PROPOSAL
Exhibition Title: ART ROOTS MAMBÍ LOS ANGELINOS: Mother and Sons
[or possibly Arte Raíz Mambí Los Angelinos y Los Santiagueros: Madre, Padre e Hijos.]
Location: Taller Cultural “Luis Diáz Oduardo,” Santiago de Cuba
Date: July 3 – July 7, 2024, During Festival Del Caribe
Curated by LILI BERNARD [and possibly ALBERTO LESCAY, if he accepts the invitation]
Exhibition General Description: Art Roots Mambí is a Lili Bernard & Alberto Lescay family project building bridges between artists in Santiago de Cuba and Los Angeles, empowering both communities. ART ROOTS MAMBÍ LOS ANGELINOS: Mother and Sons is an Art Roots Mambí inaugural exhibition composed of three components listed below.
The question can be asked if Alberto Lescay and son Alejandro Lescay would also like to participate in the exhibition. It could be suggested that they exhibit their artwork and perform at the opening reception in a parallel component entitled, Arte Raíz Mambí Los Santiagueros: Padre e Hijos, featuring the artworks of Alberto Lescay and sons. Or a singular title can be used for the whole exhibition such as Arte Raíz Mambí Los Angelinos y Los Santiagueros: Madre, Padre e Hijos.
The three components of the Art Roots Mambí Los Angelinos: Mother and Sons portion of the exhibition are the following.
- A LILI BERNARD solo exhibit entitled Trauma Triangle
- A URIEL BERNARD (Lili’s 4th-born son) solo art exhibit entitled Visionaries as Orichas
- An OTHER OFFSPRING group exhibit featuring the works of Lili Bernard’s other children who include professional artists ISAIAH BERNARD FERGUSON (Lili’s 2nd-born son) and ELIAS BERNARD FERGUSON (Lili’s 3rd-born son), title to be determined.
The three exhibits can all be installed in the same area or room, if the space is ample enough, as the works of art coming from Los Angeles will be relatively small, given travel restrictions. The Lescay portion of the exhibition, if the family accepts the invitation to participate, can also occur in the same area, if feasible.
Below are descriptions of the three components (exhibits) in the Lili Bernard and Family (Los Angelínos) portion of the exhibition, including sample artworks to be displayed.
COMPONENT 1: LILI BERNARD: TRAUMA TRIANGLE exhibit
In LILI BERNARD: TRAUMA TRIANGLE, the artist explores the healing nature of art, relative to the survivorship of sexual and domestic violence, specifically three areas: rape, child abuse and spousal abuse. Included in this exhibit are never-before-displayed original works of art which Lili created while hospitalized, both in 1992 and in 2014-2015, for PTSD resulting from sexual violence inflicted upon her by an extremely famous and powerful celebrity. Expressed and explored are issues of trauma bonding juxtaposed against the resilience of the human spirit, relative to the generational cycle of interpersonal violence throughout history. Afro-Cuban folkloric symbolism are tropes which visit some of the works.
The opening reception features a rap performance by Elias Bernard Ferguson, aka H.E.Z.Y in collaboration with Santiago de Cuba rappers. They will be accompanied by musician Rafael Bernard Ferguson (firstborn of Lili Bernard) and some of his West Complex Los Angeles band members in collaboration with Santiago de Cuba musicians. The rappers and musicians who will be invited to collaborate can be found on the Art Roots Mambí Instagram and Facebook posts. This is where the musician sons of Alberto Lescay could also participate if they are in town for the festival, and available. Alberto Lescay himself can be invited to perform along with Lili Bernard in a performance art presentation in collaboration with all the musicians.
During the run of the exhibit, Lili Bernard will offer to the public a Silent no More art therapy workshop and a Heart Strings art therapy workshop, to occur on two separate days. She will offer the workshops in collaboration with advocates of sexual and domestic violence victims in Santiago de Cuba.
There will also be exhibition artist walk-through talks for the public and slideshow talks of the artists full body of work.
LINKS
Lili Bernard Silent No More and Heart Strings Art Therapy Workshops
Lili Bernard Website: www.lilibernard.com
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LILI BERNARD on VIDEO
LILI BERNARD SAMPLE ARTWORK in ART ROOTS MAMBÍ LOS ANGELINOS – LILI BERNARD: TRAUMA TRIANGLE
PRAYERS FOR ANDREA CONSTAND a small installation
LILI BERNARD SILENT NO MORE and HEART STRINGS ART THERAPY WORKSHOPS
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COMPONENT 2: URIEL BERNARD: VISIONARIES as ORICHAS exhibit
Visionaries as Orichas, a solo art exhibit by 22-year-old artist Uriel Bernard, imagines contemporary North American hiphop artists as Orishas. Codified with Afro-Cuban religious and iconography, Uriel’s paintings merge modern culture with Afro-Cuban folklore. In fusing the past with the present Uriel’s Visionaries as Orichas series asks questions while providing access to otherwise hidden Caribbean cultural treasures, Afro-futuristic and historical at the same time.
LINKS
Bio and Resume Forth Coming
URIEL BERNARD on VIDEO
URIEL BERNARD SAMPLE ARTWORKS in ART ROOTS MAMBÍ LOS ANGELINOS – URIEL BERNARD: VISIONARIES as ORISHAS
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COMPONENT 3: OTHER OFFSPRING SMALL GROUP EXHIBIT INCLUDES:
ISAIAH BERNARD FERGUSON, graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Diploma (BA) from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Experimental Animation Program in 2023. He has exhibited his animation and film work, as well as his paintings and drawings in multiple film festivals and group art exhibits.
LINKS
Resume and Bio Forthcoming
ISAIAH BERNARD FERGUSON on Instagram
ISAIAH BERNARD FERGUSON on YouTube
Click here for Isaiah’s YouTube channel for more of his art animations.
ELIAS BERNARD FERGUSON visual artwork – Elias, also a professional actor, rapper and model, has created and exhibited visual artwork in the mediums of digital art, rug art and painted murals. Click here for Elias’ IMDb page to see performance work on stage, TV and film.
ELIAS BERNARD FERGUSON aka H.E.Z.Y RAP and RAFAEL BERNARD FERGUSON
