The Vanderbilt University Department of Art welcomes Alexis Jackson, recipient of the 2015 Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award, for her exhibition Sign of the Diaspora Jan. 12–Feb. 3.
An opening reception is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 12, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Space 204 Gallery at the E. Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Center, located at 1204 25th Ave. S.
Sign of the Diaspora is an installation exploring identity. Textiles and wax prints purchased from vendors in South Africa serve as a dialogue between the artist and people of the African diaspora of various backgrounds and nationalities.
Jackson graduated from Vanderbilt with a double major in studio art and English. Her Senior Show piece, “1,437,201,654 Black Lives,” served as a visual example of how capitalism, patriarchy and heteronormativity impact black lives.
Since relocating to New York City, Jackson has worked closely with other activists and artists while studying nonviolent protest, civil disobedience, intersectionality and movement leadership. She participated in the New York Arts Practicum, an arts institute in which participants learn experientially to bridge their lives as art students to lives as artists in the world. She also spent time traveling to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Jackson plans to continue her involvement in the thriving arts culture in her Harlem community.
For more information, contact the Vanderbilt Department of Art at 615-343-7241 or visit www.vanderbilt.edu/arts.