On view from June 24th – August 17th, 2024
Artist Talk : Saturday July 27th 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
The Community Folk Art Center presents “People, Please.”, a solo exhibition of 41 mixed media and photography pieces from Syracuse-based artist, Anthony Washington. This dynamic exhibition offers a unique narrative through the coming of age of a neurodivergent black man experiencing life as an artist in white suburbia. “I was recently diagnosed with severe ADHD at age 35. This gave me an entirely new perspective on my struggles during childhood, and as a young adult” says Anthony.
As a black neurodivergent artist, hip hop music, particularly elements of sampling, jazz, soul, and graffiti have shaped Washington’s identity as a black man. Throughout his upbringing, he silently found blackness in a whitewashed community through hip-hop and protected himself through his headphones, locs, camera, sketchbook, and cans of spray paint. The places he called “home” as a young adult were ultimately just environments of chaos where he stored his belongings. “There is a unique expectation that applies to being raised in an environment where the color of your skin poses a threat to the status quo. “My objective is to encourage young black men like me to express themselves freely without stigmatization and find their voices wherever they exist.” Says artist, Anthony Washington.
About the Artist: Anthony Washington is a multi-faceted artist from Syracuse, NY. Anthony creates visual music through his drawings, paintings, photography, and street art. Using a wide range of materials he finds in his environment, Anthony tells a narrative of his experience as a neurodivergent black man growing up in a predominantly white landscape.