Claimed & Reclaimed
Group Show of Ankhlave Arts Fellows
Curated by Cecilia André & Christine Stoddard
opening Saturday, May 18th 2024
On View May 18 - June 16 2024
408B Colonel's Row
Governor's Island NYC

The AnkhLave Arts Alliance Annual Garden Project Fellowship presents Claimed and Reclaimed, its premiere group exhibition on Governors Island (Colonels Row, House #408B), opening Saturday, May 18th 2024.

Claimed and Reclaimed celebrates BIPOC artists who own and redefine their cultural narratives. This expression shines in the use of recycled and repurposed materials that resist Western centered art making traditions. Such a gesture speaks to the power of symbolically taking land back from colonizing forces. Home to the Lenape people prior to European contact, Governors Island has also been a site of Black labor. Black slaves built the fortifications here; in 1918, an African American Army labor battalion was stationed here. Today, immigrants own and staff businesses and operations on the island. In reclaiming this historical house, AnkhLave artists bring their creations to diverse audiences outside of a Western white wall gallery context. While the walls here in House 408 B may be white, they are decaying. Claimed and Reclaimed breathes new life into them. Collectively, the artists’ palettes draw inspiration from the blues, greens, and earth tones that have long colored this maritime environment.

We invite you to explore the works of Kraig Blue (Public Artist-in-Residence), Damali Abrams, Coralina Rodriguez Meyer, Diego Espaillat, Xiong Wei, and Chihiro Ito (AnkhLave Garden Project Fellows). All six of these artists have been selected to work in residence at the house for the rest of the summer. This fall, join us for a culminating public presentation at The Artist Gardener NYC, located at 108-114 W 132nd Street, New York, NY 10027. The Artist Gardener (TAG) NYC is a public art program that brings artists and public green spaces together to improve the lives of people and neighborhoods through art. We are excited to install the fruits of our resident artists’ imagination and labor for Harlem to enjoy.

We, the curators, are both previous AnkhLave artists ourselves, participating in the 2020 outdoor installation at the Queens Botanical Garden and its 2021 indoor gallery show. As members of the AnkhLave family, we are passionate about supporting this group and bringing their work to a wider audience.

Founded and Directed by artist Dario Mohr, Ankhlave Arts Alliance is dedicated to advancing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who create within the contemporary art realm. AnkhLave believes in the transformative power of art as a catalyst for difficult conversations, fostering dialogue and collaboration between diverse communities, especially in public, non-traditional spaces. In this show, you will find stories of resistance, identity, and community grounded in ancestry, the natural world, and built environments.

Cecilia André, curator, IG: @cecilia_andre_art
Christine Stoddard, curator-in-residence, IG: @stoddardsays

Find out more about AnkhLave Arts Alliance, including artist and staff bios, visit www.Ankhlave.org, IG: @ankhlave.

For press inquiries, please contact: Dario Mohr, [email protected]