Relic

April 8 - May 27, 2022

Curated by Ciera Alyse McKissick, featuring: Abigail Lucien, Janelle Ayana Miller, Kevin Demery, Lakela Brown, Rhonda Wheatley, and Shonna Pryor

Relic, inspired by the traveling billboard piece, "There Are Black People in the Future," by artist Alisha Wormsley, explores what cultural Black artifacts and emblems of today will be left behind to reflect our time here and inform the future. McKissick poses the question, “what will we find when we get there?” to explore what shapes future identities in the beyond. Artists Abigail Lucien, Janelle Ayana Miller, Kevin Demery, Lakela Brown, Rhonda Wheatley, and Shonna Pryor explore Black relics through documentation, intuition, collecting, spirituality, and the land through mineral and food.

Curator Ciera Alyse McKissick has created a complementary website for the exhibition that allows for a deep dive into the works, artists, and influences that make up the exhibition. The site will be regularly updated with posts throughout the show.

Ciera Alyse McKissick is an independent writer, curator, cultural producer, and the founder of AMFM, an organization whose mission is to promote emerging artists. She is also the Public Programs Manager at the Hyde Park Art Center and on the board of Equity Arts (a project of Heaven Gallery). She created AMFM, originally a web magazine, as an independent study project in 2009 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied Journalism and Mass Communications. Her work since then often involves collaboration through supporting Black and brown artists, local arts organizations, and seeks to stimulate community engagement that's driven by inclusivity, accessibility, intention, and care. 

Projects and events have been featured in Terremoto MX, NewCity, Sixty Inches From Center, ABC 7 Chicago, The Chicago Tribune, WGN, WTTW, Chicago Reader, The Chicago Sun Times, Southside Weekly, Afropunk, and more. 

 

Arts Incubator

301 E Garfield Blvd, Chicago, IL

 

Stay tuned to learn more about exhibition programs and the closing reception: Sign up for Arts + Public Life’s newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Ciera Alyse McKissick

Ciera Alyse McKissick

Photo Credit: Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas O’Neal

004_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
014_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
029_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
013_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
016_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
141_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
047_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
050_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
060_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
115_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
119_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
148_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
125_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
143_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
113_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
074_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
078_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
061_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
082_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
083_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
086_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
067_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
151_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG
001_Arts-and-Public-Life_Relic_web.JPG

Relic: Virtual Artist Talk

May 10, 2022 | 6:00 - 7:30pm

Join artists Shonna Pryor, Janelle Ayana Miller, and Kevin Demery for a virtual conversation with curator Ciera McKissick exploring exhibition themes and what the artists hope to leave behind for Black people in the future through their practice and work. Followed by Q+A.

Related Events + Activations

Meet the artists, learn more about the works, and join us in celebration!

An Afro-Migration to Relic

Fri. April 29 | 4:00 - 7:00pm

Join Relic artist Shonna Pryor during gallery hours to engage with her featured work “WallPAPER of Respect: The Gold Freedmen,” and “Care Package for an Afro-Migration to Mars” series. Visitors will be able to ask questions and hear a short discussion about the work. The curator and Pryor invite Black entrepreneurs to attend and fill out a modern day ledger paper as a record of their work and business, as inspired by the Freedmen Bureau papers featured in the exhibition. 

Manifestation Through Tarot + Words

Sat. April 30 | 3:00 - 7:00pm

Join Relic artist Rhonda Wheatley during gallery hours to engage with her featured work, “Ritual Arrangement for Opening Manifesting Portals.” Wheatley will also be guiding visitors through a Manifestation Journal writing prompt, and conducting Tarot readings on a sign up basis to engage the spirituality within her work.

The Collection Plate

Sat. May 14 | 5:00 - 7:00pm

Join Relic artist, Janelle Ayana Miller during gallery hours to engage with her featured work, “Building Virtue: A Study,” “Bless the Hands That Prepare,” and “Untitled (Okra).” Miller will also have additional church fans from her collection for visitors to view and engage with, and the building of her collection.

Virtual Artist Talk

Tues. May 10 | 6:00 - 7:30pm

Join artists Abigail Lucien, Shonna Pryor, Janelle Ayana Miller, LaKela Brown, and Kevin Demery for a virtual conversation exploring exhibition themes and what the artists hope to leave behind for Black people in the future through their practice and work. Followed by Q+A.

The Body as Relic: Closing Reception

Fri. May 27 | 6:00 - 9:00pm

Join us for the closing reception of Relic and dance through the past, present, and into the future with a DJ set from Sadie Woods, and a dance performance exploring the body as memory and relic. View the work featured in the exhibition for the last time, and honor our time together here in space.