Zhou B Art Center Announces Teaching Artist Exhibition

Kinetic Exchange
by ProjectArt Chicago

June 15th – Aug 3rd, 2018
 

“Show 15” - William Camargo

Zhou B Art Center is pleased to announce Kinetic Exchange, a group exhibition of 4 resident teaching artists of ProjectArt - a youth art education nonprofit - curated by Courtney Citron, the Chicago Program Director of ProjectArt. The exhibition will be on view at Zhou B Art Center on the Lower Level South, from June 15th to Aug 3rd, 2018, with an opening reception on the 3rd Friday, June 15th at 7pm. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
  
Exhibiting Artists:
B’Rael Ali Thunder, William Camargo, Ricardo Gonzalez, Al-Qawi Nanavati

​

Excerpt from "La Chamba: Street Vendors Comic Book" - Ricardo Gonzalez, Digital color on paper

​
Kinetic Exchange is a multi-disciplinary group show that speaks to the mutual exchange of energy between artists and the communities that they work and live in. Through a year long art and social practice residency at four partnering Chicago Public Library branches, ProjectArt resident artists have fostered impactful relationships with both art students and neighborhood community members. They have created artwork in response to their experiences, reflecting on symbiotic exchange and community empowerment. 
 
Gonzalez’s comic illustrations in La Chamba pay tribute to Chicano culture celebrating street vendors as neighborhood heroes and upholders of Mexican culture. On an adjacent path, Camargo’s photos, serve as documentation, conveying Chicanx identity as a means to create visibility in resistance to gentrification and cultural erasure. B’rael’s vibrant paintings draw from rhythm and dance. With detail and compositions designed from the figurative image of the dancer, he composes narratives that describe the African American experience, largely addressing identity and value. Al-Qawi’s 33 prints draw from her belief in Islam along with the meditative and repetitive nature of prayer. 
 
Speaking of teaching in the residency program, Ricardo Gonzalez noted, “Teaching art in Little Village introduced me to many families and children. The community has so much pride and energy. Much of our creativity in class benefited from that enthusiasm. Discovery and practice were constant approaches to making art in class. The neighborhood became a great source of inspiration for my personal artwork as well.”

​
​

"Flipping through the Pages"  - B'Rael Ali Thunder, Acrylic

​
​"As a Program Director for ProjectArt’s inaugural year in Chicago, I have had the privilege of watching the Chicago resident artists grow into their roles as teachers and community members. The wealth of creativity, compassion, and care that has been cultivated in all partnering branches has been a great source of joy and inspiration for us all," says Courtney Cintron, the Chicago Program Director of ProjectArt.


 
Presented by ProjectArt Chicago
​
ProjectArt is a nonprofit organization that transforms the nation’s public libraries into vital cultural hubs by offering youth year-round visual art classes and providing space for our resident Teaching Artists to make artwork and community connections within libraries. Through a partnership with Chicago Public Library, ProjectArt was able to bring classes to four library branches for the 2017/2018 inaugural season. Our talented Teaching Artists have truly inspired students of all ages, levels and abilities on a daily basis. We are thrilled to celebrate the work of our resident Teaching Artists in exhibition. 
​​