James Terrell | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


James Terrell, MFA Painting ’02

James Terrell is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Northeast, Washington, DC. His paintings incorporate ideas of ancestry and identity alongside formal concerns of color and composition. Terrell holds a MFA in painting from Parsons School of Design and a BFA from Howard University. He has exhibited throughout Washington, DC for over 15 years, including at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum and the Howard University Gallery of Fine Art. He works as an art teacher in the DC Public Schools. The Honfleur Gallery presented James Terrell with the 2017 East of the River Distinguished Artist Award. The Honfleur Gallery exemplifies high standards of art and culture from across the city and nation. In 2012, the East of the River Distinguished Artist Award was created, to celebrate the exemplary caliber of artists from Ward 7 and 8.


State of Confusion

James Terrell, MFA Painting ’02
2015
Acrylic on Canvas

“There is a lot going on in the world today. Day to day survival can be stressful. Although at times we may feel like we are burdened down, we must never give up. We must struggle to make a change both internal and external. We must shatter the myth that we can not overcome. We must hold it together and regroup. We must have hope or we will be consumed by the mass confusion surrounding the day to day struggle.”

How would you describe your day to day job and/or artistic practice?

I paint and create every day. I teach art everyday. I am constantly learning about and growing in my artistic craft by teaching others about art.

Please describe your educational path, including formal and informal training or learning?

I am James Stephen Terrell a native Washingtonian who was reared in Ward 7. My parents are Rev. Dr. James E. Terrell, Pastor of historic Second Baptist Church of Washington D.C. and Retired Superior Court Associate Judge Mary A. Terrell of the Superior Court of Washington D.C. I received my high school diploma from Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C. I received the Bachelors of Fine Art in 1999 from Howard University, Masters of Fine Arts in 2002 from Parsons School of Design in New York City and in May of 2006, I received the Masters of Divinity Degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York City with a concentration on Theology and the Fine Arts. While attending Union Theological Seminary, I also pursued Fine Arts painting elective courses at Columbia University. In preparation for my teacher certification, I elected to take graduate education courses at the University of the District of Columbia.

What advice would you share with current Parsons students?

Stay focused. Study you craft. Never take your education for granted. Don't just make art for art sake. Make art for the sake of the people.

Christopher Udemezue | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Christopher Udemezue, BFA Integrated Design Curriculum ’08

Born in Long Island, NY Christopher Udemezue has shown at a variety of galleries and museums, including the New Museum, Queens Museum of Art, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, AC Institute Art Gallery, and Envoy Enterprises. Christopher has been featured in New York magazine, The New Yorker, Artnet news, Gayletter magazine, Brooklyn Rail magazine, Afro Punk, Style.com and OUT Magazine. As the lead organizing member in the art collective House of Ladosha, Christopher’s work explores queer issues as they intertwine with the social politics of communities of color. His recent body of work utilizes his Jamaican heritage and the complexities of gender identity, desire, tragedy through personal and public mythology and public lynching as a primary source. As the founder of the platform RAGGA NYC, Christopher completed a residency with the New Museum “All The Threatened And Delicious Things Joining One Another” in June 2017, exploring Afro-Caribbean diasporic traditions, bringing together works by a group of artists who trace their own relationships to Caribbean history.


Untitled (Taken by the loa with a knife in her hand, she cut the throat of a pig and they all swore to kill all the whites on the island)

Christopher Udemezue, BFA Integrated Design Curriculum ’08
2017
Framed photograph

“For me, my road to self-love and pride has been rooted in knowing where I come from. Looking into Caribbean history, spirituality, and my people as a whole has fast-tracked a sense of self-worth and strength — especially given the current state of the country and the world. White Americans take for granted that their history and religions are the mainstream in this country and abroad. People of color at large, and Caribbean people living here in the U.S., are often disconnected from their own story. The image of the sad slave is all I knew. All the heroes on TV are white; all the heroes in the history books are white. Where do I find my reflection? I can’t find her. To this day, queer, and POC history is often relegated to the backs of the history books, if it’s included at all. Vodou, for example — a religion with roots in non-gender-binary practice, which liberated Haiti from French control — is demonized in contemporary media and pop culture. And as Maya Monès mentions in her RAGGA NYC interview, “Like most Dominican families, mine refrained from exploring our roots, leaving me with a cloudy sense of pride in a sort of racial limbo. It felt like I was facing a foggy mirror, with a deep yearning to see and embrace the person who stood opposite me.” From the Haitian Revolution’s religious spark; from the irony of William Thomas Beckford, the largest plantation owner in Jamaica, fleeing his family in England because he was gay; from the origins of witchcraft in West Africa — the more I looked back, the more I garnered strength, yet still yearned to see myself. Where is my queer self? What are the stories of my trans sisters during the fight for freedom in Trinidad and Tobago? What are the stories of my femme brothers in Puerto Rico’s rebellions against the Spaniards? We were there, too. We have always been here. I want to see myself.”

