The closing reception and artist talk of the most recent Ritz show, ‘Dignity and Pride’ is taking place on Sunday. The show is featuring Marcus Willams and Maya Matheison, whose statements are :

Maya Matheison I am an abstract artist and use my artistry to seek change people’s ideas of abstract art through textured art created with acrylic paint, spray paint, and plaster. Combining those materials in different ways, I create “Beautifully Damaged” creations that are still balanced and aligned. With each piece of art, I aim to evoke emotion in the viewer. My work is often imperfect and deliberately broken, allowing for the viewer to transfer their interpretation into it.

Marcus Jamal Williams Statement: In accounts as far back as the 1790s, European slave traders observed with bewilderment the elaborate greetings within West African communities, which often involved hand-to-hand contact and concluded with a finger snap. During enslavement, Africans used these types of greetings to communicate and identify members within certain groups without provoking the barbarism of their enslavers. In the late 1960s, as a symbol of commitment to solidarity, consciousness, and survival, the dap—an acronym for dignity and pride—was a non-verbal system of communication developed among Black GIs in Vietnam, which still persists in various forms among Black communities today.

Link for more info | Free