Shelby Scattergood

Shelby Scattergood 

Transfer Co. 
500 E Davie St, Raleigh, NC 27601

As a part of THE EVERYDAY project, Shelby Scattergood will be showcasing her work in her first solo exhibition. 

BIO

Shelby Scattergood is a photo-realistic portrait artist specializing in works that capture the complicated evolution of mental and physical illness. She received a BFA in Drawing and Printmaking from the University of North Carolina of Greensboro in 2016. Shelby is an emerging artist who has exhibited throughout the Eastern US in galleries such as the African American Atelier, the Jones Carter Gallery, The Rob, and the CVA in Greensboro. In 2017 Shelby was named the Grand Prize Winner of the NC Artists Exhibition.

Shelby currently works and resides in Richmond, VA.

ARTIST STATEMENT

At sixteen I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Fibromyalgia. At nineteen it was Depression. Twenty-one it was Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D). Twenty-three it was IBS and PCOS. As my body and self have since become a collection of struggles and over-comings, so too has my artwork. Using photo-realistic subjects often concealed in, consuming, or wearing metaphoric objects these portraits draw from my experiences with physical and mental illness and visualize them for others to witness. It is through my portraiture that I seek to understand mental and physical disorder, personal struggle, physical pain, and isolation. It’s with the conclusions I make through my work that I visualize the trials of my conditions and extend knowledge to the viewer, allowing them a window into the realities of these struggles.

M Y C O M E T A M O R P H I C

M Y C O   M E T A M O R P H I C

Nicole Asselin
Exhibit design in collaboration with Cecilia Mouat
June 6 - July 28

Biodesign is an emerging movement that addresses designs’ connection with the natural world. Essential within the biodesign lexicon are mycelium composite materials. Mycelium is the vegetative, filamentous part of a mushroom, usually found underground. When grown within a nutrient rich substrate, the mycelium and the substrate bind together forming a stable, easily regenerated material. This growing process can be tailored to express a wide range of properties and affordances applicable for design applications. Mycelium composites are currently in use commercially as viable replacements for plastics and packing material as well as insulation, foam and leather.

This emerging design medium utilizes a transdisciplinary lens that expands the essential and timely conversation of designs’ relationship with nature and sustainability. It moves beyond the antiquated approach of simple resource conservation, developing a paradigmatic shift- inviting new ways of making that promote life-giving cycles and challenge dominate modes of production and consumption. These composite materials work with biological events as essential design components – not designing like nature, designing with natural processes. In conversation with the current concerns surrounding environmental issues, contemporary discourse in design is asking how to generate new materials and new cycles of use. Mycelium-based materials actively bring nature, science and design together to reimagining ways of producing and valuing materials.

Globe by Leroi DeRubertis

GLOBE

Leroi DeRubertis
June 20 - August 11

Artist talk: Aug. 11 @ noon

ARTIST STATEMENT

Leroi DeRubertis draws small pieces with wire. She assembles them en masse, speaking to both individual and collective humanity.

Judith Bank I AJ Fletcher

Judith Bank

AJ Fletcher
May - November

Courtney Potter I HagerSmith

Courtney Potter

HagerSmith

May - June

ARTIST BIO

Courtney Potter has worked as a professional painter, photographer, filmmaker, and artist for the last decade. As a child she explored multiple art forms—performing in the St. Louis children’s touring choir, writing and illustrating short stories, and playing piano at Carnegie Hall in high school.

Courtney graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2009 with a degree in Photojournalism. Her photography projects have taken her across the world and earned her multiple awards including College Photographer of the year, WPJA, WPPI, and the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. Her paintings have been featured in art shows along the East Coast, and she’s currently preparing for three 2018 solo exhibitions in the North Carolina Triangle (Raleigh – Durham – Chapel Hill) where she lives.

Authenticity and love fuel Courtney’s work and life purpose. Just like you, she values excellence and soul: she’s not a fan of trends, tropes, or mediocrity. Your artwork won’t look like everyone else’s, because you aren’t like everyone else. You live your life boldly from a foundation of love, and you want paintings and photographs that match your truth.

