Partnership with Goodyear Arts Offers Artist Residencies to New Alumni

A new collaboration between the Department of Art & Art History and Goodyear Arts awards three-week summer artist residencies to recent graduates of the Department. Alumni Nadia Meadows, who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art in December 2020, and Nicole Thrower, who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art in May, are the inaugural award recipients, chosen through a competitive process. Goodyear Arts is an artist-led, nonprofit residency and multi-arts events program currently based at Camp North End in Charlotte.

Thrower began her residency on May 24 and concluded June 14. While at Goodyear she began a series of 2-foot by 4-foot figurative drawings using ink, pencil, and paint that she is calling phew, no.

“My original work I was going to create was a roughly 6-foot by 12-foot ink drawing on paper; however, after being extremely sick for a little over a week, I scaled down and started something different,” she said. “I am extremely excited about this series, and it would have never been created if it wasn’t for me getting sick.”

Meadows’s residency runs June 16 through July 10. She will use that time to expand upon her BFA thesis work, Subtle Oppression, a large-scale fiber installation composed of natural braiding hair and twists that are mounted on felt and bonded with black glue to create panels that are 2 feet by 3 feet.

“This work of art is inspired by frustrations I’ve experienced when confronted about my hair texture and choice of styles,” she said. “The piece is meant for you to experience those same feelings as just that, subtle.”

Each panel consists of a unique symbol that represents African American culture. Some are historical symbols from the days of enslavement, while others represent contemporary issues.

“Underground Railroad patterns, such as the ‘Shoofly’ and the ‘Crossroad,’ were styled into women’s hair and served as hidden gems for safety and refuge. I created other symbols, such as a suit coat and house, as it relates to the present-day crisis of socioeconomic disadvantages amongst African Americans.”

To display the panels, Meadows lays them across the floor to create a carpet that viewers walk on. During her residency she will explore new patterns and textures and experiment with products to make the work more durable.

Associate Professor of Painting Maja Godlewska, who helped organize the residency program, said that this opportunity will be available to Department of Art & Art History graduates each summer.

“We envision this program as ‘transitional’ for recent visual arts grads, so they can be introduced to the local community, produce work, get exposure, and network.”

For Thrower, the Goodyear residency “has been the best three weeks of my life/career thus far,” she said. “I am beyond grateful for this opportunity. Being in the environment of this space, with other makers, is so inspiring and happy. I have had opportunities to meet the artists in residence here and make new friends, as well as meet others from our Charlotte art community.”