Serena Scott

A graphic promoting an exhibition. Below a row of black cutout star shapes, centered at the top of the image, in exuberant black text that has a hand-cut feel, are the words “Feeling Language” in all caps. Below that in a smaller size, the words “organized by Kate Laster”. In the left half of the graphic, a page from a book with swirling patterns is covered with ten rows of the handwritten phrase “You Are Here,” hand written in a beige cursive font in all caps. The name “Mitsuko Brooks” appears to the left. In the same font, a column on the right lists the artists participating in the exhibition. Each word is separated by a diamond or a star shape

NIAD Gallery Exhibition // “Feeling Language,” organized by Kate Laster

This show is all about comfort text: resilience in everyday words, writing and reading. Expression can also be wordless, the use of line and color as new vocabulary, pushing a thought out onto a surface, making marks and continuously trying to communicate with the world.

We tell stories to sustain ourselves and find each other. These messages embedded in art become an emotional telegram– a signal flare with a flame of memory trailing behind it. “Feeling Language” is about books, lists, slogans, language, gesture, touch and the trust given in sharing. Read More …

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Luxe, calme, et volupté,” selected by Lou Mo

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About the exhibition Henri Matisse painted Luxe, calme, et volupté more than a hundred years ago. Today, the vibrantly coloured Fauvist painting keeps instilling a sense of warmth and repose. Luxury, peace and pleasure indeed. At the moment, many of us may not be feeling at ease. To state the obvious, there’s an unfinished pandemic and a war raging once again in Europe. These are difficult times and many futures seem possible. Times are trying. Change and anxiety cannot be avoided.  Very often, the extra toiling accumulates upon the female and/or racialized body. Labor and care, both physical and emotional, are often Read More …

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Day or Night it looks like Night” organized by Liliana Herrera

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About the exhibition The pieces in this exhibition were selected in a moment of uncertainty. The pandemic has affected each of us differently, but what can perhaps be agreed upon is that its longevity has worn on our collective morale. This was certainly the undercurrent of this grouping.  Dorian Reid’s Day or Night it Looks Like Night, is a depiction of September 9, 2020, a day that those of us in the Bay Area remember all too well: the day we awoke to smoky red skies caused by surrounding wildfires. The ominous tones on the canvas continue to be relevant today.  Read More …

A painting on white paper in four colors - yellow, red, indigo and grey. Yellow and red form thick half arches on the left side of the paper. Indigo forms a cloud in the middle and top right corner. Grey is a mass in the mid to lower right. Brushstrokes visible in all the forms.

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Murmuration” selected by Alisa Golden

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About the exhibition A murmuration is a flock of thousands moving together, a pattern through the sky, each bird attuned to its nearest neighbors. Made up of individual parts, the whole becomes greater and more powerful than when it stands alone. In the works presented here, individual parts are visible: pieced, gridded, grouped, and arranged with lines, letters, and fields of color. And from the thousands of works that fly together at NIAD, here is only a sample of pieces that somehow talk and listen to their nearest neighbors. A murmuration of applause to all. About the selector Alisa Golden writes, Read More …

A satirical print of a white male, wearing a blue uniform, smiling, holding up a blue hood with his raised right hand. The words "Trump equals" above the figure and "cobra commander" at the bottom are handwritten in black.

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Innersense” ushered by Germán Herrera

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About the Exhibition What is expressed in this small selection of works emanates from tender voices; better equipped than most to express the one quality humankind probably needs the most in this moment: love.  They make me think of canaries in a coal mine and, their message, an invitation to  embrace our humanity. May all of us be inspired by their courage, honesty and capacity to feel. About the organizer Germán Herrera Human being. I am an artist interested in spirituality, communication and art as an extension of consciousness. Student of A Course in Miracles, I live in California with Read More …

A collection of images of work by NIAD studio artists arranged in a grid.

NIAD x Mills // MCAM Acquires 14 Works by NIAD Artists

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We are thrilled to announce that fourteen artworks by NIAD studio artists Heather Hamann, Shana Harper, Serena Scott, and Jonathan Velazquez have been acquired by the Mills College Art Museum as part of a newly launched student acquisition project to help diversify the museum’s collection Full Press Release: Mills College Art Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of 14 works of art by contemporary artists associated with NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California: Heather Hamann, Shana Harper, Serena Scott, and Jonathan Velazquez. These additions to MCAM’s collection are part of a newly launched student acquisition project to identity, research, Read More …

A print of a person wearing a helmet an an armband that reads "police" about to bring their foot down on the face of a person lying on the sidewalk. A protest sign that reads "POLICE BRUTALITY" lies nearby, next to a vivid red brick wall.

