NXTHVN INC

IN MAY 2024, THE FIFTH COHORT OF NXTHVN FELLOWS COMPLETED THEIR FELLOWSHIPS, WHICH BEGAN IN AUGUST 2023. COHORT 05 STUDIO FELLOWS ENGAGED IN A COMPREHENSIVE YEAR-LONG FELLOWSHIP DESIGNED TO ACCELERATE THEIR CAREER BY PROVIDING DEDICATED STUDIO SPACE, STIPEND FUNDING, RIGOROUS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SESSIONS, AND AN EXPANDED NETWORK OF COLLECTORS, GALLERIES, AND INSTITUTIONS. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, STUDIO FELLOWS PARTICIPATED IN WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS THAT FOCUSED ON PRACTICAL COMPONENTS OF SETTING UP AND MANAGING A SUSTAINABLE ART PRACTICE. THE STUDIO FELLOW EXPERIENCE CULMINATED WITH AN ACCLAIMED GROUP EXHIBITION AT THE CAMPUS IN HUDSON NEW YORK IN JUNE OF 2024.CURATORIAL FELLOWS RECEIVED CO-WORKING SPACE AND A STIPEND THROUGHOUT THE FELLOWSHIP YEAR. IN ADDITION TO CO-CURATING AN EXHIBITION, THE CURATORIAL FELLOWS DEVELOPED ADVANCED SKILLS IN THE LOGISTICS AND CONCEPTS OF EXHIBITION-MAKING, ENHANCED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND MENTORSHIP SKILLS. CURATORIAL FELLOWS CONDUCTED RESEARCH AND WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE PROGRAMS AND EXHIBITIONS STAFF AND ENGAGED IN A SERIES OF GROUP CRITIQUES, STUDIO VISITS, AND WORKSHOPS WITH ART WORLD PROFESSIONALS AND PRODUCED AN EXHIBITION AT NXTHVN IN MARCH OF 2024.IN AUGUST, 2024, THE SIXTH COHORT OF FELLOWS BEGAN THEIR FELLOWSHIP EXPERIENCE, ENGAGING IN THE SAME LEVEL OF PROGRAMMING AS THE PREVIOUS COHORT. THIS GROUP CONSISTED OF SEVEN STUDIO FELLOWS AND ONE CURATORIAL FELLOW.DURING THE YEAR, NXTHVN PRODUCED WORLD-CLASS EXHIBITIONS INCLUDING:SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2023: SAYA WOOLFALK: FIELD NOTES FROM THE EMPATHIC UNIVERSE INVITED VISITORS TO ENTER THE KALEIDOSCOPIC AND CULTURALLY HYBRID WORLDS CREATED BY THE ARTIST. THE EXHIBITION FEATURED AN IMMERSIVE VIDEO INSTALLATION EXPLORING PORTRAITURE AND A SERIES OF NEW MIXED MEDIA COLLAGES, TRANSFORMED BY WOOLFALK'S DIGITALLY COLLAGED MURALS. KNOWN FOR HER SITE-SPECIFIC MULTIMEDIA WORKS THAT INVESTIGATE GLOBAL TRADITIONS AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE, WOOLFALK IS THE CREATOR OF THE EMPATHICSFICTIONAL FUTURISTIC BEINGS WHO TIME-TRAVEL AND SHAPE-SHIFT ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE. THIS INSTALLATION INITIALLY PREMIERED IN 2021 AT NEWARK ART MUSEUM, WHERE WOOLFALK STUDIED THEIR HERBARIA (PLANT SPECIMENS) AND LANDSCAPE PAINTING COLLECTIONS, REINTERPRETING THESE ARTIFACTSAND THEIR RELATION TO AMERICAN IDENTITYFROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE EMPATHICS.MARCH-MAY, 2024: TO ECHO A SHADOW IS A GROUP EXHIBITION THAT FEATURED SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS BY ASH ARDER AND LUNGISWA GQUNTA AND SELECT ARTWORKS BY TORWKASE DYSON AND OLUSEYE. THE EXHIBITION BROUGHT THESE ARTISTS TOGETHER TO EXAMINE HOW INDUSTRIALIZATION HAS LED TO FORCED MIGRATION, WHICH IN TURN HAS EVOLVED INTO A PRACTICE OF DEVELOPING MULTI-LOCAL FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE. THE MULTI-LOCAL, MEANING TO WORK ON A LOCAL LEVEL ACROSS MORE THAN ONE REGION, IS HIGHLIGHTED THROUGH EACH ARTISTS' PRACTICE AND WORKS ON VIEW. HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THEIR PRESENT AND ANCESTRAL GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS, THE ARTISTS HAVE JOURNEYED ALONG VARIOUS ROUTES INCLUDING: THE SUBURBAN AND URBAN CENTERS OF SOUTH AFRICA; SOUTHERN US TO DETROIT AND CHICAGO; AND THE UK TO WEST AFRICA, AS WELL AS THE AMERICAS. THE ARTWORKS USE MATERIALS OF SOUND, SOIL, SMOKE, LIGHT, MEMORY, MOVEMENT AND THE ASSOCIATED AND EMBEDDED EXPERIENCES OF ECOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, OPACITY AND BLACKNESS. THE EXHIBITION CONTENDED THAT THE REVERBERATIONS OF ENFORCED MIGRATION ARE UNFIXED, RESPONSIVE AND EPHEMERAL, LIKE AN ECHO AND A SHADOW. CO-CURATED BY CURATORIAL FELLOWS MARQUITA FLOWERS AND CLARE PATRICK. JUNE-AUGUST 2024: DESERVE WHAT YOU DREAM INVITED VISITORS TO SIT AND REST WHILE GAZING AT LEISURELY POOL SCENES OF BLACK JOY FROM DERRICK ADAMS' FLOATER PAINTING SERIES, ABSTRACT PAINTINGS OF MUSINGS AND INTUITIVE THOUGHTS BY NEW HAVEN-BASED ARTIST JIHYUN LEE, AND INTRICATE ABSTRACT SCULPTURES AND LATCH-HOOKED RUGS BY SARAH ZAPATA THROUGHOUT NXTHVN'S GALLERY AND AULA SPACES; ALONG WITH A VINYL WINDOW INSTALL OF 'ADVENTURES OF JOY DA BLACK BOI' FROM NEW HAVEN-BASED ARTIST ISAAC BLOODWORTH. THIS SELECTION OF WORKS PROVIDED A SPACE OF RESPITE AND REST FOR OUR VIEWERS TO EXPERIENCE THE LIBERATION OF DAYDREAMING. VIEWERS WERE ENCOURAGED TO RELAX, DAYDREAM, AND COMPOSE POETRY WITH THEIR BODIES IN OUR GALLERY WHILE CONTEMPLATING THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS: WHY DO YOU DREAM? HOW DO YOU DREAM? WHAT DO YOU DREAM OF?IN MAY OF 2024, NXTHVN ANNOUNCED ITS SIXTH COHORT OF FELLOWS, INCLUDING SEVEN STUDIO FELLOWS AND TWO CURATORIAL FELLOWS, SELECTED FROM OVER 829 INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS.THROUGH NXTHVN'S CREATIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, ALL FELLOWS ENGAGED IN INTER-GENERATIONAL MENTORSHIP WITH NINE LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. ALL GRADUATING APPRENTICES WENT ON TO FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITIES.