sheRose of our Time: Artist Talk and Honoree Awards

sheRose of our Time: Artist Talk and Honoree Awards
Curated by Eric Murphy 
April 5, 2012  5-8pm
Free 



Where: 
Joyce Gordon Gallery
406 14th St 
Oakland, Ca. 94612
Gallery: (510) 465-8928
http://www.joycegordongallery.com/



Who: Christine Balza, Ebony Iman Dallas, Elisheva, Shari Arai Deboer, Joan Finton, Penny Harncharnvej, Betty Nobue Kano, Deborah Lozier, L. Frank Manriquez, Kemba Shakur in partnership with installation artist and sculptor Karen Seneferu & the Oakland Museum of California, Judy Stone, Flo Oy Wong, Sandhya Sood w/ the Julia Morgan 2012 



It has become commonplace in the United States for the title of "First Lady" to be bestowed on women, as a term of endearment, who have proven themselves to be of exceptional talent, even if that talent is non-political. “sheRose of our Time” extends the timetable of International Women’s Month to highlight these women artists and participants, which include eight honorees as “First Lady” not only of exceptional talent but also to denote these women as pioneers who have and will inspire innovative thinkers of the next generation. 


This artist talk will catechize the inception of 14 women artists and their techniques in printmaking, painting, sculpture, photography, mix media installation and enameling processes. In keeping with the tradition of Michelle Obama as a presenter of artist awards, both partners of the Joyce Gordon Gallery, Joyce Gordon and Eric Murphy, will honor eight women pioneers as “First Lady” for making a difference in the arts through history, culture, craft, design, and urban development.  


These Honorees include:
Betty Nobue Kano, painter, curator, lecturer, and co-founder of the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), a nonprofit organization promoting the visibility of Asian American women artists and to serve as a vehicle for personal expression with a view of Asian American cultures and history from women’s perspective. We are honoring Betty Nobue Kano with a Joyce award as First Lady of Culture.


Flo Oy Wong, a Sunnyvale, California-based mixed media installation artist, is a visual storyteller and co-founder of the Northern California-based Asian American Women Artists Association, giving Asian American women artists access to major museums, galleries, collections and publications and furthers the goal of establishing the place of Asian American women in American art history. We are honoring Flo Oy Wong with a Joyce award as First Lady of Culture.


Christine Balza, a self taught artist, painter, sculpture finding her inspiration with the ancient Filipino script, Baybayin; a lost writing system from the indigenous people of the Philippines. Christine has taught Baybayin in workshops at Immaculate Conception, Sonoma and San Francisco State University and the Asian Art Museum. We are honoring Christine Balza with a Joyce award as first Lady of Culture.


L. Frank (nom d'arte of L. Frank Manriquez) is a Tongva- Acjachemen artist, writer, tribal scholar, cartoonist, and indigenous language activist who work is presented by BorderZone Arts in SF.  L. Frank serves on the board of The Cultural Conservancy and is a co-founder of Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, a non-profit entity founded in 1992 whose goal is to assist California Indian communities and individuals in keeping their language alive and provide development of new speakers. We are honoring L. Frank with a Joyce award as First Lady of Culture.


Ebony Iman Dallas is an artist, designer and co-founder of Afrikanation Artists Organization, a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia in March 2010. Currently an MFA Design candidate at California College of the Arts, her primary focus is on Interactive Design. Her thesis topic is about connecting artists of African descent internationally, in an effort to promote unity, understanding, collaboration and activism towards health, economic and socially related challenges among them. We are honoring Ebony Iman Dallas with a Joyce award as First Lady of International Culture


Kemba Shakur is the founder and director of Urban Releaf, a nonprofit responsible for the planting of an estimated 14,000 trees in low-income East Bay communities. The 2009 Alameda County Women’s Hall of fame Inductee is fondly referred to as the “tree lady” and by the Oakland Museum of California as a modern day John Muir. She founded the Urban Releaf in 1999, guiding it to success by abiding two key principles – creating a more beautiful community where residents take pride in where they live and offering opportunities for at-risk youth and unemployed adults to gain marketable skills. We are honoring Kemba Shakur with a Joyce award as First Lady of Urban Forestry and Environmental Development. 


Judy Stone is one of a small group of people worldwide who call themselves enamelists. Enameling, is a centuries-old process of fusing glass to metal with high heat and a complex medium that requires that the enamelist understand the intricate dance of metal, glass and heat and use of color used three-dimensionally. Stone is also co-founder of the Women’s Building Celebration of Craftswomen, which began in 1979, as a small crafts show featuring 22 craftswomen in SF and is now hosted annually at Fort Mason Center. The Craftswomen’s Fair has grown into one of San Francisco’s top holiday attractions, yet remained true to its grassroots mission: promoting hand-crafted art by women artists. We are honoring Judy Stone with a Joyce award as First Lady of Enamel, Craft and Design.


Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an architect, born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, Ca. A graduate of Oakland High School in 1890, Julia was small in stature (barely 5ft tall), but she left large footprints on the field of architecture and also opened doors to opportunities for many women. Miss Morgan was a woman of many firsts: one of the first women to graduate with a degree in civil engineering from the University of California in Berkeley; the first woman to graduate with a degree in architecture from the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the first female licensed architect in the State of California. As an artist, Julia hand drafted many of her designs using pencil and pastels from her little color pastel box.  In a field dominated by men, Morgan succeeded in becoming the one of the most prolific architects in American history. 


Sandhya Sood is a licensed architect, exhibited artist, certified green building professional (CGBP) and founder and principal of Accent Architecture + Design, an architecture, design and urbanism practice. Sood is a member of the Landmarks California Committee, a collaboration working to raise awareness and appreciation for California’s cultural and historic resources, thereby helping to preserve California's rich landscape of natural, cultural and architectural treasures.  JM 2012, the first project of Landmarks California will celebrate the work and life of Julia Morgan.  In honor of Julia Morgan, we present Sandhya Sood with a Joyce award as first Lady of History, Design and Innovation for the Arts.


Joyce Gordon Gallery is a commercial fine art gallery located in the downtown district of Oakland California. It exhibits art that reflects the social and cultural diversity of the Bay Area and international artists. The aim of the gallery is to respect the creative pursuits of the individual and seeks to make such work accessible to a broad audience.