Norwest Community Collaborative and Norwest Gallery of Art welcomes the first cohort of artists-in-residency to WOMXMHOUSE Detroit – located on Detroit’s westside at 15354 St. Marys Street, is an inclusive artist residency that supports BIPOC women and non-binary artists and curators.
“We are proud to announce our first 2022 WOMXNHOUSE Detroit artists-in-residence that will include: Bre’Ann White, (Detroit), Bria Lauren, (Houston, TX); Danielle Eliska Lyle, (Detroit), Cyrah Dardas, (Detroit), Miranda Kyle, (Detroit), Deja Milany, (Atlanta, GA); and, Navjeet Kaur, (Rochester, MI),” said Asia Hamilton, founder and chief curator at Norwest Gallery of Art. “The residency catalyzes growth for creatives by providing housing, studio space, stipends, exhibition space, and access to innovative networks. By providing a platform and resources to artists and curators of color, WOMENHOUSE Detroit seeks to improve much-needed BIPOC representation in the art world,” added Hamilton.
The diverse artists were selected from a pool of immense talent and will take part in the six-month residency receiving professional development, mentorship, a monthly stipend, and space to create artistic work that resonates with their unique experiences as women. 2 The selected WOMENHOUSE Detroit artists’ will immerse themselves and their work into their new space on Detroit’s northwest side, the renovated childhood home of Norwest Gallery’s founder, Asia Hamilton. WOMENHOUSE Detroit is rooted in a physical space that nurtured, and inspired generations of women and their growth and continues to flourish as a safe and inspirational space for the work of these incredible artists.
The WOMXMHOUSE Detroit ARTIST Bre’ann White has curated stunning photographs and branding materials for organizations worldwide. The Detroit-bred fashion and portrait photographer is known for creating and cultivating striking images that draw you into the subject’s world. Throughout White’s work portfolio, there is a consistent layer of authenticity and imagination.
With confidence in her work and her vision, Bre’Ann’s career has allowed her to showcase her work and explore exhibition opportunities. Bria Lauren is a Texas native, born and raised in Third Ward, Houston. As a visual storyteller, healer, and queer Black woman utilizing ancestral healing as a tool to navigate intersectionality as an act of resistance, the south is a sacred and integral part of her work. The heartbeat and intention of Lauren’s work intersects race, gender, vulnerability, motherhood, and Black feminism. Cyrah Dardas is a queer, ecosexual artist and care worker living in Detroit. Dardas uses her art practice as a tool in remembering the forgotten networks between humans and the earth for the purpose of regulation and healing across species to restore a collective ecological body and heal.
Danielle Eliska Lyle is an award-winning writer, film director and photographer from Detroit. She’s the founder and co-creator of a 3-tier art house, BUILT IN DETROIT (Black Bottom Art Center, Conjure Noir Films, Gild x Legacy Teas).Danielle received her MFA in Dramatic Writing in Film from New York University. She has even gained notable screenwriting recognition! Miranda Kyle is a figurative artist born and raised in Detroit. Her art touches on her experiences as an African American woman as well as themes like family, colorism, racism, and those alike.
Miranda is currently studying at the College for Creative Studies to receive her BFA in illustration. Deja Milany Jones is a Detroit based creative. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts, in Fibers from the College for Creative Studies. Born in Atlanta, GA., but she always called Detroit home. She grew up immersed in environments celebrating the elaborate world of black hair. Her artworks are 3 an exploration of adornment & self-discovery by challenging the world’s interaction with black hair. Navjeet Kaur is from Rochester, Michigan. She is an interdisciplinary artist. Her art practice is based in preserving stories through somatic remembrance practices such as weaving, beadwork, movement, breathwork, and ritual traditions based in reimagined mythologies.
Womxnhouse Detroit’s artist residency program mission is to be a catalyst for growth for creatives by providing housing, studio space, stipends, exhibition space, and access to innovative networks. By providing a platform and resources to artists and curators of color, Womxnhouse Detroit seeks to improve much-needed BIPOC representation in the art world. The cohort of diverse artists were selected from a pool of immense talented artists who take part in the six-month residency where they receive professional development, mentorship, a monthly stipend, and space to create artistic work that resonates with their unique experiences as women and non-binary artists. The inaugural WOMXNHOUSE Detroit exhibition opened in September 202.
I was the catalyst for WOMXNHOUSE Detroit artists and curatorial residency located in the childhood home of Asia Hamilton, Norwest Gallery of Art founder and director. Fifteen female artists were invited to transform places and spaces in and around the home into curated works of art. From the front porch, closets, hallways, living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, and back yard, every space of the home has been used as a gallery space.
WOMXNHOUSE Detroit, echoes the landmark feminist art project ‘Womanhouse,’ led by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro in 1972. The collection of WOMXNHOUSE Detroit artists – who through their creativity, consciousness-awareness, and collaborations, are elevating and celebrating contemporary female perspectives.
WOMXNHOUSE Detroit will offer a unique experience into feminist artworks answering the questions, what has changed for women? What remains the same?
“As a WOMXNHOUSE Detroit artist of color, I know what the barriers are. I’ve worked so hard to have my artworks and curatorial projects seen, exhibited, and taken serious,” said Asia Hamilton, artist, and WOMXNHOUSE Detroit residency founder. “I wanted to create a space for women artists to create freely – at little to no cost. I also want my neighbors to experience art and culture as I see and experience it. My goals is to bringing love and light to the neighborhood I called home and cherish so dearly,” Hamilton added.
As one of Detroit’s newest art venue, we seek to gain prominence by being recognized for featuring visually and intellectually intriguing works of art. We view art as a visual representation of what the soul yearns to express, and we are committed to promoting artistic works that provide an engaging and explosive voice. Our goal is to maintain a high level of excellence, while providing our audience with the highest caliber of art locally, nationally and internationally.
Norwest Gallery of Art is a 2018 Knight Foundation Detroit Knight Arts Challenge finalist. Asia Hamilton is a commissioner with the City of Detroit Entertainment Commission representing District 1.
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