Evanston Art Center Presents “Of Portals And Pathways II: Fiscal Frontiers”

EVANSTON ART CENTER ANNOUNCES A NEW EXHIBITION, “OF PORTALS AND PATHWAYS II: FISCAL FRONTIERS,” FEATURING WORKS BY SHONNA PRYOR

OPENING RECEPTION: February 19, from 1–4 pm, featuring an artist talk at 3pm
EXHIBITION DATES: February 19 – March 26, 2023
GALLERY HOURS: Monday–Thursday, 9 am–6 pm; Friday, 9 am–5 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9 am–4 pm

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is proud to present a new exhibition, “Of Portals and Pathways II: Fiscal Frontiers,” featuring works by Shonna Pryor.

Shonna Pryor is a conceptual artist, art programs producer, and an educator at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her interdisciplinary art practice is inspired by references to food theory and its peripheral objects and concepts as a lens through which to critically engage the politics of identity, memory, power, and play. Afrofuturist aesthetic underscores the visual language of these expressions with an affinity towards reclaimed materials that contribute their own history and iconography. Pryor’s work has been exhibited in major cities such as Chicago, Detroit and New York, with esteemed artist residencies at Hyde Park Art Center; High Concept Labs; and Chicago Council on Science and Technology, respectively. Her community engagement and outreach collaborations with established organizations and institutions have been instrumental in employing visual art to encourage young people towards S.T.E.A.M. futures, as applied to a just and equitable society.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I think of my found objects as reclaimed testimonials with previous lives. In their studio re-awakenings, these object griots become story catalysts, fundamentally engaging food-referencing concepts as a way-to-the-heart-through-the-belly of identity, memory, power and play…the food brings you to the meeting but the agency makes you stay. My creative practice aspires toward nourishing pathways that generate questions, broaden perspectives, and inspire action-to-positive-change both personally, as well as within broader social frameworks. It imagines the spirit of sentient webs of underground railroads linking the past/present/future of my ancestral collective conscious. These ideas, as serviced by select multidisciplinary media and making become conduits that toggle between the immediacy of the actual and the possibilities of the speculative…with a dash of Oshunna’s cayenne. 😉

The exhibition aligns with Black History Month, including a nod to the city of Evanston as the first to advance reparations to qualified descendants of enslaved black Americans.

“Of Portals and Pathways II: Fiscal Frontiers” will be on display in the Evanston Art Center’s Main Second Floor Gallery + Atrium from February 18 – March 26, 2023, with an opening reception on Sunday, February 19, from 1-4pm. The opening reception will also feature an artist talk with Shonna Pryor beginning at 3pm. The exhibition, opening reception and artist talk are free and open to the public.

Evanston Art Center, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. The Art Center offers extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach initiatives.
Evanston Art Center is located at 1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL. Evanston Art Center Gallery Hours: Monday– Thursday, 9 am–6 pm; Friday, 9 am–5 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9 am–4 pm. First and second-floor gallery spaces are accessible. Limited free parking is available. Masks are optional but strongly recommended for students, visitors and staff.

For more information, please visit us online at www.evanstonartcenter.org or contact Audrey Avril, Manager of Exhibitions, at 847.475.5300 or aavril@evanstonartcenter.org. Visit the Evanston Art Center on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EvanstonArtCenter/, follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/evartcenter, or on Instagram: @EvanstonArtCenter.