Author Archives: Experiment Station

Reflections from 2023 CARD Fellow: Anne Smith

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The inaugural 12-week CARD Fellowship, a collaboration among the Phillips, the Nicholson Project, and the DC Public Library to support the local art community, concluded in December. Multimedia artist Anne Smith from Syracuse, New York, reflects on her experience.

CARD Fellow Anne Smith

Reflecting on your fellowship journey, how have you grown professionally and personally?

One of the special things about this program would be the relationships that we started to build with each other—relationships that would be sustained and grow over the long term. My mindset heading into the program was that I would need to produce and prove my worth—a very “DC” mindset, I realize now. It became clear throughout a few conversations with the core group—the fellows and the partners from the Phillips, DCPL and the Nicholson Project—that the idea was really much more substantive and forward-thinking than that. Our work has been to build relationships. These relationships, with each other and with other professionals we’ve met as a result of the fellowship, sustain our work in powerful ways and bring meaning to this strange and wonderful life of being an artist.

In what ways were you able to collaborate with the other CARD fellows and partner organizations, and how may these collaborations/partnerships influence your future projects?

Early on, Tina, Paloma, and I started to meet together as a group and decided to make it a regular practice. I think it’s safe to say that we all felt supported and inspired by each other, and fell into an easy rapport that is open and honest about our work, struggles, and visions for what we want to do. I feel so grateful that the fellowship put the three of us together.

The next circle expanding from there has been our collaboration with the CARD Fellowship team from the three partner organizations. Our regular conversations and studio visits with them were thoughtful, fulfilling experiences and I have new plans for my work as a direct result of our meetings. Because of our conversations, I also started a regular writing practice: short reflections on the practices, motions, and activities from my day-to-day that fold right into the kinds of visual work that I do. I’ve been delighted and surprised by the way this writing practice has unfolded. It expands my idea of how my practice is linked with poetry, which opens up new avenues for my work in the studio.

The fellowship organizers also put a lot of thought into creating a “road map” for each of us fellows based on our goals, putting each of us into contact with other professionals who could inform and advise us on those goals. Those meetings are still happening and providing guidance for me on topics ranging from nitty-gritty materials questions to big picture career goals. The amount of thought and time that was put into crafting those roadmaps has been such a gift in helping me take concrete steps toward my goals.

CARD Fellows Paloma Vianey and Anne Smith in Smith’s studio

How has this fellowship changed your views about the intersections of art and community?

The fellowship has reaffirmed my views about art and community—that the two are essential to each other and feed off one another. To be able to connect with others over work that is already important to me personally is deeply affirming. Those meaningful connections that happen in meeting face-to-face, listening, questioning, considering—they expand my practice and keep me from getting too narrow in my thinking. Being in community with others makes having an art practice so much more fruitful. The community that has grown from this fellowship does just that and will continue to do so.

Multiple works by Anne Smith

What advice would you give to artists looking for fellowships or other opportunities to grow their careers?

Focus on building relationships. You will make your work no matter what, and what “making” means will look different at different times of your life. Connecting with other people who are also creative or interested in what you’re interested in—those relationships are what will sustain your practice and give meaning to what you do. And don’t be deterred by rejection letters! We all get plenty of them. Just keep going.

CARD Fellows and the Nicholson Project in Smith’s studio

Reflections from 2023 CARD Fellow: Tina Villadolid

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The inaugural 12-week CARD Fellowship, a collaboration among the Phillips, the Nicholson Project, and the DC Public Library to support the local art community, concluded in December. Multimedia artist Tina Villadolid from New York reflects on her experience.

CARD Fellow Tina Villadolid

Reflecting on your fellowship journey, how have you grown professionally and personally?

Personally, the CARD Fellowship was a very internal and reflective time. My creative practice of reclamation of my inheritances as a Filipina American is transformative and also very demanding. My research-based creative output in the last two years was robust. I was encouraged to take some much-needed creative downtime and to envision what the next chapter holds. That is exactly what I needed.

Professionally, I was introduced to a network of artists, curators, and organizations with whom I share the purpose of creating counter-narratives to the histories we have been taught. I am excited to build on these relationships in the coming months and years, and I look forward to furthering my research and collaborations within this network.

In what ways were you able to collaborate with the other CARD fellows and partner organizations, and how may these collaborations/partnerships influence your future projects?

Anne, Paloma, and I formed our own micro-community during the fellowship. Sounding out our questionings to each other, we discovered we were searching for similar things as we each move in such different directions creatively. Together, we formed a solid, inquisitive, and caring cohort.

CARD Fellows (left to right): Tina Villadolid, Anne Smith, and Paloma Vianey

How has this fellowship changed your views about the intersections of art and community?

Through the fellowship, I’ve gained a fuller perspective of the ways in which the DC arts scene seeks to support artists like me. It makes sense that like-minded artists are here responding to systems and policies that are built to disempower people. Seeing the thriving community that exists through and because of art is one of the most positive things about living in the nation’s capital.

Multiple works by Tina Villadolid

What advice would you give to artists looking for fellowships or other opportunities to grow their careers?

My advice to artists looking for opportunities to grow their careers: Find your people. When you feel you’ve found the people who truly get you, who truly champion you in living your life to fulfill your purpose, the opportunities will come to you. Be tenacious about your purpose, rest when you can, and remain open.

