Material Progress
ShowUp is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Material Progress, featuring the work of artists Dina Nazmi Khorchid, Marla McLeod, and Diana Weymar (Tiny Pricks Project). Material Progress will run from September 6th to December 1st, 2024. An opening reception will be held on Friday, September 6th from 5 to 8 pm.
AEROSOL: Boston’s Graffiti DNA, its Origin and Evolution
AEROSOL: Boston’s Graffiti DNA, its Origin and Evolution
Curated by Jennifer Mancuso.
Caron Tabb: A Stone In My Shoe
Artist and activist Caron Tabb presents "A Stone in My Shoe," her third solo exhibition at 524B Harrison Ave. Opening in March 2025, the show features white fiber installations that delve into the invisible pain and discomfort we carry within, despite often appearing fine. Her work seeks to heighten our awareness of the hidden struggles others face, inviting us to connect with the unseen burdens we all carry and cultivate empathy.
Informed by profound personal and communal grief, including the devastating impact of antisemitism, Tabb's artwork delves into the invisible wounds we carry. Through her art, she seeks to foster understanding and compassion for the often-unacknowledged pain of others.
Maryam Safajoo: Repetitious Insecurity
Maryam Safajoo, Seysan, The Land of the Lovers (2024), Oil on linen, 18 x 36 inches
Maryam Safajoo is a Persian-American painter and activist exploring women’s rights, cultural behavior and responses toward violence. She creates narrative paintings illustrating the systematic persecution of the Iranian Baha’i community after the 1979 Iranian revolution. Many of these incidents only exist in the memory of those who experienced them and have no other pictorial representation. These paintings are often the first time these painful events have taken visual form.
Using a journalistic approach, Safajoo interviews people who were near or involved in the actual events depicted. She communicates with family members and community connections in Iran, some of whom are currently imprisoned, to verify every detail before painting. At once deeply personal and political, this artwork seeks to raise awareness about an oppressive situation in another part of the world. As Safajoo says, “the pain of one is the pain of all.
Artist Talk: Dina Nazmi Khorchid
Join us for an inspiring artist talk with Material Progress artist Dina Nazmi Khorchid!
Art Supply Swap & Mending Event
Bring the art supplies you're not using, a piece of clothing to repair, or both!
Diana Weymar Workshop and Book Signing
Join Diana Weymar at a workshop and book signing on September 29, 2024, where participants will have the opportunity to engage with her unique approach to art and storytelling. The workshop will focus on the integration of textile art and activism, allowing attendees to experiment with various materials while exploring their creative expression. During the workshop, Diana will also sign copies of her latest book, Crafting a Better World, which showcases her innovative techniques and features a collection of her artwork. This event promises to be an inspiring experience for both emerging artists and established creators interested in expanding their artistic practices.
ShowUp BrushUp 8 — Contracts and Invoicing
Not sure what approach you should take to how to protect your work? Do you have trouble understanding legal jargon?
Then join us for the 8th installment of ShowUp BrushUp: Contracts & Invoicing featuring Lawyers for Civil Rights.
In this 60-minute interactive online workshop, Lawyers for Civil Rights, in conversation with ShowUp Executive Director, Christine O'Donnell, will provide an overview of contracts and invoicing as it relates to artists.
Opening of Material Progress featuring: Dina Khorchid, Marla McLeod & Diana Weymar
September First Friday
Sept 6, 2024
5:00 PM -8:00 PM
Chop Talk: Mark Hughes
ShowUp, in collaboration with curator Rosa Leff, is presenting Chop Talk - an engaging series of discussions featuring artists from the Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting exhibition held biweekly on Instagram live.
Mark Curtis Hughes (b.1987) is a Uk based Paper artist. Originally from Leicester, he studied Printmaking at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Mark began papercutting in 2010 as part of his process for making woodcut prints and gradually the paper took over. Mark was a secondary school art teacher for ten years in Central London and he now teaches at Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire. Alongside his teaching he has built up his papercutting practice and exhibits nationally and internationally.
