CALABAR GALLERY HARLEM: 2504 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10030. 646-964-5062 Website:Calabar Gallery and Instagram page (please follow us here too).
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Welcome to CALABAR GALLERY. We showcase contemporary African Artists and African Diaspora artists globally. Based in Harlem, work featured is inspired and influenced by black African culture globally with a focus on dynamic ideas about art and society.
The purpose of our lives is to be happy. -Dalai Lama
Embrace the glorious mess that you are. - Elizabeth Gilbert
With lots of projects and collaborations in place, I took a few days off to take stock of things. Several offers came in that made me pause and would interrupt my journey. In these moments, you think, what if, and then. But it reminded me that I am on a clear path to a particular journey and to be extremely focused on it.
This past month redefined what our Gallery is and why we focus on the artists we work with. This month, we have an art sale, it's in particular for those of you who keep reading our newsletter and are still hesitant about buying. Like Bitcoin, you pondered too long, Black Art is not just in VOGUE, it is the work that collectors are buying. So, I urge you to take a look at our sale page today
Be healthy, safe and spread the word about our gallery.
Atim
Atim Annette Oton
Curator and Gallery Director
ART SALE UNTIL MAY 23RD, 2021
BUY ART THIS WEEK,
WE HAVE A SALE ON OUR WEBSITE,
FIND IT HERE.
We are excited to announce our next exhibition:
MARGARET VENDRYES
THE AFRICAN DIVA PROJECT
A SOLO EXHIBITION
As a visual artist, Margaret Vendryes is best known for her painting series, The African Diva Project, which merges African masks with commercial images of popular black women soloists. She is currently Chair of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at York College in Queens, NewYork. Margaret Rose Vendryes (born 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) is a visual artist, curator, and art historian is based in New York. She has a PhD from Princeton University - in Art History, a Master of Art, Art History from Tulane University and from Amherst College, a Bachelor of Art, Fine Art.
The African Diva Project is an on-going painting series that began in 2005. The Project is informed by my engagement with African aesthetics and popular African American music and visual culture.
"The focal point of each painting is the African mask that serves as the diva’s head. This is practically important because traditional African artifacts are created, not as “art,” but to convey meaning and serve functions. Now that African pieces have become static fetishes in Western culture — fixtures in museums and art objects in collectors’ homes, Vendryes returns them to their empowering purposes." From Divas Rock Empowering Masks by Turry Fluker, http://iraaa.museum.hamptonu.edu/page/Divas-Rock-Empowering-Masks
CALABAR GALLERY EXHIBITION AFRICAN ARTISTS AND PROCESSES, FEATURING THE WORK OF ALEXANDRE KYUNGU MWILAMBWE AND P. WAMAITHA NG'ANG'A IS OPEN WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY.
THIS IS THE LAST WEEK TO SEE THIS EXHIBITION AND BUY WORK. Some of Alexandre Kyungu Mwilambwe's work in this exhibition will head to Basel, Switzerland in the fall for a group exhibition.
We maintain Covid-19 protocols with attendance at 8-10 at a time.
For those of you who are unable to attend our exhibition - here is a video of photographer Wamaitha Ng'ang'a talk abouther work in the show - here.
ART and TECHNOLOGY CODING WORKSHOPS at CALABAR GALLERY A dynamic series of innovative Summer workshops for kids and youth focused teaching them about creating art using coding and technology while working on campaigns about VOTING, JOBS, HOUSING and HEALTH and creating CYPTO ART, NFT’s, AUCTIONS and EXHIBITIONS.
These workshops will occur in our gallery space, in person and virtually. Interested, please email us at info@calabargallery.com
NEW WORK BY GHANAIAN ARTIST, MUSAH SWALLAH
Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Musah Swallah is a visual artist whose paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works render stories that reflect Ghanaian and African culture, values, and everyday life. Swallah uses art as a tool for self-expression, creating awareness, provoking dialogue, and transforming society. His artwork speaks to youth aspirations, urban environments, and globalization. Swallah was born and raised in the densely populated community of Nima, which is largely Muslim community, where people of different faiths live together harmoniously in the heart of Accra, Ghana. His paintings, murals, and mixed media works serve as tools that are designed to promote self-expression, create awareness, provoke dialogue, and transform society. His paintings reflect his experience in various African cultures and his main objective is to render the daily lives of people on canvas. He does so by presenting the aesthetic value of colorful scenes while telling the story of various African societies and the challenges they face.
We are offering these pieces to be sold as well as some others, and you can contact us via this email - info@calabargallery.com
1. Nose Ring, 2021, Acrylic on Paper. 25.5 x 19.5 inches
2. Lemon Hair, 2021, Acrylic on Paper. 22 x 15 inches
3. Zigzag Line, 2021, Acrylic on plywood. 23 x 24 inches
4. City CUt, 2021, Acrylic on plywood. 16 x 24 inches
PLEASE EMAIL about prices for work above by contacting us via this email - info@calabargallery.com
MORE WORK FROM HUSSEIN SALIM, SUDANESE ARTIST
“My struggle to continue painting is just a form of resistance, a resistance which at its root is grounding, naïve and primitive. I have but dreams, dreams that no other has used. Those are the gardens of my paintings. Hungry for exposure, for nudity lavishing in the wait of the insane.” - HUSSEIN SALIM
We are offering these pieces to be sold as well as some others, and you can contact us via this email - info@calabargallery.com
1. Untitled 2, 2020, Acrylic on canvas. 120 cm x 120 cm
4. Untitled 3, 2020, Acrylic on canvas. 120 cm x 120 cm
PLEASE EMAIL about prices for work above by contacting us via this email - info@calabargallery.com
HUSSEIN SALIM
As a result of a tumultuous political and economical period in Sudan, which too brought about disputes of its historical context, Hussein Salim spent a number of years as a refugee in various countries such as Egypt and South Africa. Despite his artistic training in Khartoum University, he attained his Master’s degree in art at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg. He has exhibited extensively overseas along with acclaimed local galleries, such as Johans Borman and Bonisa Private Gallery. It was during this time, that Salim and his family embarked on both an emotional and awakening return back to his homeland, Sudan. Inspired by its diversity and diasporic, multicultural communal structure, his body of work aims to celebrate this through extensive layering of symbols masked by rich colors. Following the example of graciousness, humility and resilience of the Sudanese, Hussain Salim has worked closely with NGO’s such as African Angels and Buccaneers Outreach program, whom focus on the sustenance and uplifting of children and schools in marginalized communities with proceeds of his artwork sales being donated to various outreach schemes. He is represented by Eclectica Contemporary in Cape Town, South Africa.
CALABAR GALLERY ARTS RESIDENCY at BKLYN COMMONS
Calabar Gallery's first Arts Residency targeting BLACK ARTISTS IN BROOKLYN AND HARLEM, NEW YORK. CALABAR GALLERY ARTS RESIDENCY at BKLYN COMMONS, a 3 month residency, is now open and accepting applications - details are here.
ONGOING: A SPECIAL INVITE TO OUR FACEBOOK GROUP:
CALABAR GALLERY as a teaching and information place for art.
We continue this year working hard on our very private Calabar Gallery Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/calabargallery/ and now we are opening it up for you to join. Once you apply and respond to 3 questions, you will join a daily feed of art and cultural articles. This newsletter is free and you can share it but please ask your friends to SIGN UP HERE.