Tina Villadolid in her studio

The Women of African Modernism

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The Phillips Collection Fellow Arianna Adade on how the women artists featured in African Modernism in America, 1947-67 (on view through January 7, 2024) challenged depictions of womanhood.

Afi Ekong, Olumo Rock, 1960, Oil on canvas, and Manyolo Estella Betty, Cattle People, 1961, Acrylic on canvas

The depiction of African women in art has continually been valuable as well as fascinating. Throughout history, African art has captured the essence of women in a variety of mediums and environments in a way that the Western art world has often neglected. As more women started to become recognized as artists, the depiction of womanhood transformed through the progression of the modern art movements. These representations, whether traditional or modern, illustrate women in a multitude of positions, from nurturing mothers and wives to fierce warriors, leading the fight against Western colonization. Through art, women have illuminated a modern form of feminism that moves beyond the narrow Western narrative of womanhood. Instead, it investigates the fundamental functions women play in societal aspects such as politics, race, religion, and more.

The exhibition African Modernism in America, 1947-67 features nine women: Miranda Burney-Nicol, Ndidi Dike, Afi Ekong, Manyolo Estella Betty, Ladi Kwali, Grace Salome Kwami, Suzanna Ogunjami, Etso Clara Ugbodaga-Ngu, and Viola Mariethia Wood. Each woman has made vital contributions to African modern art.

Women expanded the subjects in art. With more representation of African women artists, they pushed past the matriarchal depictions of women to highlight the diverse contributions they hold in African societies and the messages they tell with it.

One example of this is Miranda Burney-Nicol’s The Conquering Hero. Carved into a Quaric writing board, the art portrays the horse and rider motif, visual iconography recognized in both African and Western traditions. She brings forth the connection of the past and present through wood carving, a traditional art form prevalent in Africa. As a symbol of the West African empires that once flourished before colonization, the horse is seen as a status of the wealth and power in the region’s history. Burney-Nicol’s use of the prayer board as a medium also shows the importance of religion in certain tribes and cultures.

Miranda Burney-Nicol (Olayinka) (1927-1996, Sierra Leone), The Conquering Hero, 1972, Incised Muslim prayer board, 21 x 9 x 3/4 in., Collection of The Newark Museum of Art, The Simon Ottenberg Collection, gift to The Newark Museum of Art, 2020, 2020.4.4

Even though portraiture was a widely explored expression of art in the Western world, African women artists specializing in portraiture used this art style as a way to capture the life and identity of the seemingly ordinary African woman. The historical components are interlaced with the fashion and beauty of their time. African modernist artists used portraiture as a way to connect and convey the cultural, social, and political stories of the continent that were typically ignored in the art world.

Suzanna Ogunjami’s A Nupe Princess depicts an older woman who is a royal member of the Nupe kingdom, an ethnic group in central Nigeria. Wearing a red, green, and black necklace, the woman illustrates the colors of pan-Africanism. This not only acts as a reflection of her Igbo-Jamaican identity but also as Ogunjami’s efforts to preserve West African artistic traditions.

Suzanna Ogunjami (c. 1885-1952, Igbo), A Nupe Princess, 1934, Oil on canvas; Framed: 21 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 1/8 in.; Fisk University Galleries, Fisk University, Nashville, TN, Gift of the Harmon Foundation

Grace Salome Kwami’s A Girl in Red (Portrait of Gladys Ankora) is also an exploration of portraiture in modern African art. Gladys Ankora, a woman who worked in Kwami’s sister’s household, serves as a representation of Ghanaian women and identity in art. With no African art history courses being taught in Ghana to rely on, Kwami produced her own idea of realism. Although seemingly simple, Kwami produces a warm red and brown palette paired with patterned clothing and a headscarf—often referred to as “kente” depending on the fabric and pattern; clothing is seen as an integral part of individual expression in Ghana. Subtly woven into her subject, Kwami showcases delicate touches of gold jewelry, highlighting a significant aspect of the country’s rich history, known for its abundance of gold.

Grace Salome Kwami (1923-2006, Ghana), A Girl in Red (Portrait of Gladys Ankora), 1954, Oil on linen on canvas, 29 15/16 x 22 in., Courtesy of Atta and Pamela Kwami

Today, as the fight for women’s voices continues to expand, artists use their practice as a way to challenge gender-based oppression. The systemic barriers that women have faced that have limited their artistic expression are prevalent when looking through the history of art; however, the strides women have made continue to flourish, opening doors for the voices and sociopolitical issues to be amplified.

Ndidi Dike’s collage-based work The Politics of Selection delves into the intricate relationships between identity and politics. By incorporating women of the Diaspora who contributed to African modernism in art, she exposes the marginalization and silencing of women throughout history. She particularly focuses on archives of Nigerian artists such as Afi Ekong, Etso Clara Ugbodaga-Ngu, and Ladi Kwali. In her muted-color collages, she depicts women artists being physically overshadowed and concealed by their male counterparts. The mixed media collection serves as artistic documentation of the absence of women in the arts—particularly Black women—and the political elements surrounding the issue.

Ndidi Dike (b. United Kingdom; active Nigeria), The Politics of Selection, 2022, Photocollage printed on transparency, earthenware vessel, earth, book, paper, 48 1/8 x 72 1/2 in., Courtesy of the artist