The Power of Uplifting Each Other
The 224 EcoSpace
Hartford
August 28, 2024
One question that has stayed with me as I’ve explored visual art around the city is how I should approach themed art. Artistic creations are often (perhaps incorrectly) characterized as deep expressions of an artists’ inner thoughts and desires, and interpreting what an artist “meant” to say is a big part of experiencing art.
The Art Connection Studio continues to expand its exhibits featuring the work of individuals with mental health conditions and intellectual and developmental disabilities. When I stopped by the latest exhibit at EcoSpace on Farmington Avenue titled “The Power of Uplifting Each Other,” that question rang louder than ever.
The show is a collaboration between ACS, the 224 EcoSpace, and the Hartford Public Library, which sponsored the event. Artists represented themselves in the sense of showing who they are, what they consider to be empowerment, what empowers them, and how the community helps them through the process of empowering each other.
When approaching a gallery with a theme such as this one, I understood that those aforementioned characterizations of artistic creations are definitely not the case. Each artist didn’t spontaneously decide to paint something positive and uplifting; instead, that was the assignment. So how does that impact how I should interact with the artwork?
I think that in this case, the sense of surprise and discovery comes from how each artist interpreted the prompt for themselves. There are many different pieces of varying styles that came out of the exhibit, and each represents how their creator decided to express their vision of uplift.
The first piece that really caught my eye in the exhibit was “Afro Lady,” attributed to the studio it was painted in. Black hair has always been a battleground, with partisans on all sides demanding that we fall into one camp or the other in the Natural Hair Wars. But hair is first and foremost a personal expression that can be as deep as showing an appreciation for African American heritage or as surface-level as simply liking the way something looks. The juxtaposition of jet-black skin and snow-white hair seems to capture that dichotomy, showing that whatever style or whatever reason a person chooses to wear their hair is fine.
Next I stopped at “We See Faces Not Hearts” by Adamarie Oliver. The title reminds me of a saying in Spanish I’ve heard many times: “caras vemos, corazones no sabemos” — “we see faces, we don’t see hearts.” The varied shapes and expressions of the faces in the artwork actually do a wonderful job of portraying what the hearts behind those faces could be feeling, and the wavy lines and distorted shapes communicate the transience of all of our emotions. We may feel a certain way right now, but it will pass, and what shape our emotions take in the future is something that we can’t know. It’s a reminder to be kind always, because we never know what someone is truly feeling.
“Move Forward and Blossom” is a beautiful piece by Tyler Duchesneau that captures the spirit of Art Connection Studio perfectly. The studio’s motto is “We don’t see limits or disabilities, we see This-Ability,” and the blossoming of beautiful flowers out of a wheelchair is a wonderful symbol of the abilities of these artists. It’s a piece that would be at home in any professional gallery I’ve been to, and shows how working within the confines of a theme doesn’t mean that breathtaking work isn’t possible.
Finally, I stopped to admire a piece by Joshua Mcevila that was untitled, but conveyed its message loud and clear. Diversity and inclusion, shorthanded as DEI, have been co-opted by certain people as a new version of the N‑word, but it’s critical that we not forget what those words actually mean: allowing different people, regardless of race, gender, religion, and disability status to be recognized as fully human and deserving of respect and dignity. Fighting for those ideals is not academic for those of us who deal with discrimination as a matter of course, and it’s heartening to see, even if only in art, different people gathered together in peace.
Ultimately, the exhibit was successful, and I left feeling uplifted by not just the positive messages, but the different ways the messages were portrayed. There are many more stunning artistic works on display in the exhibit, so make sure to take some time to stop by and see them for yourselves.
NEXT
The Power of Uplifting Each Other runs at The 224 EcoSpace through Sept. 30.
Jamil heads to the Old State House to learn more about the Constitution.
