Events

The Masur Museum of Art Presents:

It Shouldn’t Be Revolutionary:
An Exploration of Rest and Taking Care of Black Women
Paintings by K’Shana Hall

Sponsored by The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council

Exhibition on view: April 28 – August 6, 2023
Public Reception: May 11, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Artist’s talk at 6:00 pm

About the Exhibition
K’Shana Hall is a mixed media artist and photographer originally from the south side of Chicago, but mostly raised in North Louisiana. Her method of expression is predominately abstract and is heavily influenced by her culture and experiences as a black woman. K’Shana is passionate about destigmatizing mental health care, and it often shows in the themes of her work. She is a ULM alumna and currently serves as the vice president of the Black Creatives Circle of Northeast Louisiana. BCCNL is a non-profit whose mission is to support black creatives and educate and encourage the visibility and success of black creatives in their respective fields.

K’Shana’s work is known for its unique texture and bold color choices and has been featured on fashion runways, in university exhibitions, in private galleries, and at various museums. She continues to call to the forefront a need for care and restoration for Black women in a world that demands the continued extension of their physical and emotional labor. This body of work presents counter narratives rooted in ease, gentleness, and boundaries, affirming self-determination and autonomy over how Black women care for themselves and how others should follow suit. Her lapis-hued canvases feature repeated symbolism that is almost meditative in nature; they are a nod to the practice of mindfulness and grounding oneself in the present.

The Masur Museum of Art Presents
60th Annual Juried Competition
Sponsored by The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council
Juror: Jovanna Venegas, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Exhibition on view February 23 – May 6, 2023
Public Reception on March 9, 2023 from 5:30-7:30 PM.

About the Exhibition
The Masur Museum of Art’s Annual Juried Competition showcases contemporary artists throughout the United States of America working in any medium. First started in 1964, the Annual Juried Competition is the Masur Museum’s longest-running tradition and one of its best-reviewed exhibitions each year. Annually, 700-1000 recent artworks are submitted by artists all over the nation, in all styles and media. The Masur Museum is proud to offer cash awards totaling $3,200.

Announcing this year’s guest juror: Jovanna Venegas
Jovanna Venegas is Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She has worked on public programs and exhibitions at e-flux, the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, the 11th Gwangju Biennial, and was a curatorial advisor on the U.S./Mexico border region for the 2022 Whitney Biennial. At SFMOMA, she curated Bay Area Walls: Liz Hernández and co-curated New Work: Wu Tsang Presents Moved by the Motion and Shifting the Silence. She is co-curating the SECA Art Award, opening in December 2022. She is currently a lecturer at the California College of the Arts in the Master’s in Curatorial Practice.

Selected Artists: Adriana Ranieri (Tampa, FL), Allison Spence (Tallahassee, FL), Amy Nelder (San Francisco, CA), Anthea Kerou (Palm Beach, FL), Ariane Ahlmann (Brooklyn, NY), Ashley Cecil (Pittsburgh, PA), Barry Goldstein (Statesville, NC), Bo Vine Hawkins (Sacramento, CA), Byron D. King (New Bern, NC), Carey Watters (Milwaukee, WI), Carrol McTyre (Cordova, TN), Cassandra Chalfant (Aurora, CO), Catherine Forster (Olympia, WA), Charles Compo (New York, NY), Christine Sauerteig-Pilaar (Oak Ridge, NJ), Claire Renaut (Seattle, WA), Daniel Myers (West Monroe, LA), Dean Dablow (Ruston, LA), Denise Weaver Ross (Albuquerque, NM), Erik Jon Olson (Plymouth, MN), Erin Dixon (Carrollton, GA), Frank Hamrick (Ruston, LA), Gary Johnson (Fayetteville, AR), Glynn Cartledge (Reno NV), Hayden Phelps (Old Hickory, TN), Isabella Losskarn (Asheville, NC), Itzel Hernandez Leon (Grambling, LA), Jack Straton (Portland, OR), Jeanette Hammerstein (Bloomington, IN), Jeff Bohlander (Keedysville, MD), Jeff Wilson (Austin, TX), John Affolter (Vashon, WA), Jon Malis (Baltimore, MD), Keum-Taek Jung (Starkville, MS), Kevin B. Jones (San Francisco, CA), Kong Ho (Bradford, PA), Laura Klopfenstein (Austin, TX), Laurel Marx (New York, NY), Liz Penniman (Reno, NV), Lori Markman (Sherman Oaks, CA), Lucia Enriquez (Anacortes, WA), Marie Bukowski (Kent, OH), Mary K VanGieson (Cordova, TN), Mary Post (Tyler, TX), Maureen Murray (Westerly, RI), Mehrdad Mirzaie (Temple, AZ), Mia Zheng (Honolulu, HI), Michael Nichols (Bowling Green, KY), Morgan Ford Willingham (Emporia, KS), Nancy Stainton (Monterey, CA), Nick Hobbs (Fayetteville, AR), Nicole Woodard (Kansas City, MO), Nikii Richey (Memphis, TN), Pamela Marks (Quaker Hill, CT), Peter De Pelsmacker (Thousand Oaks, CA), PJ Mills (El Portal, FL), Robert Obier (Baton Rouge, LA), Rozalyn LeCompte (Broussard, LA), Russell U. Richards (Charlottesville, VA), Sally Binard (Key West, FL), Sarah Hazel (Houston, TX), Scott Eakin (Atlanta, GA), Shahnaz Nia (Washington, DC), Sky Pape (New York, NY), Sophy Bevan (Sausalito, CA), Stephen March (Spring Grove, PA), Tatiana Makht (San Jose, CA), Thu Nguyen (Pepeekeo, HI), Tom Attwood (Samford, CT), Trotter Hardy (Williamsburg, VA), William Mark Sommer (Loomis, CA)

Loren Schwerd is an associate professor of sculpture at Louisiana State University where she teaches three-dimensional design and all levels of sculpture. Schwerd’s work repurposes found materials and traditional craft techniques that reside between the pliant categories of sculpture and textiles. Her meticulous handwork obscures distinctions between organic and synthetic matter, communicating opposing suggestions of frailty and resilience and producing a contrast of sensibilities that reflect the discordant relationship between nature and culture.