February 2024 / Seeds in the Soil

SEEDS IN THE SOIL

Rachel Gloria Adams
Rosalba Breazeale
Heather Flor Cron
Brian J. Evans
Hector Nevarez Magaña
Raquel P Miller
Veronica Perez
Benjamin Spalding
Kevin Xiques

February 01 – March 02, 2024

Winter Hours:
Friday–Sunday, 11am–4pm

In collaboration with Portland, Maine-based global arts incubator Indigo Arts Alliance (IAA); and  the nonprofit artist-run collaborative SOIL  Gallery presents “Seeds in the SOIL,” an exhibition showcasing nine artists who were awarded  IAA’s David C. Driskell Fellowship at Black Seed Studio. The opening reception takes place February 1 from 5 to 8 pm at SOIL in Pioneer Square. Additionally, the exhibition will be accompanied by a virtual Zoom artist talk with three of the artists on view. The program entitled  “Voices + Visions: An Artist Conversation,” happens February 22 from 7 to 8:30 pm EST / 4 to 5:30 PST. Click the link here to register.

“Seeds in the SOIL” is curated by Ashley Page and Jordia Benjamin of Indigo Arts Alliance, an innovative, Black-led arts incubator  in Portland dedicated to the professional development and amplification of Black & Brown artists from throughout the African Diaspora. “As advocates of diversity and unity,” says Page, “this exhibition not only shines a spotlight on the accomplishments of our residency Fellows, but also ignites a cultural interchange between Portland, Maine and the creative community in Seattle.” Benjamin adds, “Through this exhibition and the ‘Voices + Visions’ talk, we aspire to bridge the geographic gap, nurturing a dialogue that enhances our shared artistic narratives.”

A foundational program of IAA, its David C. Driskell Fellowship offers Maine-based Black and Brown artists with at least two years of exhibition experience and a variety of career development tools: up to three months of rent-free studio space; one-on-one support and mentorship of the IAA staff; along with studio visits with artists, curators, scholars and arts professionals. Selected fellows also receive $700 in unrestricted funding. 

“Seeds in the SOIL” will feature the work of Rachel Gloria Adams (’22), Rosalba Breazeale (’23), Heather Flor Cron (’21), Brian J. Evans (’22), Hector Nevarez Magaña (’23), Raquel P. Miller (’24), Veronica Perez (’21), Benjamin Spalding (’22), and Kevin Xiques (’23). Their work spans diverse media—from paintings, photography and fiber installation to performance and video.

Genevieve Tremblay, SOIL artist and curator, has known IAA’s founders Marcia and Daniel Minter as collaborators for decades, since their time living in Seattle. Her dual role as an IAA Advisory Circle member and SOIL artist member offered the perfect conditions to activate this collaboration. “We are thrilled to kick off our 2024 exhibitions calendar with this partnership with Indigo Art Alliance and the artists from the David C. Driskell Fellowship. Creating points of synergy and joint projects between our organizations, our communities and regions has long been part of our conversations at IAA, and these rich, bi-coastal partnerships are also part of SOIL’s organizational vision. Such magical things will be kindled!”

ARTIST BIOS //

Rachel Gloria Adams: Rachel Gloria Adams is a textile designer and painter living in Portland, ME. Inspired greatly by her beloved state of Maine and the beautiful chaos her two daughters bring, Adams has developed a vibrant, graphic pattern-based visual language filled with references to the natural world.

Rosalba Breazeale: Rosalba Breazeale received an MFA from the University of New Mexico in 2022 and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017. Their multidisciplinary art practice ranges from analog and alternative process photography, videography, installation, and fiber art with an emphasis on sustainable materials. Breazeale’s identity as a Queer, Jewish, transnational adoptee from Peru forms the foundation from which they create work addressing connection to land, immigration, and environmental justice.

Heather Flor Cron: Heather Flor Cron is a queer Peruvian-American farmer, performer & transdisciplinary artist who works with intuitive movement, installation, video & sound, printmaking, fiber, Instagram and food. Through performance and making with the readymade, available materials, Flor locates the present moment and the relationship between her two cultures. She explores the defeat and transformation of trauma through the twin powers of vulnerability and forgiveness, and how exposing pain can transcend trauma.  

Brian J. Evans: Brian J. Evans is a Citizen Artist: Individuals who reimagine the traditional notions of art-making, and who contribute to society either through the transformative power of their artistic abilities, or through proactive social engagement with the arts in realms including education, community building, diplomacy and healthcare. Evans is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance at Bates College having earned his Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Washington, Seattle Campus.

Hector Nevarez Magaña: Hector Nevarez Magaña is a Mexican-American photographer living and working in Portland, Maine. Originally from East Palo Alto, California, Hector attended Bowdoin College, where he received his BA in Visual Arts in 2016. The majority of his work is shot on roll film and printed on gelatin silver paper, though he hopes to produce more photo books in the future. Heavily inspired by his Mexican Catholic upbringing and by 20th century Mexican photographers such as Lola and Manuel Álvarez Bravo, his work focuses on themes of romance, remembrance, death, and faith.

Raquel P Miller: Born and adopted from Cuenca, Ecuador, Raquel P Miller is an emerging artist from Biddeford, Maine. She is focused on using her art as a mode of expression and developing a visual language of her own.  From painting to drawing, her work is focused on the confrontations and expressions of identity, experiences, and emotions.

Veronica Perez: Veronica Perez is an artist whose work is deeply rooted in the community, exploring themes of erasure, identity, and interdependency through her braiding circles workshops. In 2020, they were awarded the Ellis-Beaureguard Visual Arts Fellowship, followed by the inaugural fellowship at the David C. Driskell Black Seed Studio at Indigo Arts Alliance in 2021. In 2022, they were a fellow at the Lunder Institute at Colby College, and subsequently had their first solo exhibition titled voices, whispering at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

Benjamin Spalding: Benjamin Spalding is an interdisciplinary artist based in Portland, Maine. Taking inspiration from his Puerto Rican grandfather’s profession as a big band leader, Spalding’s practice is preoccupied with movement and the pageantry of the body, weaving together elements of club culture, sports, and nature with family history. 

Kevin Xiques: Kevin Xiques is a self-taught artist based in Portland, Maine. In December of 2020 he began painting for the first time, and is now fully immersed in his practice. Xiques’s work is primarily based in acrylic paint on canvas. His subject matter focuses on free will and pure expression, which he channels through his use of color and mark making. Growing up as a person of color in a rural town in Vermont, Xiques actively suppressed his individuality, taking away much of his childhood freedom in an attempt to blend in. Currently, his practice is centered around reclaiming that freedom through his work.