Calling all artists, art fans, and community arts supporters! We are honored to have a very special guest on Thurs. March 19: Evonne Davis of Gallery Aferro in Newark. Gallery Aferro has a truly remarkable story, and is now on the verge of a tremendous expansion. For the past 10 years, Evonne Davis and Emma Wilcox have built a center for emerging and established artists that is unparalleled. After building a successful gallery and artist residency program in their primary 20,000sq ft space on Market St. in Newark, they have recently launched a massive expansion to 90,000sq. ft. of space that will include tremendous resources for artists — space to work, space to show work, and shared resources for creating work.
In short, you must meet Evonne. She is, of course, a superb artist in her own right, and will be talking about her own career as an artist, and how Gallery Aferro was built. Evonne will be giving a brief presentation, and we’ll have a chat with her… including questions from you, and a generous amount of time to meet & mingle.
Evonne Davis, left, and Emma Wilcox owners of Gallery Aferro in Newark. Photo courtesy of nj.com. Photo by Noah K. Murray. Jump to article on nj.com
Here’s Evonne’s bio… (read this… it’s good)
Evonne M. Davis, Artistic Director – Gallery Aferro
Evonne is a working artist, as well as the co-founder and Artistic Director of Gallery Aferro and formerly Gallery/Education Director at City Without Walls, both in Newark, NJ. Originally from the Woodstock, NY area, she studied at School of Visual Arts and Cornell University.
Her current practice involves sculptural installations and experimental video. Her work deals with labor, systems, class, language, and the juxtapositions present in everyday life. Her work is informed by a deep love of modern and contemporary poetry, and an insatiable curiosity about human nature. She has exhibited at venues such as the Krampf Gallery, NYC, Theater for the New City in NYC, Walsh Gallery in Orange NJ, Prtizker Gallery in Poughkeepsie, NY, College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, NY, Alley Culture in Detroit, MI, and countless other galleries and alternative spaces nationwide.
Evonne has curated independent and affiliated exhibitions for the past 14 years in innovative as well as traditional settings, including a vacant lot in Coney Island and the back of a 1978 Volvo. Her goal is connect any willing audience with cultural experience.. Other locations include The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Valley Arts, Ironworks Gallery, Brooklyn Borough Hall, Studio 411, Red Saw Gallery, Arts Guild of New Jersey, Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ, Print Making Center of NJ, Seton Hall University, and 207 Gallery, among many others. Her 2002 exhibition, Nostalgia and Decay, which originated in Coney Island, Brooklyn was moved to Borough Hall at the invitation of the Brooklyn Borough President. This exhibition focused on the ways that artists and residents were inspired by the now-demolished Thunderbolt Rollercoaster, a functional ride that also the caretaker’s family home. Other relevant community-led history work includes videography for WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, the major 2007 exhibition on feminist art and activism 1965-80. Evonne worked on interviews for the NYC-based artists, recording their testimonies.
Evonne has facilitated partnerships with Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark Arts Council, The Polish Cultural Institute, Brick City Development Corporation, Camera Club of New York, The Newark Museum, The Montclair Museum and many others.
She has worked with youth in a variety of contexts including creative writing for at-risk youth at the NYC LGBT Youth Center – The Zone, attendance counseling for the NYC BOE, and as a mentor in City Without Wall’s Artreach Program. She was a member of the Arts High School Advisory Committee, and the NPS AV Committee, and is currently a member of the City of Newark Committee on Arts, Culture, Tourism and Heritage as well as co-chair of the City of Newark Public Art Committee.
Currently, she is also one of 14 senior executives from New Jersey nonprofit organizations selected to participate in the Prudential Foundation Nonprofit Executive Fellows Program at the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School.