Young Exhibition Makers 2018
A STORY TO BE TOLD
Complexions – p. 9 Designed and curated by: Emely Evangelista, Nerma La France, Precious Kermon, Sarahfina Cunningham, Yewande Ogunleye Artwork by: Cryshan King, Nicole Combea, Precious Kermon, Sarahfina Cunningham, Solei Spears Individual Flowers Make a Garden – p. 13 Designed and curated by: Jade Villegas, Tarek Youssef, Yasminka Radoncic Artwork by: Jade Villegas, Medbh McNamara Skin I’m In – p. 17 Designed and curated by: Benjamin Opoku, Can Chen, Jontay Beckles, Marie Massier, Ruby Mendez Artwork by: Jack Adam, Michael Afriyie, T-Vibe Standing Strong – p. 21 Designed and curated by: Adrian Jones Gibbs, Jamal St Louis, Megan Vega, Wade Roach Artwork by: Ana Stavarache, Noelia Rodrigues, Jamal St Louis State of Mind – p. 25 Designed and curated by: Fariya Farah, Jeff Adolphe, Maria Jahangir, Mariel Martinez, Marvens Volcimus Artwork by: Coralis Rivera, Medbh McNamara, Ana Stavarache Who Am I? – p. 29 Designed and curated by: Dakaibo Tallerand, Kalia Asencio Artwork by: Christoff Freeman, Kalia Asencio, Medbh McNamara
From March through May 2018, a group of 24 talented
youth from Brooklyn (and two from Queens) have had the opportunity to collaborate and create together in the Young Exhibition Makers (Y.Ex) program at Kings County Hospital in East Flatbush, BK. This group has transformed an unused emergency waiting room into an interactive exhibition featuring artwork made by other NYC teens, as well as by Y.Ex participants themselves. A Story to be Told was selected as the exhibition title to underscore that while every one of us has our own individual story, it is also important to see the bigger picture and the ways in which all of these perspectives are connected. Choosing six self-selected themes (black identity, community violence, teenhood, mindfulness, family matters and gender equity) Y.Ex has researched, curated, designed and installed a show that will push visitors to explore their own perception of the world, and to think critically about the issues concerning young people today.
About Young Exhibition Makers:
Young Exhibition Makers (Y.Ex) is a three to five month
signature No Longer Empty education program that trains and pays local high school students (ages 14 to 18) in all elements of exhibition making, from curation and installation to docent tours and management. No Longer Empty is pleased to have worked in partnership with Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI) and Kings County Hospital to deliver this year’s program to the East Flatbush community. This year’s program was led by Mica Le John (Education Programs Manager, No Longer Empty) and co-taught with Tendaji Bailey (Community Intervention Coordinator, KAVI). For more information about No Longer Empty’s education programs please visit nolongerempty.org/education. For more information about KAVI’s youth programs please visit kavibrooklyn.org/programs.
That’s us!
Gallery Guide
Our social media: @officiallysarahfina @q.Kenyaa @emely_evang @Yewaaaaa._ 9
Afro Sculpture
This site-specific sculpture was created by one of our co-curators, Precious. It features many different sized colorful fuzzy balls to highlight the fact that “black hair� comes in many different shapes, sizes, and forms.
Cultural Wall
Photographers: Sarahfina Cunningham, Nicole Combea, Cryshan King
Flower Wall
Hypermasculinity: a psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality. For this wall, the curators focused on challenging the hypermasculinity that is expected from the men in the black community by portraying black men with flowers. Society usually sees flowers as a very feminine thing and that men are only supposed to give away flowers to women. To showcase that “feminine� side that men hide, we chose photographs and paintings that show black men more in tune with their emotions. Illustrations: Solei Spears, 18 years old. Pink Lights, 2018 The Seats at the Table, 2018 Watercolor paint on white oak paper Paintings: Sarahfina Cunningham, 17 years old. Untitled, 2017 Untitled, 2017 Acrylic on canvas Photographers: Kiana Ketchum, Sarahfina Cunningham, Nicole Combea, Cryshan King
Draw Yourself!
Draw Your Flag!
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News Alert
T h e
*John Doe shot to death by police* Y o u t h
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M a t t e r s
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Shine
When you see this body outline, what comes to your mind? What does it remind you of. Please write your thoughts.
on Light
the Dark
This part of our exhibition focuses mainly on police brutality. Our curatorial team has personal connections to these stories. The purpose of our gallery is to shine light on the dark as these events are tragic.
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Visit Young Exhibition Makers 2018 online at yex2018.tumblr.com
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Riverdale, 2018 Ana Stavarache, 14 years old. Digitally created This piece is based on a TV show on the CW network. It’s about a group of friends that go through their high school life and support each other through difficulties and hardship. In this piece there are 2 girls and 3 boys standing in front of the place they hang out, Pop’s. Live Love Serve, 2018 Noelia Rodrigues, 15 years old. Graphite and ink on paper This piece shows different coding of the words live, love and serve. This was chosen to be in the gallery because it shows the connection between family and how love affects others in a family. This piece has different shapes and colors, like triangles, squares, rhombus and color like red, blue yellow, purple and pink. Family Having Dinner, 2018 Jamal St Louis, 14 years old. Ink and thread on poster board St. Louis made this piece specifically for the installation. It shows a husband and wife having dinner at a table. This piece shows unity and companionship in a small family.