Courtney helps individuals (who love themselves), couples (who love each other), and creative business owners (who love their work) tap into their own authenticity and creativity. She does this through her exquisite abstract paintings that transform your living space, honest wedding photos that celebrate your quirks and your deep love for your community, stunning boudoir photos that remind you how you feel in your sexiest moments, or soulful branding visuals that let your inspiration behind your brand really shine through.

When not painting or making photographs, you’ll probably find Courtney rockclimbing, chasing her dream to live on a houseboat with her boo, or exploring the Pacific Northwest. Her deepest joy is found in exploring (whether it’s new ideas, the world, or her own creativity) and connecting (with her community, her family, and her friends).

Also, the pelvis is her power symbol.

The Protest Purse

THE PROTEST PURSE

by Kulsum Tasnif
photography by Caroline Cockrell

Exhibition: May 4 - June 16, 2018
Artist Talk: May 5th, 4-6pm
First Friday: May 4th, 6-10pm & June 1st, 6-10pm

Project Statement
For the past months I immersed myself in stories of Muslim women, learning what inspires us to resist and to exist in these times of national chaos, global catastrophes, and day to day struggles. My resistance purses are portraits of contemporary human struggles and triumphs. They are empowering, bold, and collaborative, fueled by our collective passions; they serve as a documentation of an era in which voices are silenced, yet, remaining silent is not an option. This is an ongoing project that seeks to re-contextualize how we view protest, and allows insight into the hearts and minds of a diverse community of women. And I couldn't have thought of a better partner than photographer-friend Caroline Cockrell to join me on this journey called The Protest Purse.

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THE LAB is sponsored by Allen Tate Realtors

A Letter from VAE Staff + Board of Directors

Dear Creative Community,

In April, the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh (CAM Raleigh) opened an exhibition of work by artist Margaret Bowland, whose paintings incorporate, among other symbols, women and girls of color painted in white face. Ms. Bowland herself is white, and without proper context the exhibition threatens the misappropriation (or, worse, the marginalization) of Black history and culture, which is troubling for many viewers.

 As a fellow City-funded arts organization, Visual Art Exchange (VAE Raleigh) agrees with CAM Raleigh that art is a powerful tool for communication. VAE Raleigh also believes this communicative power comes with significant civic responsibility. Unfortunately, CAM Raleigh has not adequately answered individual questions and concerns about the exhibition from members of the creative community. Members of that community approached VAE to give institutional voice to their questions and concerns.

VAE Raleigh believes it is essential going forward that the whole of the presenting art community (patrons, artists, and administrators) are clear on, conscious of, and communicative about the line between provocation and exploitation. We respect provocation as an effective tool for raising awareness and sparking conversations to bring about change. However, responsible, socially engaged cultural art institutes start with an intended impact and work backward from there to present art that achieves the desired ends.

To this end, we are devoting the 2018 VAE Summit to furthering these important conversations and, together, arriving at standards and values that reflect our diverse, inclusive community. Join us on July 21, 2018 as we figure out how Triangle creativity can do its best work!

Sincerely,
 VAE Staff + Board of Directors

VAE BEST PRACTICES
VAE will:

• design our exhibits and programming from the outside in, by engaging the community in the planning process.

• align our resources to identify and address problems using creativity.

• make sure that all exhibition opportunities have real value for participating artists, including press, print materials, and financial compensation whenever possible.

• engage with challenging or provocative work by contextualizing it and facilitating open dialogue about it.

• support free creative expression and lift up work that creates the most positive impact for our community.

• communicate transparently with our audience about the intended impact of our work, the engagement process during planning, and how others can be involved in our projects.

• never exhibit or financially support work that co-opts the story of a community without representation from that community acting in a decision making role.

• select guest curators from communities represented in our exhibits. Charge those curators to engage members of the community in the discussion and to create programming that shows a diverse set of views from that community.

• require guest curators to submit all works for review six weeks ahead of the exhibition so that VAE can make sure the works fits these guidelines and that challenging work is well contextualized in our communications about the exhibition.

• design programs, exhibits, events, and funding opportunities that are culturally, physically, and financially accessible.

• use our institutional privilege to give voice and opportunity to people who might otherwise remain unheard.

• earn a reputation as an inclusive space where thoughts, concerns, and ideas will be heard.

• admit when we make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and work with the community to better understand their diverse perspectives.