The Trenton Artists Workshop Association (TAWA) and the Trenton Free Public Library are presenting the exhibition “First Friday Curators” at the Trenton Free Public Library through July 29. An opening reception is set for Thursday, June 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit celebrates the talent of people who have brought art to the downtown Trenton community on the First Friday of each month.
Jonathan Conner (LANK) is an artist, designer, and educator from Trenton. LANK seeks to create impactful community-led public art as the public project manager for Artworks Trenton. His anthropological research as a graduate student focuses on what we can learn about a population and how they can be best served through participatory and collaborative art-making. A founding member of the grassroots art non-profit S.A.G.E. Coalition, LANK has been organizing and executing mural projects and community art-making since 2008.
Brass Rabbit is a data artist and curator who lives and works in Trenton. She uses the mediums of photography and data collection to create meaningful pieces. Much of her art explores themes of social expectations and economic inequality. Her work has been featured in regional and international galleries and private collections. Her work focuses on societal issues and economic inequality by collecting data from various groups via surveys and interviews and incorporating it into site specific projects and series. She uses a creative pseudonym to safely connect with the populations that drive much of her work and practice. She was a manager of BSB Gallery and has orchestrated and managed arts exhibitions, large-scale installations, and public outdoor events in the city of Trenton and beyond.
Habiyb Shu’aib (beloved1) is a Trenton-based documentary street photography who has spent much of his career capturing the beauty of the Capital City. He is also a fine art curator, bringing his vision to galleries throughout the region. Through moments of both pride and pain, Shu’aib has a unique capacity for capturing the raw essence of the city. As a Trenton native, his work is raw and uncut; he documents his perspective on what he sees daily and the times we are in.
Laura Poll was a photographer in her former life before becoming an archivist. Inspired most by Puerto Rican artist (and short-term Trenton resident) Adal Maldonado’s “Evidence of Things Not Seen” (1975), she experimented with the possibilities of black and white film and its manipulation in the darkroom as well as inside the camera. Focusing on the documentation and distortion of reality, her use of bright light and deep shadowing reveals new moods.
TAWA is a Greater Trenton nonprofit organization and has a 40-year history organizing exhibits in such venues as the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton City Museum, Artworks Trenton, Prince Street Gallery in New York City, and more.
The Trenton Free Public Library is located at 120 Academy Street and is located in the Creek2Canal Trenton Arts District. Hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on the library, call 609-392-7188.
More information on the Trenton Artists Workshop Association can be found on the organization’s Facebook page.
