The Shellof Vitus

By Lana Shkadova        Feb 6, 2023 Vitus Shell: 'Bout It 'Bout It, The Political Power of Just Being , opened in SECCA's Main Gallery last Thursday. The public opening reception was held at 5pm, but artist Vitus Shell gave a special gallery tour with the press between 4–4:45pm. The curator was present, and cocktails were available from The Exquisite Taste. Louisiana-based artist Vitus Shell creates empowering portraits of Black Americans through a revision of historical painting. Shell's work is geared toward the black experience, giving agency to people from this community through powerful images deconstructing, sampling, and remixing identity, civil rights, and contemporary Black culture. Learn more at  SECCA's website . In addition to works brought to SECCA, the exhibition also features a large site-specific mural portrait of  Larry Little , the prominent Winston-Salem community leader and founder of the North Carolina Chapter of the Blac...

Louisiana-Based Artist Creates Empowering Portraits of Black Americans Through a Revision of Historical Painting (Winston-Salem, NC) – The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) is proud to host  Vitus Shell: 'Bout It 'Bout It, The Political Power of Just Being , an exhibition of portraits by mixed-media collage painter Vitus Shell. The exhibition will open in SECCA's Main Gallery on Thursday, February 2 and remain on view through Sunday, June 18, 2023. An opening reception with the artist will be held  Thursday, February 2 from 5–8pm . Admission is free and open to the public. This exhibition is organized by the Hilliard Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana and curated by Benjamin M. Hickey, Curator of Exhibitions, Hilliard Art Museum, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The exhibition is co-sponsored by Blanco Tackabery Attorneys and Counsellors at Law. Vitus Shell,  Bury Me In Gold,  2019. Portraiture as a genre holds a grand position within the history of...

  Mural celebrates history of Ruston’s East End community — Nancy Bergeron Leader photos by Nancy Bergeron Mural artist Vitus Shell, holding scissors, Ruston Alderwoman Angela Mayfield, and artist Drék Davis, joined by residents of the Greenwood neighborhood and members of the North Central Louisiana Arts Council, cut a ribbon Thursday for the “On the Shoulders of Giants” mural at the Greenwood community center. The Grambling State University concert choir performs during a reception celebrating the mural that’s part of the North Central Louisiana Arts Council’s Lift Every Voice Initiative. Below, mural artists Vitus Shell and Drék Davis stand in front of their work. Ruston’s newest mural grew out of national tragedy. Now the bright colors on the big blue building on Cornell Avenue stand as what the North Central Louisiana Arts Council hopes is a successful part of its vow to listen and learn from experiences of Black members of the local community. In the wake of the deaths of Geo...

  By SOPHIA HALL COOPERTOWN – As this election cycle ends, it has become clearer that the fight for the right to vote did not end with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Claims of fraud, polling place closures and gerrymandering are rampant. Access to voting continues to depend on who we are, how we look and where we live. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in Shelby County v Holder that it was no longer necessary for states and local governments with a history of voter suppression to submit changes in their election laws for review; other outstanding Supreme Court cases threaten to erode voting rights even further. While New York itself has recently passed laws to protect the right to vote, de facto barriers, growing political animosity, and a feeling that one’s vote will not count continue to threaten voting in the state, clearly evidenced by the drop in voter turnout in this recent election cycle. When confronted by the truth that is the vulnerability of the vote, particularly for peo...

  The National Performance Network is thrilled to announce the second cohort of the  Take   Notice  Fund, honoring artists of color in Louisiana. The  Take   Notice  Fund awards $5,000 grants to artists and culture bearers of color living and working in Louisiana. These artists’ bodies of work represent excellence, dedication to their practices, and contributions to this country’s discourse about racial justice and cultural preservation. Grant funds are unrestricted and intended to support an artist’s creative practice and/or wellbeing. The initiative is supported with generous funding from the Ford Foundation’s Creativity and Free Expression program. “The award honors those who have decided, ‘I’m going to commit my life to this artistic practice, to always learning, to observing what’s going on in my community and the world,’” said  NPN ’s Director of Southern Programs Stephanie Atkins. “It comes down to excellence—these artists are pushing ...