Anthology

Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition 2022

September 22 - November 19, 2022

Ann Street Gallery is pleased to present our first Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, Anthology, opening this Thursday, September 22, 2022, featuring the work of Kammy Daydream, Myra Grice, Fernanda Mello, Neen Rivera, and Angelís Wong.

Anthology, a collective vision assembled together in the spirit of temporal togetherness—a term taken from theorist and artist Mieke Bal’s writing, Exhibition-ism, that proposes the act of exhibiting as the loci where art becomes contemporary in the company of visiors and an audience. The “being-together-in-time of an exhibition” serves as a place of confluence, where artists’ work come alive in the context of the gallery and in the context of each other’s co-existence and presence.

The work collaboratively presented for this inaugural Ann Street Gallery Emerging Artist Fellowship reflects our current moment, a signal of continued solidarity in the post-2020 aftermath where togetherness may still feel strange or taboo. Each artist’s identity—as BIPOC+ and Latinx—revalidates the local artist community, and breathes contemporaneity by mirroring the cultural production of the larger population of Newburgh, revealing sub-currents which flow through our city as a whole.

In this Anthology of work lies an exploration of pre-colonial consciousness, a drawing from deeper knowledge inside/outside of one’s self, an abstraction or representation of ones connection to one’s (urban/natural) environment, a navigation of race through clothing or color or form.

Exhibition Materials:
Exhibition Checklist 

The image gallery to the right contains a selection of artwork from the exhibition.

Learn more about our 2022 Fellows and the Fellowship Program here.

Kammy Daydream

Newburgh-born and raised, KAMMY DAYDREAM, brings his highly graphic, exuberant portraits showcasing a mastery of classic cartoon and pop art style. Peering through the prismatic facades, we come faced with a deeper sense of angst, a narrative of struggle and ability to overcome.

^{https://www.facebook.com/KammyDaydream/
@kammydaydream}

Myra Grice

My name is Myra, I am a Black and Indigenous woman who was born and raised here in Newburgh, NY. My art subsequently is the embodiment of my surroundings, the fullest reflection of the town’s culture passed down to me from my parents who also grew up here. My father did a lot of graffiti back in the 80’s and I was surrounded by the black artistry that is graffiti. The amount of photography and books of art I was surrounded by due to him has followed me, and helped me create my own path as an artist too. The things I’ve been told and shown, and grown up through will always be in my art, whether I like it or not. I use the influence of 80’s graffiti in my abstract paintings to reflect the tone for each period of time in my life. And documented many feels and hardships in each work, whether a simple doodle on page or quick paint sketch. But, I always use the material around me. I don’t always have the means or options for material so I’ve grown used to using recycled materials at hand. Nothing is useless and can always be used for me. I believe anything can be a canvas.

^{Speaking to her history immersed as a child in the 80s Graffiti scene, Myra Grice’s large raw canvases of abstracted forms strike in a restricted palette of Black, Red & White. Her scavenge/salvage mentality reflected in the grainy static emanating from an old VCR screen atop a stand of crates.}

Fernanda Mello

Olho d’ água (in brazilian portuguese meaning water sources that burst from
the soil) is a body of work that investigates Lenape migration, and coloniality of the Hudson River reflecting on questions such as: When did water stop being a blessing to be a resource? When did the Hudson River stop being called Mahicannituck (The river that runs both ways)? When did the River start showing its first signs of disease? After spending months foraging water chestnuts - an invasive species of seed pods from Asia that arrived in the Hudson river in the 19th century as a metaphor to place

Land Acknowledgement and Indigenous Sovereignty in the Newburgh historic area, Mello created these water creatures made with foraged objects that are called “Olho d’água” - they pass through the world with their seashell eyes, witnessing what has gone and what has remained in this land. They invite us to stare at what remains by reimagining what it means to be replaced. It also called for us to rethink regenerative ways of living and perceiving nature inspired by the 7th generation philosophy of Iroquois people.

^{Drawing from indigenous spiritual wisdom inspired from the Amazon of her native Brazil, Fernanda Mello weaves a poetic translation of the symbolic within the local, using found material tied to the Hudson River in her installations. Fluidly moving between sculpture and painting, she creates a pattern language of meditative and hypnotic forms that question our relationship to nature and place.}

^{https://www.thevalleytaos.com/fernanda-mello
@thevalleytaos}

Neen Rivera

The ceramic Trigonolito is an aupsized version of sculptural relics that were ritualistically blessed and buried with crops to promote a bountiful harvest. I am currently experimenting with a way to form reproductions of this sacred relic using soil/nutrients/seeds. This act references the traditional ritual and enhances them with modern farming technology to promote plant growth. I plan to work with local nature organizations in Newburgh such as the Urban Food Farm to collaborate on what these seeded Trigonolito should be made of to best serve this environment and where to plant them.

