Recently, the Studio Museum Harlem announced that artists E. Jane, Naudline Pierre, and Elliot Reed will be their artists in residence for their 2019-2020 Artist-in-Residence (AiR) programme. The AiR programme at the Studio Museum is committed to propelling the works of outstanding, up and coming black and Latinx artists. Their newest artists will receive support, including materials, studio space at the Studio Museum 127, and temporary programming space from October 2019 through September of next year. During the summer of 2020, an exhibition of works created by the three artists during their residency will be on view at MoMA PS1 as part of a partnership between the Studio Museum and the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1.
The artists were chosen from more than 300 applicants by a panel of staff from the museum including: Lumi Tan, consulting curator and curator of The Kitchen; Jasmin Wahi, founder and co-director of Project for Empty Space; and Sable Elyse Smith, one of the 2018-2019 AiR artists.
E. Jane, age 29 and based in Philadelphia, who at times works under the name MHYSA, is a conceptual artist and musician. As E. Jane, their work is primarily performance, video, sound installations, sculptures, or texts based works that deal with black liberation and womanism. Through MHYSA they have toured North America and Europe creating a music experience. ‘I am not grappling with notions of identity and representation in my art,’ wrote E. Jane. ‘I’m grappling with safety and futurity….The Black diva is an archetypal figure Black women dream through; she is a n source of light, beauty, and healing through song.’
Brooklyn-based painter Naudline Pierre, age 30, tells the story of characters based in other-worldly environments. Her practice was influenced by her religious upbringing which has led to her own personal mythology. Through the bright, rich tones of her palette, Pierre’s works centre around ‘apocalyptic messages, messages of sin and damnation, of purity and goodness, of blessings and humility, of shame and of guilt, interwoven with my own experiences.’
Finally, Los Angeles-based Elliot Reed, age 27, works through performance art in both gallery spaces and public places. In comparison to some performance art, Reed does not always utilize costumes and he doesn’t always use large groups of people, instead he uses himself as his primary medium. At times, he’ll interact with his audience or have others participate as he moves between performer and director. His most recent projects were CURB ALERT! (2019) and America’s Procession (2018).
‘Part of the magic of the Artist-in-Residence program is the way it changes with the times and keeps the Studio Museum as a key innovator across creative practice,’ said Legacy Russell, associate curator of exhibitions at the Studio Museum. ‘In form, subject matter, and concept, the diverse practices of our three artists in residence for 2019–20 are all on the cutting edge, expanding the canon and showing us what’s possible in art today and even giving us a glimpse of what art might be tomorrow.’
