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Tuesday 18th June 2013NEW EXHIBITIONS OPEN AT WOCA PROJECTS ON JUNE 21ST

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

CONTACT

Lauren Cross

Director/Curator

(817) 901-7135

info@wocaprojects.com

 

 

 

 

The Exchange: A Portfolio By Bump It Mafia

&

Epitome and the UnConcept: Sculptures by Hiroko Kubo

 

Fort Worth, Texas—June 1, 2013— NEW EXHIBITIONS OPEN AT WOCA PROJECTS ON JUNE 21ST

 

WoCA Projects will open two solo exhibitions on Friday, June 21st: The Exchange: A Portfolio By Bump It Mafia, which features the group portfolio of Bump It Mafia! a collective of modern women celebrating womanhood through printmaking and highlighting the importance of camaraderie and community not just amongst women, but amongst all artists of all backgrounds. Bump It Mafia’s portfolio has toured both nationally and internationally, and while not a stranger to the DFW area ( featuring shows in both Denton and Dallas), the upcoming show marks the group’s first portoflio viewing in the city of Fort Worth. Participating artists include: Emily Arthur, Heather Bryant, Nicola Buffa, Lisette Chavez, Ana Hurtado-Gonzales, Carrie Lingscheit, Emmy Lingscheit, Rachael Madeline, Kristine Joy Mallari, Saegan Moran, Meghan O’Connor, Kathryn Polk, Coco Rico, Jessica Robles, Andrea Rogers, Linda Santana, Jenny Schmid, Katy Seals, and Cat Snapp. 

 

Epitome and the UnConcept: Sculptures by Hiroko Kubo is a solo exhibition featuring sculptures by Japanese artist Hiroko Kubo. Kubo’s work translates the spheres of unconceptualized personal experiences into sculptural forms that recount emotions, memories, and perceptions. Kubo describes her sculptures as “’frames’ of the elusive subject, that aim to extract the essence of my experiences” while “leav[ing] space for the thoughts, images, and sensations of the viewers.”

 

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Hiroko Kubo graduated from Hiroshima City University with a BFA in sculpture (2009), and received her MFA from Texas Christian University in 2013. Kubo is a recipient of the Hiroshima International Cultural Foundation, and her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows both in Japan and in the United States. Kubo was recently selected as an exhibiting artist for the 2013 Texas Biennale from September 5-November 9th at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. 

Both exhibitions will open on Friday, June 21st  from 6-8 p.m. and will run through July 20th, 2013 Come out and enjoy the opening reception, which will feature light refreshments and drinks. WoCA Projects is free and open to the public.

ABOUT WOCA PROJECTS                                                                                                                                                                     

WoCA Projects is a non-profit artspace featuring contemporary art by emerging, mid-career, and established women artists of color, and diversifying the contemporary art landscape through exhibitions and community arts programming.

WoCA Projects is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of WoCA Projects must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The space is located in the budding Riverside Arts District on Race Street, in the Riverside community in Fort Worth. During exhibition runs the gallery is open by appointment. Contact Lauren Cross by calling (817) 901-7135 or emailing info@wocaprojects.com.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WoCA Projects

2902 Race Street, Suite 100

Fort Worth, Texas 76111

info@wocaprojects.com

www.wocaprojects.gallereo.com

(817) 901-7135

Posted on June 18th 2013 on 03:13pm
0 Comments
Labels: bump it mafia, hiroko kubo, women artists of color

Friday 11th January 2013

 
PRESS RELEASE

Contact
Lauren Cross
Director/Curator
(817) 901-7135
info@wocaprojects.com
www.wocaprojects.com

 
Fort Worth, Texas–January 11, 2013–If you ask artist Lauren Cross what “WoCA” means, she'll tell you that “WoCA” is an acronym for “Women of Color Arts." Cross is the founding director and curator of WoCA Projects, a new non-profit artspace opening in Fort Worth on February 15th.
The new gallery will be located in the Riverside Arts District, a budding arts district in the Fort Worth Riverside community.
 
The mission of WoCA Projects is to highlight contemporary art by emerging, mid-career, and established women artists of color. Cross conceived the space to be both artist-run and project-oriented, her charge is to expose the city of Fort Worth and the broader arts community to artists who are often left out of the art equation. Cross’ inspiration for WoCA goes way back and touches a very personal side of her own art experience.
 
While studying art in undergraduate school Cross noticed that the art and artists she was exposed to did not relate to her own experience. As an African American woman artist, she discovered that the art world was highly white-male oriented, and later discovered that there were women of color artists exploring similar issues to her own.
 
“It wasn’t until I studied overseas that I discovered works by artists of color in a classroom setting,” says Cross, who discovered artists such as Chris Offili and her later mentor Rene Cox while studying art in London, England. “The irony was that there were artists exhibiting in the United States ( as well as a cultural arts history), but I was never introduced to their work. When I went to graduate school I realized that there were women artists of color making work very similar to what I was making in the studio… that would have helped me earlier on in art school.”
 
As a result, graduate school inspired Cross to start initatives that highlight women artists of color. Cross' documentary film and accompanying exhibition,The Skin Quilt Project, explores the works of contemporary African American quilters, and her online site, CVAAD Projects, exposes viewers to contemporary artists of the African diaspora. “These projects were all inspired by my desire to create spaces where contemporary artists of color could be recognized,” said Cross, which later became the motivation for WoCA.
 
With the opening of WoCA Projects, Cross is taking on a new space—the exhibition space. WoCA Projects will feature community and cultural arts programming through exhibitions, film screenings, artist talks and lectures, and community arts education.
 
On February 15th, 2013 from 6-9 p.m., WoCA Projects will officially open its doors to the public with a grand opening reception, premiering new exhibitions that feature artists Linda Lucia Santana, Desha Dauchan, and Joy Ude. "I am excited to feature these artists in WoCA," says Cross, "the space aims to help diversify the contemporary art landscape." WoCA hopes to complement the programming that other cultural arts instutitions are offering to local communitities. Cross admits that "I could have benefited from WoCA when I was in art school...recently I've had the opportunity to talk with other women artists of color in the development of this project and its shocking that many young artists still feel that their experiences are either unacknowledged or misrepresented." Cross hopes that the exhibitions and programming at WoCA will make a signficant impact on the local arts community, while also reshaping the art world.
 
For more information on WoCA Projects and upcoming exhibitions and programming visit www.wocaprojects.com and follow WoCA on Facebook.
 

Posted on January 11th 2013 on 02:13am
0 Comments
Labels: artist-run spaces, fort worth, lauren cross, new art gallery, texas art, women artists of color
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