How would you describe your day to day job and/or artistic practice?

Research, Research, Research. I've become a historian in the last couple year and a lot of my day consist of reading history and practicing new ways presenting my ideas from performance to photography.

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

Yes and no. I work freelance design but also in nightlife and also in art so I'm spread thin but it keeps me happy.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

At Parsons conversations for change were encouraged but the knowledge to do so socially/ civil rights wise wasn't present. In turn I toke classes with Lang to open that frame of thought. That got me into the practice of not waiting to be educated but going out and find the information I wanted.

Raquel De Anda | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Raquel de Anda, MS Design and Urban Ecologies ’15

Raquel de Anda is a curator, producer, and cultural organizer based in Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised on the U.S. Mexico border, much of her work approaches themes of duality, connection, separation, inclusion and the intersections of migrant rights with other movements for social justice. She is a firm believer in the power of art and culture to ignite social change. Raquel began her career as Associate Curator at Galería de la Raza, a contemporary Latino arts organization in San Francisco, CA. Her work spans a variety of practices, including designing an interactive installation at the Tribeca Film Festival, curating exhibitions at Project Row Houses (Houston, TX) and The Museum of the Americas (Washington DC), and overseeing creative production for the historic People’s Climate March (New York City). In 2014, de Anda was awarded the Robert Rauschenberg Artist as Activist Fellow as part of her work with People’s Climate Arts Collective. De Anda received an MS from Parsons School of Design, with a focus on integrating cultural equity in the field of arts and culture. She is currently Director of Public Engagement at No Longer Empty, an organization that activates engagement with art and social issues through site-responsive exhibitions, education, and cultural programs.


The Argus Project

Raquel de Anda, MS Design and Urban Ecologies ’15; Ayodamola Okunseinde, MFA Design and Technology ’15; Gan Golan; Julien Terrell; Ronald Morrison, MS Design and Urban Ecologies ’15; Ligaiya Romero

Inspired by the Greek myth of Argus — the giant with 100 eyes who served as an eternal watchman for the gods — The Argus Project promotes a heroic narrative around citizen journalism and the courageous act of filming the police. A transmedia project that is part wearable device, part video installation, and part community organizing platform, The Argus Project jumps directly into the current debate over police accountability and state surveillance. The creators say, “Our goal is to challenge deep systemic mythologies that normalize police violence by creating a counter-myth that shifts power into the hands of communities. In doing so, we aim to help build a culture of accountability, increase community safety and reduce both state violence and the surveillance that it depends on.” The video traces the story of Argus, an awakening giant who serves as a metaphor for a citizen body opening its many eyes to the reality of police violence. Told through the eyes of Argus, the video reveals how policing has become an acute nexus of oppression, fusing unregulated state surveillance with the ability to commit physical violence with impunity. The result is a toxic combination aimed at the bodies of working-class people and people of color. In a time where we expect these challenges to increase, the story ultimately posits how we as citizens can concretely and effectively respond.

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

I'm not really sure what typical is? I live in NYC and sometime it feels like I can barely keep my head above water...but I absolutely love the people I meet and the work that I get to do. I had to take a lot of leaps of faith in my path. Moving to new cities and calling on the few connections I had to help me find my way, traveling on small budgets to meet artists developing relevant and important work across Mexico and The United States, and going into debt for a graduate degree that spoke to my passion in a way that no other did. Each step along the way I made the connections and stitched together a network of trusted allies and collaborators that have held and supported me on a path.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

Having been raised by parents who were very active during the civil rights movement filled me with an understanding of why demanding a more just and equitable world is necessary. I chose to work at a Chicano art gallery right out of undergrad because it was meaningful to me, it resonated with these beliefs and nurtured my love of creativity and the arts, while also connecting me to a rich and powerful legacy. These relationships have continued to sustain me every step of the way, even when my path wasn't clear. Equity, Accessibility, Inclusion and Creativity are themes that are central to my work and practice and I am grateful to be able to work with a trusted team of allies who also hold up and affirm these values. I don't think I would be able to work in a place where these notions aren't affirmed.

What advice would you share with current Parsons students?

Build Community. Meet your neighbors.

Kim Jenkins | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Kim Jenkins, MA Fashion Studies ’13

Kim Jenkins specializes in the sociocultural and historical influences behind why we wear what we wear, specifically addressing how politics, psychology, race, and gender shapes the way we ‘fashion’ our identity. She is a part-time lecturer at Parsons School of Design, Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute, and amongst the pioneering cohort of graduates from the MA Fashion Studies program at Parsons. In Fall 2016, Kim debuted the undergraduate course “Fashion and Race” at Parsons, examining the implications of the social construct of race in fashion history, business and image-making.


