Ethnicity Through the Eyes of the Artist challenged our artists to explore and contemplate the meaning of ethnicity, and the ideas, associations, and questions that surround this concept.
Ethnicity can express a shared culture such as language, worldview, and value systems of a particular social group. A person’s identity and personal enculturation/acculturation experience often shape their orientation to the world and how it is seen from their eyes. Artists have an uncanny ability to bring to life a perspective that can frame or deconstruct these arrangements in a visual way. This challenges the viewer to reflect on, and see beyond attitudes and boundaries that have been formed previously within the greater culture. Artists have the ability to creatively illustrate how ethnicity, just as language, is an evolution that is constantly shifting.
Our artists explored what ethnicity means to them personally versus how ethnicity represents them in the greater culture. The selected works represent ethnicity in an array of forms, from mosaic and collage works, to drawings, paintings, and wearable art. Some artists saw this as an opportunity to educate, while others used this as a means of self expression. From celebrating cultures and traditions, to rejecting the stereotypes and associations encircling ethnic identities, our artists offer deeply personal investigations that highlight the complexities within ethnicity and how it intersects with identity.
As you explore the work on view, we would like you to consider your own relationship ethnicity.
How has your personal experience regarding ethnic identity shaped you?
What is the boundary between identity and ethnicity and how do they coexist?
What values tie you to your cultural heritage?
Learn more about this exhibition HERE.
L. A. Feldstein