Engage: Artists in Visual Dialogue opens at the Esther Massry Gallery    

In times of change and uncertainty, the visual arts are vital, not only because they capture the spirit of the age, but they also offer reflections on the past and visions of a yet-to-be-realized future. Their explorations — the gift of their creative vision — empowers the audience to understand, negotiate, and navigate the present.

Now an exhibition at the Esther Massry Gallery, Engage spans 91 years and features 22 artists of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, whose subject matter and creative media vary greatly. This multi-faceted show invites the viewer to see our world through many perspectives, as each artist shares a unique and compelling story of the human experience. The exhibit runs Friday, October 9 through Saturday, November 21, and is free and open to the public. People interested in visiting the gallery should complete the COVID-19 pre-screening prior to their visit here.

The show contains works in photography and printed media by eleven acclaimed artists from the New York State Office of General Service’s Harlem Art Collection and the University at Albany Fine Art Collections. Works by eleven noted visual artists from the Capital Region complete this engaging visual display.

Artists in the exhibition include: Adál, Marcus K. Anderson, Anthony Barboza, Royal G. Brown Jr., Roger Cabán, Sue Clark, Francelise Dawkins, Roy DeCarava, Louis Draper, Juan Genovés, Daesha Devón Harris, Joe Harris, Jacqueline Lake-Sample, Fern Logan, Obaro, Ted Pontiflet, Alisa Sikelianos-Carter, Coreen Simpson, David Tyson, James Van Der Zee, Takeyce Walter, Elizabeth Zunon.

Additionally, a Visiting Artist Lecture will take place via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 19.

Dr. Robert Shane, associate professor of art history at Saint Rose, will serve as the moderator of this panel discussion between curator Stephen J. Tyson and three of the exhibiting artists: alumna Daesha Devon Harris, Fern Logan, and Marcus Anderson.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Exhibit Details:

WHERE: Esther Massry Gallery, Massry Center for the Arts at The College of Saint Rose, 1002 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY 12208.

WHEN: The exhibit runs Friday, October 9 through Saturday, November 21.

GALLERY HOURS: Monday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; closed Sunday

NOTES: Free and open to the public. Visitors must call the gallery phone at 518.337.2390 to gain entrance to the building.

For more information, click here.

Upcoming talks on the exhibition:

Wednesday, November 4, 7 p.m.: “Engaging beauty”: conversation about works that create affirming images of beauty and identity by artists Francelise Dawkins, Elizabeth Zunon, Roy DeCavara, and Alisa Sikelianos-Carter. Shane will share passages from bell hooks’s essay “Aesthetic Inheritances.”

Wednesday, November 11, 7 p.m.: “Afrofuturism” (via Zoom) with artists Royal G. Brown, Sikelianos-Carter, and Associate Professor of English Rone Shavers.

Wednesday, November 18, 7 p.m.: “Engaging in the wake”: conversation about works that use water and spirituality to address life in America in the wake of slavery and continued injustice by artists Daesha Devón Harris, Takeyce Walter, and Fern Logan, as well as Joe Harris and Juan Genoves. Dr. Shane will share passages from the philosopher Christina Sharpe’s book “In the Wake: On Blackness and Being.