Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Stephon now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Stephon works with communities that have been disadvantaged as a result of systematic disparities. Through his current body of work, Stephon explores how school-aged children of color learn about Greek and Roman figures and the virtues they represent, yet are not equally exposed to hero figures who look like them because Indigenous, African, Latin American, South American, and Asian pantheons and paragons are not often equal part of the discourse. While in Erie, Stephon will engage with our community to help shape his ongoing series. His will illustrate a series of complex nonliteral fantastical identities based upon his research in the Erie community. These compositions will then be used to create public sculptures, which once fabricated would be installed in neighborhoods within Erie's urban core.
Though the tail end of her residency was impacted by the pandemic, Kate created a plethora of new work while in Erie and collaborated with many local and regional community members to create something truly unique and beautiful. The work that Kate created while in residence is slated to be exhibited in May at a gallery show in Los Angeles.
Kate’s work experiments with ways of portraying dialogue, openness, listening, agency, personhood, and collaborative representation. The work she created while in residence represents the faces of Erie in shared speech; characterized by a more democratic balance of vulnerability and power between artist and subject. Kate interviewed approximately two-dozen members of the community, and met many more.
Kate documented the interviews, which were also recorded, through dialectical portrait drawings.This work builds upon a previous series of Kate's, "Fusiform Gyrus," in which frames were equipped with external speakers to play audio clips from the interviews. One of the objectives that Kate aimed to accomplish while in residence was to use microprocessors, custom coding, and conductive paint to make the sketches vibrate within the frames - projecting outward the voices of the subject without the use of an external speaker.
Hiromi is a native of Kyoto, Japan. She moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2004. Hiromi’s work has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions within the state of Florida. She has participated in group shows throughout the American South, including North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia. Hiromi has also exhibited her work in New York City and London. Kirie is the Japanese art of papercutting. Hiromi creates through a process of addition by subtraction. She doesn't add layers to a paper or canvas using pens, markers, or paint. Instead, she cuts away from a sheet of paper using a blade. When finished, what remains of the paper is an incredibly detailed outline, often integrating the female form, Japanese architecture, insects, and mystical creatures. While in Erie, Hiromi collaborated with many local organizations including Erie ClaySpace, Inner-City Neighborhood Art House, Grounded Print and Paper Shop, Edinboro University's Art Department, and Gene Davis Sales and Service.
Sharon Norwood is an interdisciplinary Artist whose work spans several media to include painting and ceramic. Norwood is a graduate from Florida State University with an MFA in studio Art, and a BFA in Painting from the University of South Florida. Her work has been exhibited in several Biennials including the Jamaica, Atlanta and Florida Biennial. Her exhibition record includes Florida, Georgia, Baltimore, Kansas City, Washington, New York, Canada, South Korea, Jamaica and Germany. Norwood is the recipient of numerous honors including the Exceptional Opportunity Award, the Andy McLaughlin Memorial Award and the Jim Boone Endowed Art Scholarship from Florida State University.
"My work often deals with issues of identity where I use the line as a way to explore complex relationships. My aim is to create works that challenge our passive ways of looking. The subject of my work comes from my own narrative with social, political and cultural content. I am interested in creating a dialogue that speak in nuanced ways to issues of race, gender, beauty and class."
Norwood creates work “that challenge our passive ways of looking.” Her sculptures, drawings, ceramics, and fiber works address a specific “social, political and cultural context” while engaging issues of “race, gender, beauty and class.” Her frequent use of a curly line is sometimes “a metaphor for the black body” and other times a decorative and formal expression, simply “a beautiful mark.
While in Erie, Sharon collaborated with the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House, Erie Arts & Culture's Folk Artists, Grounded Print + Paper Shop, and Edinboro University. Sharon also hosted a discussion titled "The Crown We Wear: Black Hair as Art in Life."
Gonzalo Hernandez is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans several media to include painting and textiles. Gonzalo Hernandez lives and works between Kansas City and Lima. He holds a BA from Escuela de Artes Visuales Corriente Alterna and an MFA and MA from the Savannah College of Arts and Design in Fibers and Painting.
While in Erie, Gonzalo explored new painting forms and methods, as well as printmaking and silkscreening. Gonzalo works by finding inspiration in everyday moments. Gonzalo collaborated with Edinboro University's Art department to create editions. The editions were printed by Doug Eberhardt, a printmaker and professor, and are now available for purchase online through Long Road Projects.
Brittany used her time in residence exploring the effects the pandemic is having on the human body and psyche, particularly the notions of isolation and personal health, to create unique installation artwork in a blighted property in Erie's historic east side.
Her audio-video work involved costuming, set construction, recording, and post-production editing. Brittany also constructed new remnant paintings. To create these site-specific installations, Brittany scavenged objects and items that have otherwise been abandoned or discarded. Brittany's paintings are constructed using hand-stitching, assemblage, and paint application.
Erie-based artist Alex Staley served as Brittany’s assistant on the project. Brittany's installation is inside a property owned by the Bayfront East Side Task Force at E 3rd and German that is slated for redevelopment. The installation also served as the video performance set featuring several Erie community members.
