyward joined Artspace in the beginning of 2021 as a Regional Emerging Artist in Residence; you can find him in Studio 215a. He is also currently an artist in residence at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. Clarence is collaborating with visual arts teacher Sherry di Filippo and students to create a large painting that will live at the school and speak to the experience of its current students. About 30 students are involved in talking with Clarence to learn about his history as an artist, his techniques and motivations, his process and work habits, and his personal human experience. They are collaborating to brainstorm and choose a theme; to have a conversation about the theme and what it means to them; to explore symbolism and related topics through visuals, writing and words; and to draw, sketch, and create the visual references that Clarence will use to create the final work
Sanjé James, Untitled, currently on view in Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA
Familiar Interplay, Sanjé James
May 2021
Sanjé James started out interning at Artspace in 2019 and we are so happy to have her back as a front desk associate in 2021. Sanjé (IG: @moosekatt) is a senior at Lesley University. Her senior thesis titled Familiar Interplay reflects on how Generation Z is negotiating friendships—shifting from adolescence into the adult world during a global pandemic and how she is constantly searching to connect with others online. She photographs her friends in her town, Wake Forest, North Carolina, usually in the woods, to contrast the physical world to the digital space that takes place in her childhood bedroom. Sanjé is seen solely through a screen and projection. This work is for people who feel COVID-19 has stunted their transition into adulthood and have found themselves seeking online connections. Her photo is on view at the Panopticon Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts.
Participant working on our faux stained glass project
Jane Cheek, Resident Artist at Total Life Centers
May 2021
Jane Cheek joined Artspace as a new studio artist (Studio 217) this month and is a teaching artist for our Summer Art Camps. Jane has been the resident artist at Total Life Centers, an adult day service center in Wake County for several months. “I began my residency at Total Life Centers with the goal of making art fun and accessible by focusing on color and the process of art making. Throughout the residency we worked on abstract projects using simple shapes and bright colors, and it was wonderful to see how the participants responded to the process. This was such a fulfilling experience for me and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the wonderful people at TLC.”