Family Togetherness, 2018. Jamal St. Louis, 14 years old. Ink on poster board St. Louis made this piece specifically for the installation. It shows a kid, mother and father holding hands. It shows togetherness and it also connects with our main theme.This was made on the window and uses different colors, drawn on poster board.
STANDING STRONG
Adrian Jones Gibbs: I am a 16 year old male Trinidadian/American born in Brooklyn, NY. I heard about No Longer Empty and Y.Ex through a family friend.
Megan Vega: I am a 17 year old Puerto Rican and Chinese female, and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. I am a senior at Brooklyn School for Music & Theatre. I heard about Y.Ex through my assistant principal and decided to pursue being an art exhibition curator.
Jamal St Louis: I am a 15 year old Trinidadian male. I was born in Trinidad and raised there for a majority of my life then moved to NY. I am a freshman at Brooklyn Academy for Science and Environment. I heard about Y. Ex through my school.
Wade Roach: I am a 15 year old male that was born in Florida and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I heard about No Longer Empty and Y.Ex through my Middle School Guidance Counselor.
Stand. Take a breath. Feel your weight shift between your feet. Take a longer breath. In through your nose. Out through your mouth. Now look in the mirror.
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This video shows the space prior to the completion of making our entire exhibition. It is meant to show awareness
of the space over the duration of the program. It is acknowledgment of the little details that matters.
Acrylic on canvas
Ana Stavarache, 14 years old.
Are you conscious of what you put
you more content with yourself?
Which side of your brain do you
into your body?
Internal/external effects
What’s something that you makes
Imagination/creativity
use more often?
Consequences of people’s actions
Happy place
and white Gelly Roll pen
Acrylic on canvas, Pentel Brush pen
Coralis Rivera, 15 years old.
Intoxication, 2017
Two sides of the brain
Own zone
Medbh McNamara, 19 years old.
and Outer Space, 2017
Color pencil, acrylic on paper
Dorothy, 2018
The Fantasy of Planet Earth
Draw the two sides of YOUR brain.
Draw a part of nature (a park, forest, beach, etc.) that makes you feel most comfortable.
I am...
Write about or draw who you think you are.
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Dysmorphophobia
Medbh McNamara, 19 years old. Ink on vellum. 2018 Being aware of the distortion in the way you perceive your own body makes your reflection feel like an enemy.
Perceptions
How does your body image affect your perception of yourself?
Black Girls Magic
Christoff Freeman, 15 years old. Color pencils and ink on paper. 2018 This piece symbolizes the BLM movement and the strength found in the black community. It also shows that hair is a prized possession in the community because it shows our roots and beauty.
A face to be colored
Untitled, 2018 Jade Villegas, 15 years old. Kalia Asencio, 15 years old. Acrylic on foamboard
The Curators Who Am I? was co-curated by Kalia Asencio and Dakaibo Tallerand. This show explores the things that teenagers are involved in and their common struggles. It highlights and unpacks the things that they do which affect their tomorrow. The pieces chosen in this show draw inspiration from themes around identity, mainly outward facing understanding of it (physical) and inward (cultural).
*Individual Flowers Make a Garden — (not so fun) facts! sourced from: https://www.makers.com/blog/21-facts-you-never-knewabout-international-gender-inequality https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/shocking-factsgender-inequality-international-wom/ http://www.humanitarianweb.org/2017/05/01/15interesting-facts-on-gender-inequality/
Malka Fund
No Longer Empty’s education programs are supported,
in part, by Con Edison; Exploring the Arts; Malka Fund; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and generous individual supporters. In-kind support is provided by Materials for the Arts.
Young Exhibition Makers 2018: Adrian Jones Gibbs, Benjamin Opoku, Can Chen, Dakaibo Tallerand, Emely Evangelista, Fariya Farah, Jade Villegas, Jamal St Louis, Jeff Adolphe, Jontay Beckles, Kalia Asencio, Maria Jahangir, Marie Massier, Mariel Martinez, Marvens Volcimus, Megan Vega, Nerma La France, Precious Kermon, Ruby Mendez, Sarahfina Cunningham, Tarek Youssef, Wade Roach, Yasminka Radoncic, Yewande Ogunleye
Artwork By: Ana Stavarache, Christoff Freeman, Coralis Rivera, Cryshan King, Jack Adam, Jade Villegas, Jamal St Louis, Kalia Asencio, Medbh McNamara, Michael Afriyie, Nicole Combea, Noelia Rodrigues, Precious Kermon, Sarahfina Cunningham, Solei Spears, T-Vibe
nolongerempty.org kavibrooklyn.org @nolongerempty @kavibrooklyn #YoungExhibitionMakers #YEx #KingsCountyHospital