^{Boriquan artist Neen Rivera uses their work as a platform to navigate identity and bring awareness of social injustice. Their practice explores different mediums as expression of the myriad facets of their life—from glazed recipe bowls to full scale wire-sculptures, each work takes its own shape, its own symbology.}

^{https://neen-sculpture.square.site/
@neensculpture}

Angelís Wong

My intertwined fashion series is full of handmade garments inspired by my Puerto Rican and Chinese backgrounds. The garments and custom fabrics were created to show the narrative of growing up as a mixed-race woman. I took inspiration from traditional Chinese and Puerto Rican clothing and some styles from the 1990s to the present. I also incorporated colors from both flags as a tribute to both ethinicities. Creating clothing based on my background helps me to connect to my family while also learning more about who I have become. Over the years, I taught myself how to sew by hand and by machine. I feel that creating everything by hand gives a sense of power and delicacy to my series.

^{Angelís Wong’s line of garments embody her mixed-race background uniting both Asian and Latinx heritages. Each piece traces a lineage, defining an identity manifest as second skin. The clothing—its material, texture, form–not only representing and reclaiming history but also projecting forms for the future.}

^{https://amwong128.wixsite.com/angeliswong
@a.wong.art}

Newburgh-born and raised, KAMMY DAYDREAM, brings his highly graphic, exuberant portraits showcasing a mastery of classic cartoon and pop art style. Peering through the prismatic facades, we come faced with a deeper sense of angst, a narrative of struggle and ability to overcome.

Speaking to her history immersed as a child in the 80s Graffiti scene, Myra Grice’s large raw canvases of abstracted forms strike in a restricted palette of Black, Red & White. Her scavenge/salvage mentality reflected in the grainy static emanating from an old VCR screen atop a stand of crates. 

Drawing from indigenous spiritual wisdom inspired from the Amazon of her native Brazil, Fernanda Mello weaves a poetic translation of the symbolic within the local, using found material tied to the Hudson River in her installations. Fluidly moving between sculpture and painting, she creates a pattern language of meditative and hypnotic forms that question our relationship to nature and place.

Boriquan artist Neen Rivera uses their work as a platform to navigate identity and bring awareness of social injustice. Their practice explores different mediums as expression of the myriad facets of their life—from glazed recipe bowls to full scale wire-sculptures, each work takes its own shape, its own symbology.

Angelís Wong’s line of garments embody her mixed-race background uniting both Asian and Latinx heritages. Each piece traces a lineage, defining an identity manifest as second skin. The clothing—its material, texture, form–not only representing and reclaiming history but also projecting forms for the future.

This cohort comprises our first annual Ann Street Gallery Emerging Artist Fellowship in support of emerging artists in Newburgh and the region, with a focus on those identifying as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC). The fellowship provides three artists with opportunities for mentorship, networking, and professional development as well as a $1500 USD materials and supplies allowance, representation in the gallery during Newburgh Open Studios, and individual guidance toward identifying goals and further opportunities.

The Ann Street Gallery Emerging Artist Fellowship aims to provide artists a supportive platform for experimental and substantive growth for a six month fellowship from mid-May, running through mid-November 2022. Located in the heart of Newburgh NY, Ann Street Gallery is situated at the nexus of community and the arts. Through the Fellowship, artists have direct access to explore the resources offered by the city’s vibrant arts scene and cultural institutions and the possibility to connect and engage with arts professionals and practitioners based in Newburgh and the surrounding region.

ASG is proud to support artists with experimental practices within the visual arts, performance, and interdisciplinary practice as an essential part of Ann Street Gallery’s program. The Fellowship places special emphasis on artists exploring narratives aside or sub-current to those formally acknowledged by art historians, especially practices that foster an active exchange with local organizations and communities, and are rooted in their value as cultural producers.

Ann Street Gallery Emerging Artist Fellows are selected by a jury led by Ann Street Gallery’s Director with members from the region’s arts community from applications submitted during an annual open call in the spring of each year.