Victoria Theatre Association and EbonNia Gallery Present Visual Voices, 2/1

Victoria Theatre Association and EbonNia Gallery present the eighth annual Visual Voices art exhibit returning to the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, February 1 – 29, as part of the KeyBank African-American Arts Festival.

A centerpiece of Victoria Theatre Association's 2012-2013 KeyBank African-American Arts Festival, Visual Voices serves a continued vision of sharing the artistic diversity of the Miami Valley. Visual Voices 2012: The African-American Experience features seventeen local African-American artists, whose art is displayed in several mediums, reflecting on the African-Experience in Dayton.

The Visual Voices exhibit is in its eighth year of collaboration with Willis "Bing" Davis of EbonNia Gallery, the curator and a contributing artist for Visual Voices. Davis has served as an enriching influence both artistically and educationally in the city of Dayton. He also serves as a mentor to artists from his own EbonNia Gallery. Davis supports Visual Voices with his continued vision of assembling exhibitions that enhance public awareness and appreciation for the artistic contributions of Dayton's African-American citizens.

All artwork in the exhibit is created by African-American artists from the Dayton-area. These artists strive to make the Miami Valley region one that flourishes with creativity. They replicate the African-American experience into various artistic mediums and styles.

On display from February 1 - 29, Visual Voices is free and open to the public and viewable when the Schuster Center is open. The exhibit is located in the Mead Theatre lobby at the Schuster Center, adjacent to the Wintergarden.

Featured in Exhibit:

MY FATHER and HIS QUEEN – mixed media by Francine Bankston-Cummings
TWISTED – 3D paper bag art by Delora Buford-Buchanan
AWAITING TOMORROW - mixed media by "Kene" Chukwu
HALF SISTERS – mixed media by Yvette Louise Walker-Dalton
SOUL-THRILLERS – oil by Dwayne Daniel
WOMEN OF COLOR – oil by Clifford Darrett
YTZAH: AFTER THE LAUGHTER – collage by Willis Bing Davis
KENTE SPIRIT #114 – Prismacolor pencil and oil pastel by Derrick Davis
DON- clay by Lois Fortson
PRAYER- color photograph by Lloyd Greene
CONCH SALAD – cyanotype by Kevin Harris
POP HENRY – digital painting by Tony Malone
STIMULUS – acrylic by James Pate
ENTANGLED #5 – digital painting by Craig Screven
TUNNEL – digital painting by Paula Ramey
QUEEN KING – oil by Erin Smith-Glenn
COMMITMENT (The Wedding Couple) – mixed media by Frances Turner

Visual Voices is sponsored by The Dayton Power and Light Company Foundation. Visual Voices is part of Victoria Theatre Association's African-American Arts Festival, which is sponsored by KeyBank.

For more information about Visual Voices and the African-American Arts Festival, visit http://www.victoriatheatre.com/shows/visual-voices/.

Photo: Robert Hock