On Thursday, June 24th at 6pm CST, Hope Wang and Vincent Uribe will be in conversation as part of our ongoing series Curator Conversations at 21c Chicago. Curator Conversations is a monthly series that asks a local art curator to chat with an artist of their choice with ties to the Chicago arts community. Each month we feature different artists and curators to share the rich Chicago arts community with a national audience. The event is virtual, free, and open to the public. You can register to attend through this Eventbrite link.
How are you feeling today? This week? This new year?
Hope Wang (HW): Nervous, but in a good, anticipatory way…like the crest of a wave before it rolls out.
Vincent Uribe (VU): Exhausted—ready for a vacation.
How can people continue to support artists in their communities?
HW: Pay them. Like, really pay them. If you can’t afford it now, strategize how you or your organization can budget or fundraise toward it. But also, challenge yourself to think about your patron role as collaborative rather than transactional with the artist.
VU: Buy art more art! Now’s the time to redo your home and support your local artists.
Hope Wang, the dust continues to scurry into the spotlight, 2018
handwoven with cotton and polyester, 46″ x 28″
Are you hopeful? If you are, what is giving you a reason to be hopeful in this moment?
VU: I’m hoping for an exciting summer and to reconnecting with friends after so much time apart.
Do you have any #protips or things you have learned in the past year that you would like to share with fellow artists?
HW: You do not need permission to do what’s right for you. External validation is an important part of building confidence and self-growth, but be intentional and selective with whom you look for it from.
VU: Honesty can go a long way. Learn to say no if something is not a right fit or you do not have the capacity/time. Don’t force an opportunity if the outcome will be compromised. (Still working on putting this into play myself.)
Hope Wang, 2021
Handwoven on the TC2 jacquard loom with cotton and wool and polyester
17 x 28 inches
Hope Wang, face prostrate temples kissing the baked facade 3, 2021
Handwoven on the TC2 jacquard loom with cotton and wool and polyester
49 x 56 inches
What’s your Summer drink of choice?
HW: Spanish gin and tonic!
VU: Vista Bay all the Way.
Speaker Bios:
Hope Wang is a Chicago-based artist, arts facilitator, and poet. Contending with sloppy traces of human activity around sites of industrial labor and transit, her work explores the fallibility of memory and contemporary conditions of alienation. She also hosts and operates LMRM, a floor loom rental resource for Chicago fiber artists. Wang received her BFA (2018) from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a 2021 recipient of the gener8tor Art Accelerator Program Grant. She has attended the Digital Weaving Lab Residency at Praxis Fiber Workshop; The Weaving Mill WARP Residency; and Spudnik Press Cooperative Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited at Ignition Project Space (Chicago, IL); Gallery No One (Chicago, IL); Chicago Art Department (Chicago, IL); Sullivan Galleries (Chicago, IL); and Zhou B Art Center (Chicago, IL), among others.
You can learn more about Hope Wang’s work on her website and by following her on Instagram @hopewang
Vincent Uribe is an artist and creative community builder based in Chicago, IL. A Los Angeles native, Vincent is a dual-degree graduate from the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. He is the Founding Director of LVL3, an artist-run exhibition space and online publication launched in 2010. Through LVL3, Vincent has organized hundreds of exhibitions featuring exceptional emerging and mid-career artists both nationally and internationally, including in Miami, New York, and Mexico City. In 2013, Vincent joined the team at Arts of Life to help expand opportunities for artists with disabilities. Through the Artist Enterprise Program, he launched Arts of Life’s in-studio Circle Contemporary galleries and expanded Arts of Life’s public exhibitions locally in Chicago and on a national scale. His work includes shows with the Chicago Cultural Center, Art on theMART, INTUIT Center for Outsider Art, and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art among many others. Vincent serves as a founding board member for Equity Arts. He has participated in numerous talks dedicated to artists’ professional development. His work has been featured in publications such as The Chicago Tribune and New City.
You can follow Vincent on Instagram @vcentu and learn more about LVL3 and Arts of Life by visiting through their websites linked above.
Hope Wang, 2021
Handwoven on the TC2 jacquard loom with cotton and wool and polyester
27.5 x 31 inches
Hope Wang, throwing a short glance in the sliver between the glass barred against the warm air 6, 2021
25 x 26 inches
Handwoven on the TC2 jacquard loom with cotton and wool
Hope Wang, throwing a short glance in the sliver between the glass barred against the warm air 5, 2021
Handwoven on the TC2 jacquard loom with hand-dyed cotton and wool
25 x 29 inches
