Under Construction Arts is an annual week-long residency to celebrate the artistic process. For the 2021 residency, we welcome Artist Mēlani Naim and her project "Color Stories: A Community Conversation on Color."
As part of Annapolis Arts Week, Naim's residency will also include opportunities for the community to contribute to the project plus digital engagement, an Artist Talk and open Gallery Hours.
Curator and conceptual artist Mēlani Naim is the founder of the award-winning Family Arts Museum - a migratory institution focused on the celebration of family as fine art, home as curated space, and community as gallery. Inspired by the birth of her daughter, Mēlani started her own museum reimagined her studio practice, and refined her innovative approach to community engagement, audience development, and exhibition design. Mēlani currently serves as a consultant on numerous projects and as the director of public programs at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her work has been highlighted by the New York Times, Atlas Obscura, Shondaland, Bmore Art, American Museum Alliance Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, Artnet, and National Geographic.
Share Your Color Story
Take a picture of color in your community! It can be a picture of something you made or objects/color that you find. i.e. food in grocery stores, historic landmarks, murals. Be a part of this community project by sharing your own color story.
Virtual Meditation Daily at 9 am via Zoom with Replay on Instagram (@marylandhall)
Join us online every morning to meditate together on a specific color. These meditations will be led by Mēlani and Joan “Shekhemt” McCoy.
Joan McGoy. Photo by Aakhu M.
Joan (Shekhemt) McGoy is an Applied Meditation Script Coach. Applied Meditation is more than just breathing. At Managed Mind, McGoy's practice, she specializes in teaching the science and practicality of using meditation as a tool for personal development. We call it Applied Meditation. We understand that life is constantly challenging us to grow into our greatest good through adversities and opportunities that expand our beliefs and ideas about who are and what can accomplish. Meditation and scripting are the tools we use to assist our clients to achieve their goals and meet their life challenges peacefully and productively.
Register for the daily Zoom mediations by clicking the links below:
Free Film Screening: Rivers and Tides Thursday, June 10, 7 pm in the Main Theatre
This astonishing documentary from Thomas Riedelsheimer shadows renowned sculptor Andy Goldsworthy as he creates works of art with ice, driftwood, leaves, stone, dirt and snow in open fields, beaches, rivers, creeks and forests.
Open Studio & Gallery Hours Friday, June 11 & Saturday, June 12, 10 am-4 pm
On Friday, visit Mēlani for Open Studio Hours in Studio 314B. On Saturday, visit the Chaney and Martino Galleries for Gallery Hours to see the work Mēlani has been able to assemble throughout the week. Free and open to the public, no registration required.
Free Artist Talk in the Chaney Gallery Saturday, June 12, 2 pm
We will host an Artist Talk with Mēlani. Join us to learn more about her project and what she learned about our community’s discovery into color. Free and open to the public, no registration required.
Before summer gets into full swing and everything opens back up, participate in an artist led mindfulness activity observing color that will result in a community driven art project. Slow down, observe colors, share them with others. Discover things you maybe haven't noticed before.
Why color? The main elements that make an art piece are the fundamental elements: color, line, form. Starting with one element, like color, makes art more accessible to all. For most of us, color is extremely accessible, dynamic and diverse. For example, the color red triggers different thoughts for all of us leading to something we can all connect through and understand. Let’s open ourselves up through the lens of each of these colors.
Share Your Color Story
Take a picture of color in your community! It can be a picture of something you made or objects/color that you find. i.e. food in grocery stores, historic landmarks, murals. Be a part of this community project by sharing your own color story.
