ON VIEW IN MEATPACKING: FROM A PLACE, OF A PLACE

Photo Credit: Anthony Artis

The Meatpacking District and ARTNOIR are excited to announce the opening of FROM A PLACE, OF A PLACE in the neighborhood. The immersive three-month, and five-part program features art and performance to engage neighbors and visitors alike in celebrating Black culture.

Beginning August 12th, the series highlights different mediums of expression to give a voice to Black creatives as they share stories of culture, commerce and community. The neighborhood will be activated with art installations, live performances, and community activities throughout the three month period concluding on October 28th. 

THE MEETING POINT GALLERY

Located at 2 Gansevoort Street (entrance on Horatio Street), The Meeting Point gallery features a two-part exhibition and artist residency. The gallery features 10 New York based artists from various backgrounds with the goal of giving talented creatives a seat at the table. Two of the artists featured were selected through the open call submission process in June. 

Gallery hours are Sunday – Friday, 12 – 6pm, and Saturdays, 12 – 8pm.  The Meeting Point is  free and open to the public to view. Note that masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry to the gallery. 

Featured artists as a part of the first exhibition are: 

• Francheska Alcantara: Afro-Caribbean-Latinx-queer-woman who explores slippages in-between memories, fragmentations and longing
• Daphne Arthur: Contemporary artist who uses smoke, paint, clay, and collage to explore the qualities that exist in the nature of change and impermanence
• Layo Bright: Nigerian sculptor and visual artist, whose distinct remarkable artworks highlight textiles such as gele and “Ghana must go” bags
• Kevin Claiborne: Multidisciplinary conceptual artist whose work examines intersections of identity, social environment, & mental health within the Black American experience
• Joe Hayes III: Bronx-born painter, street artist, chef, creative consultant, and cultural provocateur
• Dana Robinson: Multimedia artist working predominantly with fibers, and paint to explore antiquity beyond the simplicity of novelty
• Jamel Robinson: Multidisciplinary artist working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, writing, and performance, whose work ponders itself along with maker and audience while serving as a time-stamp of the experiences shaping his life and creative practice
• John Singletary: Twenty-three year old painter represented by Black Art in America with a Master in Fine Art from SVA 
• Dianne Smith: Abstract painter, sculptor, and installation artist
• Cyle Warner: Multidisciplinary visual artist whose work examines the social constructs we use to identify ourselves
• Drew Weech: a New York-based Bahamian painter selected to participate as the first artist in residency during the August showcase. He will receive a financial stipend and space in the gallery to create new art over the course of the five weeks with support and counsel from ARTNOIR. 

The second The Meeting Point gallery exhibition will open on September 30 with artists to be announced later this summer. 

WHENEVER/WHEREVER WE CAN ON GANSEVOORT PLAZA 

Artist Olalekan “Lek” Jeyifous’s large-scale sculpture WHENEVER/WHEREVER WE CAN will be on display on Gansevoort Plaza throughout the three month period. The piece is an ode to the neighborhood’s heritage, and challenges viewers to reflect on how and why we gather and what public space means in the city.

VISIONS IN MOTION PERFORMANCE

Visions In Motion, directed by artist Dario Calmese, will kick off with its first performance on August 14 on Gansevoort Plaza at 7pm. The performance will consist of artists as storytellers, performers, and musicians at the nexus of contemporary Black culture. Visitors to the show are invited to celebrate the history of sound, presence of possibility and connection to all things unseen, through the lens of Blackness. RSVP to the performance here. 

Featured artists as a part of the first performance on August 14 are:

• Madison McFerrin, Singer-songwriter
• Jasmine Fire, Violinist-Violist and Singer 
• Jessica Pinkett, Dancer
• Brandon Kazen Maddox, American Sign Language Performer, Dancer, Musician
• Gilbert Small, Ballet and Contemporary Dancer
• Greg Banks, Funk Musician Singer, Songwriter
• Sean Mason, Pianist 
• Ian Isiah, Brooklyn-based Funk Singer
• Britton & The Sting, Funk liberation band 
• Blind Seed, Grounding

Photo: Jim Fryer / Iri Greco | BrakeThrough Media | brakethroughmedia.com

Stay tuned for the second performance which will take place October 2 with participants to be announced at a later date.