Chop Talk: Béatrice Coron
ShowUp, in collaboration with curator Rosa Leff, is presenting Chop Talk - an engaging series of discussions featuring artists from the Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting exhibition held biweekly on Instagram live.
Béatrice Coron explores visual storytelling in artist books, paper cutting and public art. Born in France, she was a shepherdess and truck driver among others, then she worked in tourism and lived in Egypt and Mexico for one year each and two years in China. She moved to New York where she launched her career as an artist in 1984.
Art Supply Swap
Do you have art supplies that you no longer need and trying to figure out what to do with them? Are you wanting to jump start your creative practice and need a refresh on your art supplies?
Then we invite you to join our "Art Supply Swap" event on Sunday July 21st from 12-3pm. Enjoy an afternoon of refreshments while networking and trading art supplies with fellow artists.
Chop Talk: Rebecca Greene
ShowUp, in collaboration with curator Rosa Leff, is presenting Chop Talk - an engaging series of discussions featuring artists from the Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting exhibition held biweekly on Instagram live.
Through her fine art practice, Rebecca Greene transforms forgotten remnants of modernity into enchanting anthropomorphic pieces, each one exuding a profound sense of human connection and inspired by the beauty of wildlife. A current artist-in-residence at the Boston Center for the Arts, visitors to her studio can explore the captivating realm of Rebecca's work, where creativity thrives and nature's splendor is lovingly preserved.
Chop Talk: Lorraine Bubar
ShowUp, in collaboration with curator Rosa Leff, is presenting Chop Talk - an engaging series of discussions featuring artists from the Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting exhibition held biweekly on Instagram live.
Lorraine Bubar was born in Los Angeles, California and studied art and animation at UCLA and Yale. She worked for many years in the animation industry on animated television commercials and special effects for feature films. Her short-animated films showed at many animation festivals, including the Annecy International Film Festival and the World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb. She taught animation at Santa Monica College for several years. At that time, Bubar was also exhibiting her watercolor paintings, was the featured artist for a calendar published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and illustrated a children's book, Lullaby, by Debbie Friedman. Her love for drawing and painting led her to get a Masters in Art Education and a Teaching Credential at CSULA.
ShowUp BrushUp 7 — Storytelling and Content Creation
Discover the power of storytelling in your artistic practice! Join ShowUp’s Christine O’Donnell and marketing guru Jodi-Tatiana Charles for Storytelling and Content Creation: June's BrushUp workshop. This 90-min online workshop will hone your storytelling skills and help you identify those engaging moments worth sharing with the world.
Artistic Alchemy: Discover factors common to the careers of successful artists!
Are you an artist looking to take your practice to the next level? Join us on June 25th for an exclusive talk with Christine O'Donnell, curator and founder of the nonprofit art gallery ShowUp. Christine will share her insider insights from the industry and reveal what she has identified as habits and traits of most successful artists. Under the umbrella of three main themes, she’ll discuss how to apply these traits to your own practices in a practical manner. This special noontime talk is brought to you by both SCORE and ShowUp, so sign up today and get ready to be inspired!
The Mending Society
Join us on June 23rd from 12pm to 3pm for a fun and educational session on mending techniques! Whether you have a hole that needs patching or a button that needs to be replaced, this event is perfect for repairing your well-worn garments and textiles.
Craft Your Community
Join us at "Craft Your Community" on June 16th in the South End, a hands-on event perfect for individuals and groups of all ages! Get creative with social practice artist Naomi Chambers to make your own cut-paper garland person or community, inspired by the "Cutting Edge" exhibition. Then, express identity and aspirations through a vision board collage to nurture and uplift your paper creation. Delve into caring for your creation's needs and dreams, all while enjoying refreshments and a welcoming atmosphere. This free event is open to all - come and craft, connect, and cherish your community with us.
Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting Opening
Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting Opening
June 7, 2024
5:00 PM -8:00 PM
Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting
Paper Cutting Today
June 7, 2024 - September 1, 2024
Part of ShowUp’s Curatorial Incubator program, master paper cutter Rosa Leff shares an exhibition that argues for paper cutting as a fine art rather than a craft. Leff seeks to present the depth, range and innovative quality of a traditional medium, and how papercutting is currently experiencing a renaissance.
The artists presented use their knowledge of papercutting’s rich history to create work that reflects modern times. While respecting tradition, they’re making their own rules.
In Conversation - Sima Schloss and Lauren McKeaney of PickingMe
Sima Schloss and Picking Me Foundation In Conversation
May 30th, 2024
7:00 - 8:00pm
ShowUp BrushUp 6 - Digital & Traditional Marketing for Artists
Discover strategies for setting marketing goals, choosing appropriate marketing channels, and developing a comprehensive marketing plan tailored to your career aspirations.
Sightlines and Sandwiches
Lunchtime Artist Talk With Elisa H. Hamilton
May 10th, 2024
12:00 - 1:00pm
Sima Schloss | On Empathy Opening
Sima Schloss Opening | On Empathy
May 3, 2024
5:00 PM -8:00 PM
Sima Schloss | On Empathy
Sima I. Schloss (she/her) is a New York City native, artist and professor of art history. She developed her signature style of gestural figuration using mixed media and received her MFA in Painting at Lehman College. Her capstone exhibition debuted at Lehman College Art Gallery 2017 in the Bronx, which launched her professional art career into other solo and group exhibitions and art fairs across the US.
She says of her work: “As an abstract artist working with gestural lines and portraiture, I am more interested in the internal life of the subject rather than the external. My mixed media work focuses on figures, and then I add layers using assemblage/collage from inspiration found in the many visual journals I have created over 25 years.
The figures truly take on a life of their own as I build up the layers. The abstraction moves the portraits, which allows me to create imagined beings. Rather than representing realistic portraiture, I break down my own experiences as I go through the moments in each studio session.”
Elisa H. Hamilton | Sightlines
Elisa H. Hamilton (she/her) is a socially engaged multimedia artist who creates artworks and community-centered programs that emphasize shared spaces and the hopeful examination of our everyday places, objects, and experiences. She holds a BFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MA in Civic Media from Emerson College. Hamilton's work has been shown locally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions, and she has been the recipient of numerous commissions and grants to create artworks, community projects, and participatory programs.
Past projects include Sound Lab, a community-centered participatory art project that was commissioned by The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for inclusion in the exhibition "Listen Hear: The Art of Sound," Creative Union, a community-centered public art project commissioned by the Currier Museum of Art, NH and Dance Spot, a joyful public art intervention that has had many iterations in Boston and beyond, including at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and The Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA.
In 2021, Hamilton was recognized by WBUR as one of 25 Artists Of Color Transforming The Cultural Landscape. She has created projects for institutions including ICA Boston, Boston Children’s Museum, Boston Center for the Arts, MIT List Visual Arts Center, The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, Now+There, HUBweek, and For Freedoms.
ShowUp BrushUp 5: Websites For Artists
ShowUp BrushUp 5: Are you debating whether you need a website, not sure what to include, or struggling to keep a website up to date?
For a dynamic discussion of staying relevant online, join ShowUp Executive Director, Christine O'Donnell and guest facilitator, Marcia Williams, CEO of Photosbymarcia on Wednesday April 24th at 7pm for the 5th installment of ShowUp BrushUp- Website for Artists: How to Maintain a Relevant & Up-to-date Online Presence.
Canceled: Extra Artist Talk
Canceled — Extra Artist Talk
Thursday, April 18, 2024, 7-8 pm
Join artists Wavy Wednesday, Rixy, and Ja’Hari Ortega on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 7:00 PM for the virtual artist talk of ShowUp’s current exhibition, Extra. Don't miss this hour long conversation as the artists discuss their creative practices as well as themes related to the exhibition.