CHICAGO (WGN) — Two friends who have been passionate about art their entire lives formed a brand new group focused on connecting Black artists and giving them more exposure, and over the next week, several walls of the Evanston Art Center will spotlight art curated by the founders of the Northshore Black Artist Group (NBAG).
“My work really is a mashup between, you’ll see here, African symbils and textiles,” said Angela Williams, Co-Founder of the NBAG. “So, I’m inspired by all of that, but it has a graphic form, so to speak.”
Art is a part of the glue that bonds Williams and her fellow NBAG Co-Founder, Fran Joy, together. It all started at an art show Joy curated earlier this year that sparked Williams’s interest in connecting with other Black artists.
“It was a fantastic show, really well put together,” Williams said. “While we were there, I was asking [Joy] who are all of these artists and she said, ‘Mostly from Evanston, the Northshore,’ and I was like, ‘Wow, we should get together.’”
From there, things moved pretty quickly and earlier this month, the Northshore Black Artist Group was officially born.
“I love when there’s an idea and there’s action to go with making that idea happen in a short period of time,” Joy said.
Part of the NBAG’s aim is connecting Black artists living in the Northshore area and Chicago. The group also hopes to help Black artists get exposure inside a variety of galleries and venues.
“Basically, a lot of times we don’t get that kind of focus or we may have one or two within a show somewhere.” Joy said. “Or, there may not be that opportunity at all.”
Thanks to the Evanston Art Center opening its doors, the Northshore Black Artist Group is presenting its first exhibition, showcasing twenty artists, who use a variety of techniques to express themselves.
Williams and Joy hope the exhibition will be the first of many and that from here, they will continue to grow.
“Our bigger goal is to not only make it about the visual artists, but performing literary and media artists as well,” Williams said.
For more information on the exhibition, visit the Evanston Art Center’s website: https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/exhibitions/northshore-black-artist-group-exhibition
The Northshore Black Artist Group’s exhibition at the Evanston Art Center runs through Nov. 3.
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