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BackChat: Welcome to Miami Arts: Artists on Churning II - Black Art and Food

Discussion Multi-Cultural Other Arts and Culture

What’s Happening?

Miami's Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) invites the public to attend Back-Chat. Back-Chat is a quarterly online series of socially relevant talks that showcase the experiences of diasporic cultural producers, scholars, and artists who have benefited from the programs and support of DVCAI since 1996.

Join us for an engaging evening on Thursday, April 24, 2025 from 7 PM to 8 PM (EST), for the next BackChat: Welcome to Miami Arts, hosted online on Zoom.

Using the DVCAI exhibition The Whole World is Churning: Then and Now, and Now and Beyond at Barry University Monsignor William Barry Library as a launching point for humanities dialog, Nadine Natalie Hall will moderate the discussion about the representations and integration of foodstuffs in contemporary diasporic artworks by artists Michael Elliott, Friday, Kurt Nahar, and Stephanie J. Woods.

You can register for the event for free on Eventbrite, with organizational donations encouraged. Alternatively please join on ZOOM ID 240 501 7214 or visit our website www.dvcai.org/backchat 

This session is part of DVCAI’s ‘Welcome to Miami Arts’ program, supported by the SouthArts initiative ArtsHere in which DVCAI facilitates local connections that amplify diasporic artists' voices, and foster cross-cultural dialogues in Miami.

Explore the vibrant intersection of Afro-Diasporic art and community engagement as our speakers share insights into their creative processes and experiences. This session offers a unique opportunity to delve into the transformative power of art within the Caribbean and Latin Diaspora.

Don't miss this chance to connect with fellow art enthusiasts and learn more about DVCAI's mission to support and uplift BIPOC artists. For more information on the ArtsHere program, visit the NEA website at [ArtsHere].

We look forward to welcoming you to this enriching conversation!

 

MODERATOR

Nadine Natalie Hall (she/ her/ hers)

Nadine Natalie Hall is a Jamaican conceptual artist who works in installation art, sculpture, and photography. Hall's multilayered, (auto) biographical artworks are imbued with symbols linked to the broader histories of the Black diasporic experience. Rooted in storytelling, Hall’s work explores themes of memory, intangible heirlooms, matrilineal legacies, survival, ritual, the rewriting of narratives concerning the enslaved, and the confrontation of historical inaccuracies regarding Black identity.

Hall earned an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, and holds a BFA in Textiles and Fiber Arts from the prestigious Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. She has done solo exhibitions at the National Library of Jamaica and the University of Miami Whitten Center for Learning. Her participation in group exhibitions includes cultural and educational institutions in Kingston, Jamaica, galleries in Miami, Florida, and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, California. Her works are acquired by private collectors in the United States.

Hall is an artist-in-residence alumna of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator and The Fountainhead Residency in Miami, Florida. She resides in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently serves on the Scholarship Committee of the University of Miami Black Alumni Society.

 

PANELISTS

Stephanie J. Woods (she/ her/ hers)

Stephanie J. Woods is a multimedia artist from Charlotte, NC, currently based in Albuquerque, NM, where she is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at UNM.

In 2021 Woods was announced the Gibbes Museum 1858 Prize winner of Contemporary Southern Art and attended a life-changing residency at Black Rock Senegal located in Dakar. Woods is the recipient of several other residencies and fellowships, including the Fine Arts Work Center fellowship, ACRE Residency, the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists Residency, and Penland School of Craft.

She has also exhibited her work at Brooklyn galleries "Smack Mellon" and "Tiger Strikes Asteroid" in New York. Her work is featured in the permanent collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, in Richmond, VA, and she has been featured in BOMB Magazine, Art Papers, Burnaway, and the Boston Art Review.

 

Chris “Friday” Friday (she/ her/ hers)

Chris Friday is a multidisciplinary artist based in Miami. Her work serves as both a contemplative reflection of and counter-narrative to the pervasive under/misrepresentations of Blackness in mainstream media and popular culture. Friday’s portfolio features large-scale works on paper, murals, video, ceramics, projections, photography, comic illustrations, and social practice/activism through curating. Friday’s work has been included in exhibitions locally, nationally, and internationally, including recent solo exhibitions such as “Good Times” curated by Laura Novoa and presented at Oolite Arts (2023), “One More River” presented at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and her work as part of “The Cartography Project” presented by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (2022).

Friday has received numerous awards, fellowships, and grants, including being a South Arts Southern Prize and State fellowship recipient for the State of Florida (2023), receiving a Knight Foundation “Knights Champion” support grant (2022), and residencies with MassMoCA (2023), Anderson Ranch Arts Center (2022), and the Visual Arts Residency at Chautauqua Institute (2019).

