March 25 – April 11, 2024. Roz Steiner Art Gallery, Genesee Community College.
Two receptions will be held on April 4, 2024. The afternoon reception will take place from 12:30pm – 2:00pm, with the evening reception hosted from 5:00pm – 7:00pm. Light refreshments will be served. The gallery will remain open in between receptions.
Fulbright presentation by Professor Heather Jones on April 4, 2024 @ 12:30pm in the gallery
Color is the cultural bridge that connects us all. With this idea in mind, Professor Heather Jones created an entire proposal to submit to the Fulbright Scholarship program that centered around color in our daily lives. She has been a Professor of Fine Arts at Genesee Community College since 2008, and has conducted many study abroad trips over the years. Through the Garcia Robles Fulbright Scholarship, Professor Jones has been collaborating with Professor Jose Luis Gonzalez-Cabrero and the Industrial Design Department at Universidad Autònoma de San Luis Potosì in Mexico. There she has been teaching classes on color theory and photography, while implanting the same curriculum with her online GCC students. The students were asked to photograph a specific color in their daily lives for week, while uploading the images to the class forums to facilitate discussion. The final product of the project is a combined photography exhibit featuring the color photographs the students have taken this semester. The exhibit of over 200 student photographs, titled Color Connection, is being presented at both UASLP and GCC simultaneously.
Color is a beacon to build a sense of connection and empathy. Literally, through color photography, we are placing the viewer into another person’s point of view. Allowing a moment, to see similarities and beautiful differences between two cultures. Color is a powerful vehicle to articulate this intimate and expressive vision, showing the best of cultural diversity. The motive for the exhibit is to utilize the creative process as a bridge to connect with people geographically far away and gain an understanding of their culture and daily lives. The goal is to promote a sense of empathy for diverse cultures by highlighting our similar views and connections to color. Hopefully, on a deeper level, we can make connections vs barriers between these two cultures.
The use of color is deeply knitted in our point of view to contemplate the world. (St Clair, 2017) In this exhibit, we explore a cultural color study between Batavia, New York and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Embracing the student’s perspective, the exhibit is student-driven and the results are authentically their expressive narrative on the meaning of color related to their own sense of place and culture. The focal point of color is the expressive catalyst to develop a sense of connection and empathy among people engaging in the project. Through photography, the artists are placing viewers into another person’s point of perspective. Allowing a moment, to see similarities and beautiful differences between two cultures. Graphic designer Lance Wyman said that “color could turn into a cultural bridge to connect territory and people” (King, 2014). The Color Connection exhibit actively explores this concept with a socially creative collection of artwork categorized by color.
At the conclusion of the UASLP portion of the exhibit, the Fulbright program will sponsor Color Connection and tour it to different cities in Mexico. The hope is that the show will inspire compassion and unity in a time when differences try to divide us.
Follow the Roz Steiner Art Gallery on Facebook and Instagram to get to know some of the students participating in this exhibit.