"Echoes of the Unmappable

Jessica Valoris

An immersive testament to the sacred & courageous resistance of Black freedom-seeking ancestors

In a world where narratives of Juneteenth are often diluted or distorted, this installation seeks to re-center the practices of Black ancestors who reconceptualized what freedom meant in words, action, and in ways of being.

Echoes of  the Unmappable honors the myriad ways that fugitive, maroon, and freedom-seeking Black ancestors activated practices of land stewardship, mutual aid organizing, re-wilding, and kinship to subvert the algorithms of empire.

The exhibition pulls from Jessica Valoris’ research into these legacies in Maryland (and beyond) for the How We Be Free: Black Fugitive Study Kit, a project she is currently cultivating within her community. The study kit contains a set of playing cards, dice, and booklet with quotes, prompts, and historical context. The study kit and the installation highlight the freedom-seeking practices of Black people during slavery and its aftermath. 

Through Echoes of the Unmappable, visitors are encouraged to actively engage with ongoing legacies of Black liberation and consider their own place in the narrative of freedom and justice. Reflecting on how they can contribute to movements for liberation in their own communities (ie. abolition, reparations, land back, mutual aid, ceasefire, etc.) they are urged to let these histories inspire them to challenge oppressive systems, embody collective solidarity, and work towards creating a world of peace, justice, and care.

www.jessicavaloris.com

@jessicavaloris

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The annual Spring Show & Sale organized by the Art League of Germantown, featuring artists and craftspeople working in diverse mediums from the Germantown Area.

Hang out in The Tree House! Featuring living edge wood furniture and natural, healing auditory vibrations brought to you by Michael Marschark and friends. 

Islam & Print (I&P), co-founded by artists Safiyah Cheatam and Dan Flounders in 2022, champions diverse Muslim experiences by building a network of regional emerging visual artists of all mediums through their biannual fellowship, with an overlapping goal of building an archive of contemporary Muslim artwork. This exhibition features: Suldano Abdiruhman, Safiyah Cheatam, Dan Talib Latif Flounders, Tayyab Masqood, Madyha Leghari, Anysa Saleh, Mina Sarfaraz, Hoor Imad Sherpao, and Leili Arai Tavallei

This exhibit will feature original works of art by K-12 students from participating Germantown area schools, as well as individual student submissions. National Youth Art Month, observed since 1961, emphasizes the value of art education and encourages support for quality school art programs.

First-generation Nigerian American painter and art educator, Dunnie Onasanya, presents a vibrant family-friendly exhibition that invites visitors of all ages to explore the transformative power of love, personal growth, and self-expression through the symbolism of hearts and butterflies. Onasanya's work is heavily influenced by her West African heritage, her faith, and an intuitive approach pulling from abstract expressionism, hamsas and other historic symbols using bold colors, metallic paints, gold leaf, crushed glass, and jewels.

In Portrait(s), Divine Mother, Guyanese-African American experimental photographer Rebecca Marimutu utilizes a rigorous practice of subverting orthodox photographic processes to pay homage to the Caribbean spirituality of her matriarchal lineage. The ancestral worship of her female-dominated household derives from Shaktism, a tradition venerating the divine feminine through goddesses like Mariamman and Kali. As well as exhibiting monumental self-portraits on metal, Marimutu will engage directly with individuals from the Caribbean diaspora through workshops, interviews, and discussions focused on the project’s themes.

For most of Mick Prescott’s life, (born Bossier City, Louisiana, 1993. Pronouns: They/Them) their father was the pastor of a tiny, country church in the woods. Prescott’s work both respects and subverts the time-honored craft traditions of the American church, appropriating well known hymns, liturgical recitations, and pop culture references to straddle a celebration of queer and trans life as a sacred being and a rejection of the strict mandates enforced by fundamentalist Evangelicalism and cultural Christianity in the U.S.

Mandy Chesney is gaudy. Mandy Chesney is gaudy is Mandy Chesney’s first solo exhibition. Born spitting into the wind on the bow of a Mississippi riverboat casino, Chesney has known when to hold ‘em since day one. At age 4, she learned glitter magic from the Lion’s Creek Baptist Church organist, Mr. Robert—known far and wide for his lace drawers. At age 15, Chesney graduated from the Chattanooga Coiffer Academy and spent seven years and a month of Sundays as a beautician to the stars. Her talents have gloried the crowns of Marty Stuart, Pat Metheny, Janice Wendell Crouch, and William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys, among many others.  

But she also knows how to make a home. A master of the Domestic Arts, Chesney cannot be worn slap out. She will split a frog hair four ways, jerk a knot in your tail, and smell great while doing it. 

From 2015 to 2017, Chesney graced the halls of the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and she’s lived in Baltimore City ever since.  

Mandy Chesney is not a natural blonde. She’s a 42DD.  

Sarah Matthews’ work reflects her commitment to exploring the complex issues of race, equality, and gender. Her layered prints and artist books document the struggles of breaking through societal barriers. As an African-American, Mrs. Matthews has experienced firsthand the impact of negative media images that portray her community as inferior. She challenges these stereotypes and empowers her audience to see all individuals’ beauty, intelligence, and importance, regardless of their race.

Sarah Matthews is a highly skilled printmaker and book artist with a background in art and business. She holds an MA in Art & the Book from the Corcoran College of Arts and Design at George Washington University, an MBA with a Marketing Concentration, and a BS in Sociology from Bowie State University. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are part of prestigious collections at institutions such as Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book 

and Manuscript Library, George Washington University’s Gelman Library, University of Puget Sound, and Samford University. A dedicated educator, Mrs. Matthews teaches Artist Books at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in addition to bookbinding and printmaking classes at various art centers and platforms.

In late 2022, as part of Riverworks Art Center’s first Community Roundtable Project, Sarah Matthews led a cohort of artists to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and then, through a series of conversations and workshops, Sarah guided the artists in creating individual art projects expressing their visual and emotional experiences. The culminating exhibit, FREEDOM, features the powerful artwork made by each participant in response to the project.

The exhibition features over 30 of Droz’s recent works and takes its name from the recently published book, Behind The Fold, which showcases Droz’s extensive body of work including large-scale pieces installed in museums, galleries and prominent private and commercial projects.

A co-exhibit with Strathmore. A national exhibit by Studio Art Quilt Associates that repurposed used materials as an effective solution to deal with today's environmentally devastating waste using the ancient traditions of fiber and textile arts.

The eight modern Latino artists highlighted identity, language, ceremony, legacy, lifestyle, history, and family relationships. The exhibition honored the Latino population in the region by showcasing the artwork of intersectional voices and acknowleded the Latino contribution to contemporary art.

Lithographic and intaglio prints convey key watershed moments from Carol Moore's life and heartfelt relationships using nature as my language. Symbols, movement, and abundant detail will assist in the storytelling to convey the symbiotic relationship that she has felt with nature all her life.

Guest Curated by Tomora Wright this exhibition will showcase approximately 30 artworks spanning from 2002 to 2022, an intercultural and trans-historical arrival, as Davis fuses natural material, symbols, and patterns to document the experiences and influences of place and time.

An art exhibition of Book Arts and related media by artists from the FBAC Community that explore, commemorate and concern the planet earth. Presented in partnership with the Frederick Book Arts Center in Frederick, MD.