For Immediate Release January 14, 2022
Media Contact: Kate Taylor Davis | 202-321-2878 | ktdavis@pyramid-atlantic.org
Exploring Deaf Geographies
Curated by Tabitha Jacques | Featuring Laural Hartman, Youmee Lee, Melissa Malzkuhn, Aaron Swindle, and Yiqiao Wang
(Hyattsville, MD) Deaf geographies are at once both physical and abstract spaces, ranging from Deaf community hubs such as Washington, DC, and Rochester, NY, to conversations, impressions, and memories shared by Deaf people expressing their identities. Works by five Deaf artists are featured in this exhibition that features prints, papercutting, collage, paintings, and papermaking.
Exploring Deaf Geographies opens Saturday, January 21st online and in person. The exhibition runs through February 27. Due to the spike in Covid cases in the area, Pyramid’s precautions include requesting timed RSVPs for the opening weekend (Jan 21-22) to ensure the ability to socially distance, and it has moved the artist reception to February 25th. Masks are required in the gallery. Admission is free and gallery hours are Wed – Thu, 10 – 8 pm; Fri – Sat, 10 – 6 pm; and Sunday 12 – 5pm. Pyramid is located at 4318 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville Maryland 20781. More info at pyramidatlantic.org or 301-608-9101.
Exploring Deaf Geographies is presented in partnership with the Dyer Arts Center, part of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. It is curated by Tabitha Jacques who is the Director of the Dyer Arts Center and splits her time between Rochester and DC.
“This is an exciting opportunity for visitors to have a deeper understanding of the complexities of Deaf life through art and to build onto the concept of Hyattsville becoming a Deaf geography of its own,” states Jacques. Jacques goes on to say “Hyattsville is becoming a hub for the Deaf community; the town has a Deaf-owned brewery, boasts a sizable population of Deaf individuals and families, and is seeing an increase in small businesses learning to work with Deaf residents. By partnering with the RIT/NTID Dyer Arts Center, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center is building on Hyattsville’s Deaf community with an exhibition that features works by Deaf artists.”
The artists represented in the show are current residents of either the greater Rochester or DC areas. Laural Hartman is a Los Angeles-born artist and printer based in Rochester. Laural currently divides her time as a faculty at NTID where she teaches Drawing and Design courses and as a printer for dirtybeardpress, a boutique studio she founded in San Francisco. Youmee Lee, a Korean American woman artist, explores materials and weaves narrative illustrations into her art. She studied visual arts in New York City, Seoul, and Amsterdam. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Film and Animation. Melissa Malzkuhn is a Maryland-based academic, artist, and advocate with a love for language play, interactive experiences, and community-based change. She founded and leads creative research and development at Motion Light Lab, at Gallaudet University and can frequently be seen printing in Pyramid’s studios. Aaron Swindle hails from Camarillo, California and is currently based in Rochester NY. He has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from New York Studio School. Yiqiao Wang is a Chinese-born artist and illustrator who came from Beijing to study at Gallaudet and currently lives in Virginia. She has a BA in Digital Media from Gallaudet and an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work includes illustrating storybook apps as well as creating mural designs many of which can be seen in the DC area.
This exhibition is made possible in part through the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County.
ABOUT PYRAMID ATLANTIC ART CENTER
Founded in 1981, Pyramid Atlantic is a nonprofit contemporary art center fostering the creative disciplines of papermaking, printmaking, and book arts within a collaborative community. We equip, educate, and exhibit in our historic Hyattsville home. Our vision is to create an artistic hub in Hyattsville that inspires and enables local, national, and international artists to create and innovate in our core disciplines; elevates the local arts and small business scene; and enhances the quality of life for artists and neighbors. We value artistic excellence, infrastructure for artists, hands-on experiences, and collaboration.
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Pictured “My Summer Memory” by Yiqiao Wang. Additional images are available upon request.