Slide from presentation by designer Patricia Encarnacion.

Fashion and Race

Rikki Byrd, MA Fashion Studies ’16 and Kim Jenkins, MA Fashion Studies ’13
2016
Syllabi

The Fashion and Race Syllabus is an ongoing academic project exploring the intersection of fashion and race, expanding upon and decentralizing fashion history. The project also strives to cultivate and sustain a (virtual) research space for fashion scholars of color.

How would you describe your day to day job and/or artistic practice?

My day to day is typically influenced by my email inbox, iCal schedule and running list of to-do’s and projects through a task management app. On select days of the week, I am engaging with students in the classroom, and outside of that, I am meeting with potential collaborators for coffee, conducting research, doing expert media interviews, speaking on (or hosting) panel discussions, and planning creative projects.

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

Not particularly. The field of fashion studies is relatively nascent, and my current research interest in developing a framework for 'fashion and race' within an ever-evolving field presents as many creative and intellectual challenges as it does rewards.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

It has been to my benefit. The impetus for my desire to advance the field of fashion studies stems from my unique insights and research discoveries as a scholar of color. Since my undergraduate years, I had observed little academic recognition given to the study of fashion–and even less interest (or at least organized scholarship) towards the intersection of fashion history and race theory. However, in the past five years, we are seeing work published nearly every month that further explores the nuances of fashion. There's been no better time than now for me to build upon this scholarship, underscoring how identity construction and presentation is intimately linked to, and influenced by, fashion.

Sara Jimenez | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Sara Jimenez, MFA Fine Arts ’13

Sara Jimenez is a multi-disciplinary Filipina-Canadian artist, currently living and working in New York. Through performance, installation, sculpture, and drawing, she investigates relationships between material impermanence and transcultural memory. Throughout her projects, she is interested in complicating and reimagining existing narratives around concepts of home, absence, and origins.

Jimenez received her BA from the University of Toronto (2008) and her MFA from Parsons School of Design (2013). Residencies include Brooklyn Art Space (2014), Wave Hill’s Winter Workspace (2015), a full artist fellowship to The Vermont Studio Center (2016), and the Bronx Museum’s AIM program (2016). Jimenez has exhibited at the Pinto Art Museum (Philippines), Rush Arts Gallery (NY), BRIC Gallery, FiveMyles Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, and Wayfarers Gallery (NY), among others. She has performed numerous venues including The Noguchi Museum, Dixon Place, and Smack Mellon. Most recently, Jimenez exhibited at the Bronx Museum as part of the AIM Biennial.


Fata Morgana (Clan)

Sara Jimenez, MFA Fine Arts ’13
2017
Digital C-prints with mixed media

2017, Digital C-prints with mixed media, “Fata Morgana (Clan) is a series of scanned and printed photos from an American colonial text called ‘Our Islands Their People’ (1899). Each chapter of the text focuses on a colony of the U.S. Within this work, I used images from the chapter on the Philippines. I am interested in decontextualizing the original photos, and shifting assumptions through removing information and masking the bodies. The background of the images reveals the staged settings and the European influence. The work is arranged in various combinations, creating new relationships and groupings with each iteration.”

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

My career path is not completely typical because my undergraduate degree was not in Fine Arts.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

My identities - being in between multiple cultural and racial constructs - has completely informed my art practice. It has led me to collaborations with specific artists of color and has informed the histories and content that I research and study.

What advice would you share with current Parsons students?

Form community in a way where you can actively share and explore ideas with one another. Take action with your community.

Jeana Lindo | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Jeana Lindo, BFA Photography ’17

Jeana Lindo was born in Miami, Florida and spent most of her life between Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Kingston, Jamaica. She is a multimedia artist who majored in Photography at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Her large family and travel experiences inform her work which is focused on cultural identity and social issues. Through her art, Jeana intends to expand ideas of contemporary Jamaican art and stories from the African diaspora.


RAAA

Jeana Lindo, BFA Photography ’17
2016
Digital prints

This body of work showcases textures and colors characteristic to the culture and island of Jamaica. “I took the picture on a sunny summer morning on the Lower East Side. The members of the young musical band, RAAA, were excited to explore the city with me to find interesting textures to pose against. When we came across this colorful gate, I decided that I wanted to shoot them in action. At the time most of them were under 21. I was very interested in conveying the freedom of their adolescence through my images, so I had them jump and spin in the air and jump over one another and this is one of the most successful group poses we did.”

