Art briefs: Ed Spriggs at Hammonds House; MOCA GA fellows; new art fair

MOCA GA has announced the 2023-24 winners of its Working Artist Project Fellowship program: They are Namwon Choi, Jane E. Foley and José Ibarra Rizo. The fellowship includes a stipend, studio assistants, a publication and an exhibition at the museum.

Choi is a painter with a cinematic perspective of the world. Her landscapes are sourced from locations from Georgia to Seoul, Korea. Foley creates sculptures from neon and concrete, seeing the mutability of both media in their base liquid forms as metaphors for gender fluidity. Photographer Rizo collaborates with his subjects to construct a visual archive of the Latinx community and its experiences in the South.

The guest curator for this year’s fellowship is Dr. Vivian Li, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. “The Working Artist Program is a remarkable artist-centered residency to celebrate and cultivate the dynamic Atlanta artist community,” Li stated in a press release. “I was struck by many of the submitted proposals’ sophistication and commitment to working through the nuances of complex ideas, often contextualized by the importance of place and the South.”

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Hammonds House Museum will close out its 35th anniversary season with Foundations and Futures, an exhibition curated by Edward Spriggs, founding executive director of the museum; Kevin Sipp, a longtime Hammonds House curator; and emerging artist and curator Abiose Spriggs. The exhibit will highlight the history of significant artists who have exhibited at the museum and also explore current visual art movements in the African diaspora. Foundations and Futures will open October 20 and run through December 17.

A Gathering weekend will take place September 22-24, and include a special recognition of every artist who has exhibited at the museum over the past 35 years. A staple of the Hammonds House Museum’s anniversary celebrations over the years, the Gathering will be curated this year by consultant Leatrice Ellzy Wright, executive director of the museum from 2017 to 2021.

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Black Art in America Gallery and Sculpture Gardens will hold its first fine art print fair August 11 and August 12 at its East Point location. The fair will showcase contemporary artists from around the country alongside master printmakers. The work of more than 50 established and emerging artists will be featured, among them Jamaal Barber, Kerry James Marshall, Robert Pruitt, Robin Holder and Delita Martin. Visitors will have an opportunity to engage with the artists and master printmakers through interactive demonstrations and discussions. Admission is free.