QUIET STORMS // A group exhibition curated by Ruby Joy White

On view July 18–August 9, 2020
Performance by Brittain Jarrett Jackson July 31, 2020 (6 p.m.) live streaming & archived HERE
Artist Talk with Christine Miller & Ruby Joy White August 9, 2020 TBA live streaming

The mere statement of a quiet storm is oxymoronic, and though a storm’s aural qualities are not always apparent, its power and presence always creates an impact. Black Diasporic folks have existed in this duality of sorts. Quietly creating through storms, moving in loud silence, all while building and developing the very things that make this world move with soul. We exist in a state of daydreaming — a reimagining of what Black liberation, expression, movement, and overall life is and can be; we’ve had to in order to persist in this very anti-Black world. Our creativity and imagination have been sources of cultural delight enjoyed and appropriated by non-Black communities for centuries. How we move and sway, the dialects we create, the inventions that benefit the world at-large are all birthed from our dreams, beauty, and resiliency.

Quiet Storms is a collective, micro-installation curated by Ruby Joy White that plays and frames snippets of Black Dreams and Imagination, involving visual, virtual, and movement pieces throughout. Collectively, Quiet Storms expresses the nuanced and brilliant movement of Black Radical Imagination through a weaving together of stories shared through each artist’s medium. Playing on the Black-created “Quiet Storm” genre of music, the installation borrows on softness from such Diasporic singers as Anita Baker, Sade, and Jhené Aiko to aesthetically create that which illuminates and positively romanticizes Blackness, allowing access points for Us to exist in a present-futuristic state to achieve Black ease. 

We invite you to experience the fluidity of Black dreaming and illumination with the philosophies of non-disturbance, non-interference, and celebration of this space of Black Radical Imagination.

IMAGES

BIOs

Ruby Joy White (Prince/she) is a stylish, 30-something sapphically-inclined, writer-violinist-dancer-Sagittarius-TOMBOY, based in Portland, OR. A radical imaginist, Prince is a cultural curator, and plans & executes creative events, art talks, festivals, and installations that center People of Color and all their intersections. Additionally, Prince hosts conversations on equity in creative spaces, engages with youth, has a background in education, and moderates panels in the Portland community. She is a Content Writer for Art for Ourselves, a copywriter, an editor, and a consultant for racial equity, queer equity, organizational structure & strategic planning trainings. Prince is an aspiring screenwriter. Ruby curates and creates vibrant experiences that aim to transport those engaged into realms that connect the soul to the beauty and intersections of the self. Prince’s work is best described as aesthetic, altar-like intimacies that tell stories, illuminate Queerness (in all its forms) and challenge the cacophony of the static norm.

Claire Weitz (she/her), an emerging young artist, was born in Portland, OR. She began practicing art in 2017 and currently attends the Arts Communication Magnet Academy (ACMA). She was very inspired by two gorgeous women on Instagram and decided to digitally paint them. Her pieces honor the beauty of dark skin which is underrepresented in the art world. 

“Black dreams mean everything to me. I want to see more Black people in general media and life getting the recognition they deserve for their ambitions. I want to see this not because the people in power want inclusivity but because they can see that we have what it takes to make our dreams come true.”

Latoya Lovely (she/her) works in Special Education for Portland Public School District, and is also a professional dancer. She has been drawing ever since she was a kid. When her heart would skip a beat to find a clean, blank space on the back of her school work, even if it meant being reprimanded because she wasn't doing her "school work." Her dream house will have a bay window for her and her baby boy to curl up in and read whilst listening to the rain. Latoya uses intricate details to fill her pieces with many pathways through the imagination; it is quite therapeutic following the tiny trails. Her intent is to provide a metaphoric infinity symbol that the eye follows, always coming around to something different. Empowerment and emotional well-being speak to the viewer from her paintings. She wishes to awaken strength and self-worth to well up inside the bellies of her [Black Diasporic] brothers and sisters as they remember their magic. As a black woman, she deals with colorism, a form of racism where those with lighter skin and European features are given preference over those with darker skin. Latoya’s art explodes triumphantly from these societal chains.

“Dreams. Even the word is magic. Thoughts that dance on strings, presenting  for their sole audience member. While the body repairs, and the mind reworks, and plans, and dreams. I have saved myself from many woes by laying my head to rest as of late. Yes, we must sit in pain, and let our feet sink into it, as it finds its way into our pores. And while it burdens our souls, riding along the hours in a day at times, the moment we give it up to God and rest our heads on His breast, we are given to the dreams He has intended for us to awaken from. And those dreams are new, they have never been had before. They are full, and are making us into the beings He has chosen for us to be.”

Jamila Aurora Dozier (she/her/Zaddy) was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area before landing in Portland in 2016, “just before the world changed.” Jamila’s art is driven by the intersection of politics and lived experience. Much like the way she lives her life, her art is not confined to any one media. Her pieces tell a story. Her story. The [Black Diasporic] story. The viewer of her work will be encouraged to feel the pain, love, and hope of her people and leave empowered. Jamila is a Queer Afro-Latina with roots in Africa, the Carribbean, and the American South. Her identities imposed a narrative on her, encouraging her to write her own story. 

“Black Dreaming is like watching the sunset from a beach on a beautiful day. Like the water in the distance has no limits, our people are free. Black reflects light just as the water reflects the sun. We are free to move, connected with the land, in community like each grain of sand on the beach. Black Dreaming is beauty. Black Dreaming is power.”

Brittain Jarrett Jackson (he/him/Daddy), b. Washington D.C., has experienced the world as a professional Modern and Contemporary Ballet dancer and Musical Theatre Performer, and currently works with the Portland community to bring awareness to the importance of self-care as a Yoga Guide, Dance Instructor and Music Coordinator at the NUMBERZFM. Brittain has also had the honor to Host and Emcee a number of live events in the Portland area and engage with the people through his podcast, VillageVibes.

“First sight the dream is clear, 
a dive into uncertainty, 
filled with promise, 
fear chant lurk
leap, shimmy, mozy on
breathe it, send it forward
and grow forth with it.
DREAM”

Please email info@nationale.us to set up your private viewing or stop by during our limited hours.
We ask all visitors to wear a mask, use hand sanitizer upon entering our space, and keep a safe distance.