Discussions
Risk-Taking Women in the Arts: Martha Jackson Jarvis & Elissa Blount Moorhead
Join us for the first in a series of discussions highlighting risk-taking women in the arts. The evening will feature artist Martha Jackson Jarvis in conversation with artist and curator Elissa Blount Moorhead.
Prompted by the new exhibition Martha Jackson Jarvis: What the Trees Have Seen, the two will discuss Jackson Jarvis’ collection of work and their evolving artistic practices.
Guests are invited to explore the exhibition and enjoy a reception following the conversation.
Schedule
6 pm – Doors Open
6:30 pm – Program Begins
7:30-8:30 pm – Reception and Exhibition Open
8:30 pm – Program Ends
Bios
Martha Jackson Jarvis’ sculptures have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Studio Museum of Harlem, N.Y. Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, N.Y.; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Tretyakov Gallery Moscow, U.S.S.R.
The artist has undertaken public and corporate art commissions for the Philip Morris corporation in Washington, D.C.; Merck Company in Pennsylvania; Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C. Washington Metro Transit Authority, Anacostia Station; New York Transit Authority, Mount Vernon; South Carolina Botanical Gardens in Clemson; Prince George’s County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro, Md.; Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.; and MS/HS 368 Bronx, New York.
Born in 1952, Jackson Jarvis grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. She studied at Howard University and received a BFA degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and an MFA from Antioch University. Jackson Jarvis also studied mosaic techniques and stone cutting in Ravenna, Italy.
Elissa Blount Moorhead is an artist exploring the poetics of quotidian life in film and expanded media. As a principal partner at TNEG film studios, with Arthur Jafa and Malik Sayeed and as co-founder of Red Clay Arts in NYC, she has co-produced and curated exhibitions and multimedia projects for over 30 years, including Random Occurrences; Cat Calls (Street Harassment project); Practicum; FunkGodJazzMedicine; and Art in Odd Places. She was awarded the Comedy Central-Sundance Award, USA Artist Fellowship, Saul Zaentz Innovation Fellowship, Ford Foundation/Just Films/Fellowship, Adobe Women in Film Fellowship, The Baker Award, and the Creative Capital Award. She is the creator of fiftyTWO, an episodic dramedy developed at the Sundance Episodic Lab. She created and directed a 3D mapping and Augmented Reality installation, As of A Now, directed PBS’ Apologue for the Darkest Gods, MTV’s 9 Things, and co-director of Jay Z’s 4:44 and 4-channel film installation, Back and Song with co-director Bradford Young. She is the author of P is for Pussy, an illustrated “children’s” humor book, and is featured in the anthologies; How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance by Akiba Solomon and Kenrya Rankin; and Black Cinema & Visual Culture, Art and Politics in the 21st Century, edited by Artel Great and Ed Guerrero.
Photos: Elissa Blount Moorhead by Schaun Champion. Martha Jackson Jarvis by Grace Roselli, Pandora’s BoxX Project.
This program is sponsored by the Deborah Buck Foundation, an organization supporting institutions that are actively working to reverse the marginalization of women in the Fine Arts. The evening is dedicated to the loving memory of Sue Dalsemer, Deborah Buck’s mother.