Online Exhibition: “Edges of Attention” organized by Canela Art Gallery

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About the exhibition   We selected our favorite evocative works and put them into a virtual gallery.     There was so much amazing work to choose from, but we believe that these works in particular speak for themselves. Lastly, we also think these works exhibited together speak to this moment in America and how art represents what we give our attention to. * Seleccionamos nuestras obras evocadoras favoritas y las pusimos en una galería virtual. Había tantas obras para elegir, pero creemos que estas obras en particular hablan por sí mismas. Por último, también creemos que estas obras expuestas Read More …

A screenprint portrait by NIAD studio artist Raven Harper in red ink of a female figure from the shoulders up. The words at the bottom of the print read "Rosa Parks".

Online Exhibition: “Super Powers” organized by Aubrey Ingmar Manson

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About the exhibition   As artists, we all have super powers. We can say what we feel and build worlds out of nothing. We can demand change and speak out about injustices. We can protest for our rights, freedoms, and share with others our views. It is the outside world viewed through the artist’s lens. Our powers are both inside and outside of us. Who among us will stand up for what they believe in? Who among us will help out? Who among us has a vision? Who among us desires change and progress? And who among us will do Read More …

Untitled (D0897) by Julie MacDonald graphite on woven paper 13 x 19” unique 2019. Row after row of small squares, each divided into four bright triangles, stacked up across the picture plane to form an optical dance (perhaps more of a march?) of color.

Online Exhibition: Holding the Line, organized by jill moniz

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About the exhibition The works in this exhibition use the line to suggest form and meaning. Whether as a solid object or a mere suggestion, the line elicits connections beyond formalism, and resonates with transformative power. The synchronicity between what is made and what is felt enriches the experience with the visual languages offered here. Together, these works tell a story with line, color and form about the pleasure, diversity and complexity born from simple materials that should be required reading. About the organizer  jill moniz is an independent curator of visual narratives. She shares her vision of empowering visual Read More …

Thirsty Thursday Logo - a blue drop of water with "Th2" superimposed at the bottom and "Thirsty Thursday" underneath

Online Event: Thirsty Thursday – August 12

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Join us online from 6-7 PM PT, Thursday August 12! We’ll welcome organizer Jessica Cadkin and guest artist Leigh Barbier in conversation about organizing this month’s NIAD Windows Exhibition, Picnic.  You could have the opportunity to meet and talk with participating NIAD studio artists Saul Alegria, Jeremy Burleson, Jonathan Velazquez, Serena Scott, Shana Harper, Michael Nuñez, Michael Walker, Tre’von Silva and Hacer Acma. Leigh Barbier is a renowned San Francisco-based artist with a singular style. What are Leigh’s career highlights so far? “Working on dioramas for the California Academy of Sciences, being part of an all-girl team to make a Read More …

an acrylic painting on paper of an insect, with four olive green legs, yellow wings, a purple thorax and orange eyes on a bright pink background

NIAD Windows Exhibition: Picnic, organized by Jessica Cadkin

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About the exhibition Ice cream trucks, pool parties, and picnics evoke images of summertime. This year in particular, picnics became an opportunity to reunite with friends and family after so many months of isolation. The summer ritual of gathering outside on blankets with baskets to share a meal, play games, and bask in the sun took on special meaning. So as this summer draws to a close, the artworks selected for this window exhibition are an expression of some of those things. About the organizer  Jessica Cadkin was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up in Napa, California. She received Read More …

Untitled (D0443) Yuka Kobayashi

Online exhibition: Warming, selected by Good Buy Supply

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About the exhibition Warming A selection of works that embrace imperfect elements and subtle beauty found in nature. We can envision the artists admiring the natural world and what they love about it. Each work is met with a delicate thoughtful touch that can transcend beyond the page. The same mindset can be found in making sustainable choices that better people and the planet.  About the selector Good Buy Supply is Philadelphia’s first retail store dedicated to plastic-free alternatives for everyday life. Located in the grand, independent business community of East Passyunk Avenue, Good Buy Supply boasts a large selection Read More …

Sara Malpass Untitled (D0696)

Online Exhibition: Words And Feeling, selected by Nicole Shaffer

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About the exhibition When going through the NIAD archives, I was struck by a number of works that pair text with image in ways that shift language and illustration from a familiar, functional use to something more expansive. I access a similar experience of forming unexpected and generative correlations when I observe my sensations through movement. For this online series, I selected works that opened up my thinking about language and sensory experience. About the selector Nicole is a current MFA candidate at San Francisco State University and has exhibited in Bay Area spaces such as Southern Exposure, Wolfman Books, Read More …

Online Exhibition: Hands Up, Don’t Shoot! (The Fed Up/ Can’t Take It Anymore Remix), Selected By Jennifer McCoy//

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Six years ago, yes, six years ago. That is how long ago we posted this online show organized by St Louis resident Jennifer McCoy. It was in response to events that happened in her city and were happening across the nation: the killing of unarmed Black men. More than a half-decade later, nothing has changed and more lives have been lost under the boots of and at the hands of brutal police officers. A number of works have sold since then and she’s updated the show with a few new pieces that are relevant to this moment. A portion of Read More …