Harlem based Calabar Gallery has selected Afro-Latina artist Vanezza Cruz for the second iteration of its signature Art Residency Program.   Cruz will spend six months at CoLAB Arts in New Brunswick, NJ and a month at Cannes Brulees Rum Factory in Grenada where she will work with art advisors with a specific focus on social justice.  

Cruz follows interdisciplinary artist Ghislaine Sabiti, who was the program’s inaugural resident.  Candidates are selected on how social justice is woven into their practice, in addition to the quality of their work and potential for growth.   “My visual artwork is deeply intertwined with my passion for social justice, says Cruz a mixed media artist. I seek to amplify the voices and experiences of marginalized peoples, particularly those of dark skinned Black and brown women; while, aiming to contribute to a broader dialogue around social justice and equity. Cruz currently works as an art’s education administrator.

The Residency is a competitive program designed by curator Atim Annette Oton of Calabar Gallery to provide artists space and consulting time with art experts, curators and critics while they produce new work. It focuses on the creation of art work on a specific topic, with a distinct pedagogy focused on exploring ideas about Caribbean, especially Grenadian, lives and community as it relates to politics of land, food, agriculture and wellness. 

“I see my work as an artist in tandem with my work as a teacher in a school system,” said this week's The Exhibit winner Claire Kambhu

The Exhibit got the art world talking… and the viewers are taking social media by storm, as Pigment follows the show into its fourth episode. If you’re not tuned in to this latest reality show brought to you by MTV and The Smithsonian Channel, then you’re definitely missing out on what many viewers are calling the “reality competition show of our time”…your time… and everyone’s time, for that matter. 

I mean, it’s MTV and The Smithsonian Channel… and you just don’t get generational barrier breakthroughs shows like this, so Pigment is front row, because of course we believe in putting art front and center for all generations to love. And of course, because we're fans of show hosts MTV’s Dometi Pongo and Director of the Hirshhorn Museum Melissa Chu… and their couture outfit changes on the show. 

This week’s winner was Queens, New York based painter and educator Clare Kambhu. Kambhu took the show by storm this week with her piece “Seating Arrangement”, a concept that expressed how she sees a lack of justice in education. 

Hit Read More to get inside scoop with Jennifer Warren pictured with Vee L. Harrison below.

Navy Pier, Chicago's number one tourist attraction, is hosting talented women artists from across the city now through April 15th. This weekend they hosted a live meet and greet curated by featured Black Live Artist Studio residents Martha Wade & Dana Todd Pope, pictured below left with artist Kudzai Mutasa.

From Philanthropy News Digest - Due Date March 31st

FRANK FRAZIER RETROSPECTIVE

World premiere of Proximity at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the second of two Chicago-set world premieres in its season: Proximity, a trio of new American operas that confront head-on some of the greatest challenges affecting modern society: the devastating impact of gun violence on cities and neighborhoods, yearning for connection in a world driven by technology, and the need to respect and protect our natural resources. In an innovative production by director Yuval Sharon that is searing in its intimacy, revolutionary in its structure, and groundbreaking in its technical wizardry, Proximity is on stage at the Lyric Opera House for five performances only, March 24 – April 8, 2023.

Pigment has curated a special selection of art in celebration of our second year partnership with Expo Chicago. Get a first look!!