Voices and Visionaries
October 29, 2021 – January 28, 2022
Cherry Street Pier
121 N. Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia, PA
Opening reception: Saturday, November 20th, 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Performances begin at 3:00 pm
Overview of Voices and Visionaries
About
Voices and Visionaries, a new Philadelphia Sculptors exhibition, arrives at Philadelphia’s Cherry Street Pier on October 29, 2021, bringing with it a wealth of talent from an inclusive and diverse group of exceptional artists having ties to the city.
A collaboration between the exhibition curators and seven selected artists, the show highlights individual expression while exposing threads of commonalities amongst the group of Black, Asian, and Latinx artists. Multimedia installations, as well as traditional and non-traditional sculptures will populate different locations on the pier. On view from October 29, 2021 – January 28, 2022, the exhibition is free and open to the public. A public opening reception will be held from 2:00 – 5:00 pm on Saturday, November 20th, which will include artistic, musical, and dance performances by two of the artists, Eiko Fan and Taji Ra’oof Nahl. Performances begin at 3:00 pm.
Process was a key element of the project and artists were involved from the start in the exhibition’s development. Although representing different age groups, cultures and genders, the artists found ways to connect with each other. Conversations amongst the artists and curators created the structural basis for the exhibition, allowing for the emergence of themes that include personal and cultural history; immigration; relationship to the land; and changing physical, social and political environments.
Taji Ra’oof’s performance (watch the full version on YouTube)
Eiko Fan’s performance (watch the full version on YouTube)
Given the freedom to create new artworks or adapt older ones, artists expanded their vision and have populated the pier with challenging art. Many of the sculptures and installations are located in the Cherry Street Pier Gallery, an exhibition space created from two shipping containers. Other artworks are more site specific, taking advantage of the pier’s structural elements and converted spaces.
Inside the Gallery, Syd Carpenter sites her evocative ceramic and steel sculptures in one of the shipping containers. Her installation, African-American Farms and Gardens, is bathed in a video projection of changing imagery, bringing new light to an overlooked group of people. In the space outside Carpenter's container Taji Ra’oof Nahl has suspended a sculpture of tin, wire and rubber called Turn of Events/ Warmongers, which, along with his other works, is inspired by the contributions of the 18th Century self-taught Black polymath Benjamin Banneker. Another of his works, Signature / Guarded Prayer, is installed in the second container.
On the other side of the container are lyrical wood sculptures by Eiko Fan including Tree of Mamas, revealing relief carvings of interconnected female bodies. Heryk Tomassini’s There's No Mainland alludes to the cultural history and sociopolitical relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. His tall sculpture of found commercial objects sits on the floor outside the container.
Other artists gravitate towards less confined spaces in other sections of the pier. Jermaine Ollivierre situates Legacies, his reimagined 1980’s era Chevy Caprice made of clothing and car parts, in the entryway to the pier, challenging the public to confront the “complicated American landscape, which depicts beautiful and deplorable moments interwoven into the fabric of society.” He continues exploring the complexities of identity with his equally idiosyncratic Rocky, located (of course) on the top of a flight of stairs at the back of the pier.
Midway back on the north side is Lucia Garzón’s Rise. Consisting of a twin bed on a metal frame beneath a leaking plastic roof, the installation poignantly references the lives of immigrants living in the margins of society, while honoring their labor. Behind Rise in a small concrete block booth, Taji Ra’oof Nahl presents another installation, Caged Domestic, that references Banneker’s scientific contributions.
Syd Carpenter
Mei-ling Hom
Outside in the back garden space, Mei-ling Hom investigates survival within the natural world. Her tea plants, rooted in containers of hand harvested and woven long-stemmed straw, have been transported to this new environment, where she hopes they will flourish. Echoing the views of many of the artists in the exhibition, she says, “I envision a future respectful of diverse cultures, caring of our fragile environment, and committed to creating sustainable, resilient lifestyles whether it is making art or growing food to enhance our lives in culturally rich, healthy, and sustainable ways.”
The curators for this exhibition are: Elaine Crivelli, Leslie Kaufman, Jacintha Kruc, Virginia Maksymowicz, Christine McDonald, Alice Oh, Simone Spicer and Anyta Thomas.
Cherry Street Pier is located at 121 N. Columbus Blvd. The pier is open to the public Monday – Thursday from noon – 10 pm, Friday from noon – 11 pm, Saturday 11 am – 11 pm, and Sunday 11 am – 10 pm.
Installation & Performance Images
Artists
Click below to view each artist’s statement and bio.
