ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
AMA | ART MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAS
Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture
Nia Tavlarides Stratos
Revelation, Illumination, Transformation
OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, July 18
at the Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture
5-8pm
RSVP here
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
AMA | ART MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAS
Secretariat for Hemispheric Affairs
ON VIEW
July 15-August 2, 2019
LOCATION
Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture
OAS Main Building
17th Street and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006
ADMISSION
Free
HOURS
By appointment only
Please call 202 370 0151
WASHINGTON, DC – The OAS AMA | Art Museum of the Americas and the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS present “Revelation, Illumination, Transformation,” an exhibition of new work by United States artist Nia Tavlarides Stratos. Using her rich vocabulary of color, movement, and space, Stratos engages with the notion that art is transformative for individuals as well as communities. Through her canvases, the artist explores the relationship between empathy and tolerance, understanding and appreciation. These insights, illuminated, have the capacity to transform individuals, and by extension, our world.
Stratos’s mixed-media collages incorporate watercolor, enamel, hand-made paper, and plastic. Her range of media allows her a versatile vocabulary in facing head-on complex topics. The Revelation depicts a society polarized by apparent differences. The Illumination portrays the clashing as people intermix and attempt to come together. The Transformation offers a more optimistic scenario, as people celebrate what makes them unique and ease more comfortably into a cohesive society.
The artist nods to artists’ roles in reflecting social change, sparking the imagination and working toward a more tolerant social climate. She assumes a willingness to learn from mistakes, to uplift and be uplifted. It follows that she has designed the exhibition to include an interactive component, encouraging visitors to engage through one-word responses to questionnaires related with the exhibition’s subject matter.
Nia Tavlarides Stratos, in her youth, was awarded a scholarship to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery, where her work was subsequently exhibited. She completed her studies at the University of Maryland. She has held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in museums, galleries, and institutions, including: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, The National Portrait Gallery, Washington National Airport, Children’s National Medical Center, The Whittemore House Museum and The Women’s National Democratic Club, among others.
The AMA serves as the principal instrument of cultural diplomacy of the OAS. AMA’s mission is founded on the notion that the arts are transformative for individuals and communities. This guiding principle promotes the core values of the OAS by providing a space for cultural expression, creativity, innovation, dialog, and learning, while highlighting themes such as democracy, development, human rights, justice, freedom of expression, and innovation. AMA’s work draws on contemporary art to showcase a constructive vision of the future of the Americas via local and hemispheric cultural exchange.
Accessibility: The OAS Main Building and its Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture are wheelchair accessible by the C Street entrance. For more information, please call 202 370 0147 or e-mail gsvitil@oas.org.
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