ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Creative Arts Workshop and the bldg fund, llc are proud to present Made Visible: Freedom Dreams, the newest in a series of exhibitions piloted in 2020 that makes the work of historically underrepresented artists visible at CAW. Since its inception, CAW has presented three Made Visible exhibitions, including artworks by Margaret Roleke, Shaunda Holloway, Annie Sailer, Aileen Ishmael, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, Kyle Kearson and Binwanka.

This year’s exhibition, curated by nico wheadon of the bldg fund, features Connecticut-based artists, Y. Malik Jalal, Linda Vauters Mickens, and Jasmine Nikole, with weekly programs by Babz Rawls Ivy. The exhibition will be on view in CAW’s Hilles Galleries from February 6th to March 18th, 2023. The exhibition’s theme builds upon concepts and questions explored in Robin D.G. Kelley’s seminal book, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination.

“Together, these artworks and projects invite meditations on what it means to work towards individual and collective liberation, while simultaneously working against forces of oppression and division. Resisting an overly utopian framework, they draw rich source materials from the everyday–the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Black American experience. We are proud to join CAW in celebrating the role of artists in envisioning, shaping, and advancing sociocultural change, while focusing on visions and strategies emanating from local communities of color,” says wheadon.

“Made Visible is a key part of our mission to amplify today’s and tomorrow’s creative voices through provocative exhibitions that can serve as a catalyst for community conversations,” said Anne Coates, executive director for CAW. “Through our Made Visible series, CAW has cultivated community and forged new connections with artists of all backgrounds who are at the heart of our work as a community arts center. We’re thrilled to see this series continue and our collaboration with the artists and the bldg fund has been critical to this year’s exhibition.”

Y. MALIK JALAL

In his site-specific installation, Y. Malik Jalal maps a constellation of life-sized images drawn from the family archives of long-time New Haven resident IfeMichelle Gardin. Activating both the exterior window galleries and interstitial spaces throughout the building, Jalal hopes to both, “serve and bring visibility to the legacy of home and placemaking of long-term African-American residents of the New Haven community.” Produced in dialogue with artist Allison Minto, founder of the Black New Haven Archive, Jalal’s research-based approach includes live and recorded oral history interviews, which will roll out in the space over time and explore home as a space for Black families to dream, grow and thrive. Stay tuned for more information about Jalal’s public program which will provide public access to the process of gathering these oral histories.

Y. Malik Jalal’s maternal family is from Savannah, Georgia, where he was born in March of 1994. He received a B.A. from Oglethorpe University in 2016. Jalal has spent almost a decade in steel fabrication and forging. Collage and assemblage are foundational to Jalal’s practice. Black culture, theory, ontology, and social positionality are the primary concerns and subjects within his work. Coming from a working class legacy and upbringing, the context for his material engagement is labor and the home. Y. Malik Jalal works with black family photos archives, predominantly with found or lost family photography. Jalal had a solo exhibition in 2019 at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center, and solos at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and at MARCH gallery in Manhattan. He has also curated a number of exhibitions for museums and private spaces. Jalal has lived and worked in Atlanta most of his life, but is currently living and working in New Haven, and a MFA candidate at the Yale School of Art.

JASMINE  NIKOLE

In the upper level Hilles Gallery, self-taught artist Jasmine Nikole offers a new series of paintings that embrace the uniqueness of our cultural heritage, celebrate diversity within Blackness, and prompt us to take pride in our individual and collective identities. In the artist's own words, freedom dreams are about, “being free to express ourselves authentically and without fear of judgment or censure,’” and, “being liberated from the restrictive norms and expectations of Western society.” By depicting us in our diversity, Nikole imagines a contemporary Garden of Eden where we can all live together in harmony. Her four panels are set atop an original, hand painted mural, and depict modern Black people returning to their ancestral roots. In her public program, Nikole has invited local partners to share strategies for living off the land.

Jasmine Nikole, a self taught artist, began art at the very young age of 5 years old. During one of her first parent- teacher conferences, Jasmine’s teacher expressed concerns about her penmanship and told her mother that she would never be artistically inclined. Even still, she loved drawing and painting animals and her favorite cartoons. At the age of 12 years old she began painting murals for people in her community. When deciding what path to take for a career, Jasmine was encouraged to become an engineer so that she could make a decent living for herself. After graduating with a degree in Packaging Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology, she went on to work for the brands Fisher Price, Sun Laundry, Dove, St. Ives, Vaseline, Conair, Cuisinart and more.

Although she found a second love for packaging, her passion still remained as an artist, and in October 2021 she took a leap to become a full time artist. Since then, she has been featured as a guest speaker on 94.3 WYBC, elementary schools and universities sharing her journey as an artist. Her work can be found at Strong Memorial Golisano Children’s Hospital (Rochester, NY), Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, Connecticut Center for Art and Technology, Connecticut Innovations, galleries, schools, and in many homes around the world. Jasmine’s art tells a story of hope that aims to evoke self reflection and healing. In a society that often overlooks the individual, Jasmine creates art that allows the viewer to feel seen in their struggles, joys, sorrows, and accomplishments and more importantly to see their strength throughout it all.

LINDA VAUTERS MICKENS

In the lower level Hilles Gallery is a new body of work by sculptor Linda Vauters Mickens which offers a glimpse into her interpretations of the trials and tribulations of the African American experience. In her own words, “​​Reflections on my life as an African-American woman, mother, and artist have led me to the urgency of creating this work as both a warning and a celebration.” A new piece inspired by Jacob Lawrence's The Great Migration series is accompanied by a series of floor sculptures that spawned this new work’s creation. Each embodies a spirit of resilience despite ongoing injustices, and also expresses a hope for change across the Diaspora more broadly. In her public program, Mickens will curate a selection of music and spoken word performances that riff on freedom dreaming as a powerfully subversive and empowering act within the Black community.

Linda Vauters Mickens was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954. She is a former student of Newark’s School of Fine and Industrial Arts, where she studied under Grigory Gurevich. Influenced by her family's deep southern roots, her early work is derived from the rich culture, sounds of blues, jazz and gospel, and the insufferable systemic racism against black people that she experienced while living in the south. Her work is always evolving, and comes from a place of deep understanding of the connection between pain, resilience, and beauty. She recently launched the God Bless Their Soles Collection, a sculpture series made from primarily recycled materials, which serves as a platform for her artist advocacy. She aims to honor the indestructible spirit and rich culture of black people with her angels. The collection is a reminder that angels are everywhere and the stranger sitting next to you could be hiding a magnificent pair of wings. Linda Mickens has a permanent collection of work at the River Road African-American museum in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.