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“Let every [woman] be [her] own methodologist, let every [woman] be [her] own theorist” C. Wright Mills
Hymns is an autobiographical body of work that subjectively responds to racial and gendered representation and childhood adversity. Through a Black feminist approach Joyce Treasure will present a multidisciplinary visual narrative formed from a collection of miniature portraits, traditional crafts, video art, assemblage and a zine.
Joyce Treasure is currently Artist in Residence at Cornwall Buildings in Birmingham, a partnership formed between Grand Union and Bruntwood, committed to providing access to affordable and supported spaces for the development of artistic practice. Joyce is using this residency to reframe and position her current work and ongoing research as part of the Black Studies course at Birmingham City University within the frame of the commercial property and business sector.
For this first exhibition showing at Bruntwood’s Cornerblock building, Joyce envisions a narrative about being a daughter, a mixed heritage woman, a mother, artist, and a mature student on a black studies course. The body, politics, religion, and hierarchy are themes throughout, reflecting a segment of black identity from a subjective and social perspective. She is interested in considering how, “Posing an uncomfortable question can sometimes make us feel awkward and uneasy, but it is here that we might come to understand one another in a way that is not so destructive. We are all essentially connected, and I seek to make art that ultimately evokes that sense.”
Joyce invites the audience to interact with the show to further inform her ongoing research and practice as she asks, to what degree do the social and political discourse and environment affect the personal narrative?
EVENTS:
HYMNS OPENING DRINKS
Thursday 6 June, 6 – 8pm
Hymns opened at Bruntwood’s Cornerblock building, 2 Cornwall Street, Birmingham, B3 2DL
Artist talk by Joyce Treasure at 6pm, followed by a performance from Germa Adan, 7-7.30pm.
JULY DIGBETH FIRST FRIDAY: MEET THE ARTIST
Friday 5 July, 4–5pm
Join artist Joyce Treasure for a conversation about the exhibition Hymns and her Bruntwood residency over tea and cake.
This will be a drop-in event – Hymns runs until 7 July.