Thu 5/23 @ 5-7:30PM
Since 2016 Akron Soul Train has been awarding arts in all disciplines short-term “residencies” to create a project it presents in the downtown gallery it opened in 2019, alter adding the CapSOUL Gallery to showcase emerging artists.
Its next show in the main gallery however will be dedicated to those who make the work possible: its members. They say, “The Akron Soul Train Members’ Show celebrates the creativity, cultural voice, and experiences of the AST community. Showcasing a cross-section of talent from around the region, the exhibit will highlight individuals who care for and appreciate Akron Soul Train’s ultimate mission to support creators and make art accessible to all.”
At the same time, the CapSOUL Gallery will be opening a show of work by Taiwanese artist Chen Peng, who is currently living in Cleveland and teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she got her BFA. Her show of landscape paintings, Mountains in my Living Room, explores her personal experience as an immigrant and how a person’s identity is connected to the land. We’re told that her paintings “conjure wonderment and curiosity alongside a disorienting sense of not knowing exactly where home is.” The show will also include free-standing ceramic installations that offer suggestions of mountains, clouds and the moon.
“I invite viewers to embark on a journey that blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination, offering a space for introspection, connection, and hopefully, a sense of comfort and consolation,” she says.
The shows open with a free public reception on Thursday May 23 and will be on view through Saturday June 29.