 

 

Kurt Nahar (he/ him/ his)

Kurt Nahar, from Paramaribo, Suriname began his art education at the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in Suriname and continued his studies at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and the Performing Arts in Jamaica. Nahar is a visual artist who expresses his thoughts and emotions on various subjects related to the questionable social and political circumstances in Suriname and in other countries worldwide. He believes that artists have a responsibility to expose their viewers to social realities. He does so in a bold and often confrontational manner, using collage and painting techniques, multiple objects, and striking wordplay, often in his native Dutch language. He strives to increase awareness and stimulate discussion about the sensitive subjects of political injustice, social inequality, and the widespread abuse of power. His technique is inspired by the methods of his predecessors from the era of Dadaism. Nahar is affiliated with Readytex Art Gallery in Suriname and with DVCAI as part of its International Cultural Exchange and Artist-in-Residence programs.

 

Michael Elliott (he/ him/ his)

Michael Elliott, a Jamaican-born visual artist, attended the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Elliott’s artistic journey has taken him into a socio-political realm, focusing on painting as his medium but also photography at times. His experiences with photography influenced his photorealistic style of painting. Michael’s work uses symbolism to represent his themes, especially in the intimately tuned still-life pieces. Symbolic references in Michael’s works include the use of tea cups or tea bags in the popular Empire Windrush series and shredded paper to represent corruption and cover-ups. The genre of the work can sometimes cross over into surrealism. Throughout the development of Michael’s career, he has associated himself with various alliances in the art world, the most recent one being DVCAI (Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator) which has amplified his exposure on an International stage.

 

ABOUT DVCAI:

Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, Inc. is a virtual artist space, dedicated to promoting, nurturing, and cultivating the vision and diverse creativity of emerging artists from the Caribbean and Latin American Diaspora, through experimentation, exhibitions, artists-in-residence programs, international cultural exchanges, and dialog in contemporary art. www.dvcai.org. DVCAI partners with organizations to enhance residency experiences in the Caribbean region, nationally, and internationally. For more information, please visit www.dvcai.org and follow our activities at https://www.instagram.com/dvcai/ https://twitter.com/DiasporaVibe.

 

The Back-Chat program is inclusive of all community members and visitors seeking a connection to the arts. To request materials in an accessible format at least five days in advance, please contact Rosie Gordon-Wallace, DVCAI President |Curator at rosie@dvcai.org or by phone at (305) 542-4277.

Miami's Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) invites the public to attend Back-Chat. Back-Chat is a quarterly online series of socially relevant talks that showcase the experiences of diasporic cultural producers, scholars, and artists who have benefited from the programs and support of DVCAI since 1996.

Join us for an engaging evening on Thursday, April 24, 2025 from 7 PM to 8 PM (EST), for the next BackChat: Welcome to Miami Arts, hosted online on Zoom.

Using the DVCAI exhibition The Whole World is Churning: Then and Now, and Now and Beyond at Barry University Monsignor William Barry Library as a launching point for humanities dialog, Nadine Natalie Hall will moderate the discussion about the representations and integration of foodstuffs in contemporary diasporic artworks by artists Michael Elliott, Friday, Kurt Nahar, and Stephanie J. Woods.

You can register for the event for free on Eventbrite, with organizational donations encouraged. Alternatively please join on ZOOM ID 240 501 7214 or visit our website www.dvcai.org/backchat 

This session is part of DVCAI’s ‘Welcome to Miami Arts’ program, supported by the SouthArts initiative ArtsHere in which DVCAI facilitates local connections that amplify diasporic artists' voices, and foster cross-cultural dialogues in Miami.

Explore the vibrant intersection of Afro-Diasporic art and community engagement as our speakers share insights into their creative processes and experiences. This session offers a unique opportunity to delve into the transformative power of art within the Caribbean and Latin Diaspora.

Don't miss this chance to connect with fellow art enthusiasts and learn more about DVCAI's mission to support and uplift BIPOC artists. For more information on the ArtsHere program, visit the NEA website at [ArtsHere].

We look forward to welcoming you to this enriching conversation!

 

MODERATOR

Nadine Natalie Hall (she/ her/ hers)

Nadine Natalie Hall is a Jamaican conceptual artist who works in installation art, sculpture, and photography. Hall's multilayered, (auto) biographical artworks are imbued with symbols linked to the broader histories of the Black diasporic experience. Rooted in storytelling, Hall’s work explores themes of memory, intangible heirlooms, matrilineal legacies, survival, ritual, the rewriting of narratives concerning the enslaved, and the confrontation of historical inaccuracies regarding Black identity.

Hall earned an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, and holds a BFA in Textiles and Fiber Arts from the prestigious Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. She has done solo exhibitions at the National Library of Jamaica and the University of Miami Whitten Center for Learning. Her participation in group exhibitions includes cultural and educational institutions in Kingston, Jamaica, galleries in Miami, Florida, and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, California. Her works are acquired by private collectors in the United States.

Hall is an artist-in-residence alumna of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator and The Fountainhead Residency in Miami, Florida. She resides in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently serves on the Scholarship Committee of the University of Miami Black Alumni Society.

