Debra Disman

“Turmoil and Transformation” is  an exhibition showing at the Hera Gallery and Educational Foundation, a non-profit, artist-run organization that  has continued to stimulate discussion and challenge perceptions for over 40 years. This creative space has allowed countless artists a place for transformation, exploration, and community with one another which has been BRINGING CREATIVITY TO THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1974

“2020 was a year that was filled with worldwide turmoil. The Pandemic. Another reckoning with racism and police brutality. Climate Change, wildfires, hurricanes, and droughts.  The undermining and politicization of science. The widening political divide. An election with voting rights, healthcare, immigration, paid sick leave, income inequality, living wages, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, our environment and the future of democracy at stake.

Is this turmoil leading to transformation? And what kind of transformation is it going to be?”

Hera Gallery/ Hera Educational Foundation presents work that addresses the current turmoil and visions of our future. What are the emotional, physical and spiritual effects of the turmoil and how might they manifest into the transformation? What does our world look like and what might it look like post-2020. Will transformation reflect the multiplicity of voices of America? How will our future be transformed by the current chaos?

The juror,  Francine Weiss is the Senior Curator at the Newport Art Museum in Rhode Island where she curates exhibitions of contemporary art, photography, and American art. Her recent exhibitions include “Andy Warhol: Big Shot,”  “The Shapes of Birds: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa,” and “Domestic Affairs” among others. Her past positions include Curator at the Photographic Resource Center (Boston, MA), Acting Assistant Curator in the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art (Washington DC), Curatorial Fellow at the deCordova Sculpture Park & Museum, and Curatorial Fellow of American art at Harvard University Art Museums (both in MA) among others. She has taught art history at Wellesley College, Simmons College, and Boston University (all in MA) and has taught and advised students in the MFA program at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College. Dr. Weiss has a Ph.D. in American studies, specializing in art and photography, from Boston University and a B.A. from Wellesley College in English. She has received fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC), Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Research Center (NM), Center for Creative Photography (AZ), The Huntington (CA), and Harry Ransom Center (TX). She has published widely on photography and American art.

Sharing my own version of well, turmoil at least: Torrent and Tangle: Keep Your House in Order, (Haven’t we all been there-here)
2019, 10.5 x 25 x 18”, mixed media (book board, lace, ribbon, mulberry paper, hemp cord, watercolor paper

Here hoping that Your Turmoil, Torrent and Tangle work as positive forces to help You reach Your desired transformation, in 2021