I wrote a little note with my donation to NIAD (Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development) and then forgot about it. They had been sending links to their weekly online art exhibitions during the pandemic, and I enjoyed the shows and told them so. A week or so later I got an inquiry: would I be interested in organizing one of those online exhibitions? Surprise! Yes, I would. My instructions were to go to their website and choose twenty or fewer images from the thousands posted, pick a title, write a blurb and a bio, choose an order, and they would do the rest.
"Murmuration" is up now. Maybe you have seen pigeons suddenly take off in a group and circle together, or perhaps you have seen thousands of starlings in their beautiful flight patterns, pictures taken by quick photographers. That flocking without collisions is called a "murmuration." More on how it relates to the exhibit at the website.
As I worked my way through the art to choose the ultimate few, I did notice the patterns, choices of imagery and medium and style of each artist. I began to understand their processes. Some artists work across media, others seem at home in a particular groove, from ceramics to textiles, drawing, painting, and printmaking, to list making and calligraphy.
If one or more of the pieces interests you as it did me, I encourage you to do a search for the artist and get to know their other works. Their website is easy to use. And if any call to you, the artworks are for sale: all proceeds are split between the artist and NIAD, to support the programming, supplies, exhibition opportunities and gallery representation, and mentoring. NIAD (c. 1982) is one of three SF Bay Area workshops for differently abled artists. The others are Creativity Explored (founded in 1983) in San Francisco, and Creative Growth (founded in 1974) in Oakland. Inspiring work may be found in all of the locations.
NIAD Exhibit, selected by Alisa Golden: Murmuration
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