 

PANELISTS

Stephanie J. Woods (she/ her/ hers)

Stephanie J. Woods is a multimedia artist from Charlotte, NC, currently based in Albuquerque, NM, where she is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at UNM.

In 2021 Woods was announced the Gibbes Museum 1858 Prize winner of Contemporary Southern Art and attended a life-changing residency at Black Rock Senegal located in Dakar. Woods is the recipient of several other residencies and fellowships, including the Fine Arts Work Center fellowship, ACRE Residency, the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists Residency, and Penland School of Craft.

She has also exhibited her work at Brooklyn galleries "Smack Mellon" and "Tiger Strikes Asteroid" in New York. Her work is featured in the permanent collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, in Richmond, VA, and she has been featured in BOMB Magazine, Art Papers, Burnaway, and the Boston Art Review.

 

Chris “Friday” Friday (she/ her/ hers)

Chris Friday is a multidisciplinary artist based in Miami. Her work serves as both a contemplative reflection of and counter-narrative to the pervasive under/misrepresentations of Blackness in mainstream media and popular culture. Friday’s portfolio features large-scale works on paper, murals, video, ceramics, projections, photography, comic illustrations, and social practice/activism through curating. Friday’s work has been included in exhibitions locally, nationally, and internationally, including recent solo exhibitions such as “Good Times” curated by Laura Novoa and presented at Oolite Arts (2023), “One More River” presented at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and her work as part of “The Cartography Project” presented by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (2022).

Friday has received numerous awards, fellowships, and grants, including being a South Arts Southern Prize and State fellowship recipient for the State of Florida (2023), receiving a Knight Foundation “Knights Champion” support grant (2022), and residencies with MassMoCA (2023), Anderson Ranch Arts Center (2022), and the Visual Arts Residency at Chautauqua Institute (2019).

 

 

Kurt Nahar (he/ him/ his)

Kurt Nahar, from Paramaribo, Suriname began his art education at the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in Suriname and continued his studies at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and the Performing Arts in Jamaica. Nahar is a visual artist who expresses his thoughts and emotions on various subjects related to the questionable social and political circumstances in Suriname and in other countries worldwide. He believes that artists have a responsibility to expose their viewers to social realities. He does so in a bold and often confrontational manner, using collage and painting techniques, multiple objects, and striking wordplay, often in his native Dutch language. He strives to increase awareness and stimulate discussion about the sensitive subjects of political injustice, social inequality, and the widespread abuse of power. His technique is inspired by the methods of his predecessors from the era of Dadaism. Nahar is affiliated with Readytex Art Gallery in Suriname and with DVCAI as part of its International Cultural Exchange and Artist-in-Residence programs.

 

Michael Elliott (he/ him/ his)

Michael Elliott, a Jamaican-born visual artist, attended the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Elliott’s artistic journey has taken him into a socio-political realm, focusing on painting as his medium but also photography at times. His experiences with photography influenced his photorealistic style of painting. Michael’s work uses symbolism to represent his themes, especially in the intimately tuned still-life pieces. Symbolic references in Michael’s works include the use of tea cups or tea bags in the popular Empire Windrush series and shredded paper to represent corruption and cover-ups. The genre of the work can sometimes cross over into surrealism. Throughout the development of Michael’s career, he has associated himself with various alliances in the art world, the most recent one being DVCAI (Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator) which has amplified his exposure on an International stage.

 

ABOUT DVCAI:

Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, Inc. is a virtual artist space, dedicated to promoting, nurturing, and cultivating the vision and diverse creativity of emerging artists from the Caribbean and Latin American Diaspora, through experimentation, exhibitions, artists-in-residence programs, international cultural exchanges, and dialog in contemporary art. www.dvcai.org. DVCAI partners with organizations to enhance residency experiences in the Caribbean region, nationally, and internationally. For more information, please visit www.dvcai.org and follow our activities at https://www.instagram.com/dvcai/ https://twitter.com/DiasporaVibe.

 

The Back-Chat program is inclusive of all community members and visitors seeking a connection to the arts. To request materials in an accessible format at least five days in advance, please contact Rosie Gordon-Wallace, DVCAI President |Curator at rosie@dvcai.org or by phone at (305) 542-4277.

More about Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator
Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator commitment to artists of Caribbean and diverse cultures ensures they receive validation, visibility and professional opportunities. Our artists break boundaries of traditional forms and work outside of institutionalized systems, they often must create new systems and infrastructures to sustain their practice. We promote, nurture and exhibit the diverse talents of emerging artists from the Latin and Caribbean Diasporas through an artist-in-residence program, international exchanges, community arts events and a dynamic exhibition program collaborating with art spaces and inhabiting the virtual landscape. Learn more at dvcai.org.
When & Where
Apr 24, 2025, 7:00pm to 8:00pm Timezone: EDT
Free


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