A new immersive exhibition by artist Shanequa Gay will celebrate Atlanta’s historic West End neighborhood. Integrating a mix of mediums, the exhibit will include murals painted onto the museum walls, specially designed toile schema wallpaper, and interactive video vignettes which tell West End stories. LIT WITHOUT SHERMAN: A Love Letter To The West End will have an opening reception on June 28 from 6:30-9:30 pm, and the exhibit will be on view from June 29 through September 15, 2019 at Hammonds House Museum, 503 Peeples Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30310.
“This exhibit will be a collaboration,” states Gay. “Not only will I express my deep affection and feelings about the West End, but I am working with members of the community to help tell their stories. The neighborhood has a rich history and its residents include activists, artists, politicians, scholars and people from all walks of life. There are so many stories to share.”
“As an artist my goal is to create works that are public and exchange based, explore current social and ethical issues, and focus on the experiences of African-Ascendant bodies and communities,” explains Gay. “I have chosen decorum as my weapon of choice as it is a language that can speak through various mediums such as paints, prints, fabric, dinnerware, and wallpaper. Our first human introductions to the world begin in the home through the lessons of the ‘homemaker.’ Women are the mothers, nurturers and preeminent storytellers of our community. In my work I use the ‘homemakers aesthetic’ as a way of introducing new, old, or mythological narratives. I am very excited about working in collaboration with Hammonds House Museum to integrate community and art making in such an authentic way.”
Shanequa Gay is an Atlanta native who completed her AA in Graphic Design and Fashion Marketing from the Art Institute of Atlanta, a BA in Painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), summa cum laude, and her MFA in Art History at Georgia State University.
Gay was one of 10 selected artists for OFF THE WALL, a city-wide Mural initiative led by WonderRoot and the Atlanta 2018 Super Bowl Host Committee. In 2013, Gay was chosen by The Congressional Club to be the illustrator for the First Lady’s Luncheon hostess gift for First Lady Michelle Obama. Gay’s work includes television and film features in Lionsgate’s Addicted, the BET television series Being Mary Jane and Zoe Ever After, and Greenleaf on Oprah Winfrey’s network, OWN.
Gay’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at venues including Art Basel Miami (2018); Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA (2015); Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC (2017); Milliken Gallery, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC (2018); Xhibiting Blackness, Evolve the Gallery, Sacramento, CA (2014); New Painting, The Southern Gallery, Charleston, SC (2016); 5 Perspectives, Steffen Thomas Museum, Buckhead, GA (2018). Gay’s exhibition, Ini-She-Ation, is on display from June 7 through August 3, 2019 at Chastain Arts Center in Atlanta, GA. For more information: shanequagay.com.
Hammonds House Museum is generously supported by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Fulton County Arts & Culture, City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Georgia Council for the Arts, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition, Georgia Humanities, Georgia-Pacific, National Performance Network, Visual Artists Network, Wells Fargo, and Lubo Fund. Additional support has been provided by Sonya Halpern, Veronica and Erwin Carter and Christopher Swain.
Hammonds House Museum, located in a beautiful Victorian home in Atlanta’s historic West End, is a unique setting to explore the cultural diversity and legacy of artists of African descent. The museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron. A 501(c)3 organization which opened in 1988, Hammonds House Museum boasts a permanent collection of more than 350 works including art by Romare Bearden, Robert S. Duncanson, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Amalia Amaki, Radcliffe Bailey and Kojo Griffin. In addition to featuring art from their collection, the museum offers new exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, concerts, monthly poetry readings, arts education programs, and other cultural events throughout the year. For more information, and to find out how you can get involved, visit their website: hammondshouse.org.
