In honor of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery’s namesake, the 2016 Jacob Lawrence Legacy Artist-in-Residence is Brooklyn-based Steffani Jemison. Jemison is a conceptual artist whose work uses improvisation, repetition, and fugitivity as formal strategies across multiple media. During her period in residence, Jemison built an exhibition and facilitated a series of research and performance workshops.
Her residency and the associated exhibition are supported by The Boeing Company.
Residency + Workshops
Beginning on January 4, Jemison will work in the Gallery for two weeks to create Steffani Jemison: Sol, an exhibition that features paintings on acetate, a vinyl text work, and a slide projection. To build the exhibition, Jemison will work with student interns and Gallery volunteers.
The work in the gallery is accompanied by reading and performance workshops co-facilitated by her collaborator, Justin Hicks and presented on site. All workshops are free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis; RSVP requested via sign up buttons at links below.
Workshop 1: apple acorn blackberry
(facilitated by Steffani Jemison)
In two reading sessions—in which readings are executed together as a group, no preparation necessary—we will consider how language connects to travel and landscape. Featuring blog posts, petitions, and excerpts from academic texts by Susan Stewart, Sue Thomas, and others.
Session 1: Thursday, January 7, 1pm
Session 2: Monday, January 11, 6pm
Workshop 2: fala fasi: excellent, the best
(facilitated by Justin Hicks and Steffani Jemison)
Is music a language? This workshop explores how musicians and music theorists have connected language to pitch, note length, melody, and harmony. We will test music pedagogy systems, including the Orff Schulwerk method, the Kodaly method, Curwen hand signs, solresol, and other approaches to music pedagogy and musical language.
Session 1: Monday, January 18, 6pm
Session 2: Wednesday, January 20, 1pm
Exhibition Dates
Opening reception: Tuesday, January 19, 5-8pm
Run of show: Wednesday, January 20 – Saturday, February 27
Lecture
Jemison is also one of the participants in the School’s winter quarter Critical Issues in Contemporary Art Practice lecture series, which is supported by The New Foundation Seattle and takes place at the Henry Art Gallery. The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Follow one of the links above to learn more.
Homepage image credit: installation view from Steffani Jemison: Sol in the Jacob Lawrence Gallery; photo by Joanna Lee