How would you describe your day to day job and/or artistic practice?

Hustling.

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

No, I think that I have pushed myself to do a lot more than my seniors have. I am not yet 25 years old and have published two books independently. Although I graduated from college, I would not describe my career as typical. I have a lot more to do, so reflecting on my career is premature at this point.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

I have specifically worked with women and black people because I have an understanding that they are usually willing to be more supportive of my work than other groups of people. The work I produce can only be related to my identity as a mixed race Jamaican woman because it is what I spend most of my time thinking about. I care about sharing the stories of my people, so I have ended up creating discussions around them.

Rikki Byrd | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Rikki Byrd, MA Fashion Studies ’16

Rikki Byrd is a writer, educator, and scholar, with research interests in Black studies, fashion history and cultural studies. She received her Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri and her Master of Arts in Fashion Studies from Parsons School of Design. Her master’s thesis, Black the Color We Wear, explores how blackness is centered in popular culture and offers a new approach to reimagining dialogue concerning the black body. Since then, her research has led her to create innovative spaces to engage students, scholars, and industry professionals in conversations on race and representation. Rikki is the co-founder and co-editor of the Fashion and Race Syllabus with Parsons alum Kimberly Jenkins.


Fashion and Race

Rikki Byrd, MA Fashion Studies ’16 and Kim Jenkins, MA Fashion Studies ’13
2016
Syllabi

The Fashion and Race Syllabus is an ongoing academic project exploring the intersection of fashion and race, expanding upon and decentralizing fashion history. The project also strives to cultivate and sustain a (virtual) research space for fashion scholars of color.

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

My career path is somewhat typical. I pursued degrees in the fields that best served my interest and careers goals, and I work in those respective fields.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

Challenges such as being a black woman who was a low-income, first-generation college student have arose throughout my career. However, those challenges have become the very core of my work, which focuses on teaching about fashion and race, publishing on those topics, and organizing events around those topics. My identities have revealed to me the importance and the right I have to be in the spaces that I inhabit. I'm grateful that I have been able to make changes in the respective positions that I've held and mentor people with similar challenges.

What advice would you share with current Parsons students?

Continue to fight. There were times that I wanted to give up based on my racial background and socioeconomic status, but remaining diligent in fighting for the space that I knew I deserved in the institution was one of the best things I could have done for myself and others. It revealed to me that "no" is not the end. From that fight, I took those challenges and fashioned them into new opportunities not just for myself, but for others who were facing similar issues.

Salome Asega | (under)REPRESENTED

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Ave
Parsons School of Design

(under)REPRESENT(ed) is an exhibition that features Parsons alumni of color whose creative practices explore the lived experience of race and aim to dismantle systems of racism.


Salome Asega, MFA Design and Technology '14

Salome Asega is a Brooklyn-based artist and researcher whose practice celebrates dissensus and multivocality. She is the co-host of speculative talk show Hyperopia: 20/30 Vision on bel-air radio and the Assistant Director of POWRPLNT, a digital art collaboratory. Salome has participated in residencies and fellowships at Eyebeam, New Museum, and the Laundromat Project. She also has given presentations at New Inc, Performa, Eyeo, and the Schomburg Center. Salome is currently showing work in the 11th Shanghai Biennale. She received her MFA from Parsons School of Design at The New School in Design and Technology and her BA from New York University in Social Practice.


Iyapo Films: Artifact 12, Iyapo Films: Artifact 111

Salome Asega, MFA Design and Technology ’14 and Ayodamola Okunseinde, MFA Design and Technology ’15 2016,
2017
Video (Runtime 1:27), Video (Runtime 3:18)

Iyapo Repository is a resource library which houses a collection of digital and physical artifacts created to affirm and project the future of people of African descent. The collection is developed through a series of participatory workshops where participants become archivists of a future history they envision. Participants sketch out and rapid prototype future artifacts and the repository then works to bring a select few of these artifacts to life so that they are completely technologically functioning objects that stay true to the participants’ original blueprints. Pulled from our Moving Image Division, the films on display contextualize such artifacts. Alongside the artifacts and films, Iyapo Repository exhibits manuscripts, rare media, and more.

Would you describe your career path as typical? Why or why not?

I think our career paths are the new normal. We're part of a generation of artists and creative entrepreneurs who understand their skill sets as crossing disciplines. We're able to enter and exit different spaces and not feel confined to working for one entity.

In what ways have your identities impacted your education and career paths?

We have a heightened awareness that we have been granted access to digital resources and literacies by entering certain design and tech spaces, which I think has pushed us to think about how we can leverage this privilege to create new access avenues for more inclusive economies.

What advice would you share with current Parsons students?

Never settle in comfort. Turn things upside down every once in a while.