Orchid Gallery: Exhibitions Archive
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Liminal Landscapes
Kwadwo Adae, Zajah Divine, Yasmin Essafi, Rebecca Fowke, Louise Mandumbwa, and Benita Nnachortam
Liminal Landscapes showcases artworks that consider the nuances and complexities of diasporic life, inviting viewers to position themselves amidst highly charged landscapes of remembering, reckoning, and transformation. Across the exhibition, Connecticut-based artists of African origin or descent consider how histories of migration and displacement, legacies of slavery, and tenets of globalization reverberate against the immigrant experience in America today.
Curated by nico w. okoro
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![A woman with her eyes closed, wearing gold hair rollers and a large hoop earring, poses against a floral pink and red background.]()
Beholder
Sydney Bell, Demeree Douglas, Clymenza Hawkins, Ebony B. Mckelvey, and Alexzandria Robin
Beholder showcased artworks that reveal the subjective, interwoven nature of art, beauty, and Black womanhood, expanding the narrow stereotypes that bind the three. Beholder was a necessary platform for self-love and self-determination that challenged the many toxic beauty standards designed to exclude Black women from discussions on what art is and who is entitled to artistic representation.
Curated by nico w. okoro
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![A black and white photo of an elderly hand gently holding a flower.]()
In Our Hands
Brock Bowen, Odette Chavez-Mayo, Merik Goma, and Tazje Henry-Phillip
In Our Hands showcased artworks that consider the role hands play in identity formation, self-expression, and worldbuilding. In Our Hands honored the courage it takes to build and find beauty in an increasingly ugly world, while celebrating a generation of artists bravely reaching.
Curated by nico w. okoro
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![A painting of a young boy and an older woman sitting together on a sofa, reading a picture book with a landscape scene. The boy has dark hair and wears a gray hoodie, while the woman has gray hair, wears a brown jacket and patterned scarf, and has glasses. They are sitting closely against a green background.]()
Mythmakers
Jahmane West, Sophie Harpo, Chris Jones, Vijor McCray, and Miguel Ángel Mendoza Melchor
Mythmakers celebrated five artists who explore mythmaking as a tool of creation, disruption, and survival. In our political moment, where the capacity to distinguish between fact and fiction has never felt more important, the exhibition asked viewers to question what they see and arrive at their own sense of truth.
Curated by nico w. okoro
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![A square artwork made of black dried bananas arranged closely together on a white background.]()
Origins
Howard el-Yasin, Kaelynne Hernandez, Christopher Paul Jordan, Jasmine Nikole and Jason Ting
As a dialogue on the important role abstraction and conceptualism play in visualizing some of life’s most challenging moments and unknowable phenomena, Origins celebrated artists who invite us to slow down, look deeper, and tap into our own origins, powers of observation, and intuition.
Curated by nico w. okoro
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![A group of people, including women and men, gathered together at what appears to be an indoor event. The women are wearing traditional dresses with green and white patterns, and some have red accessories. The men are dressed in formal attire, with at least one man in a tuxedo. The focus is on a woman with short hair, wearing sunglasses and a patterned dress, standing behind a young woman with short hair and a thoughtful expression. The scene suggests a social gathering or celebration.]()
Gather
Kulimushi Barongozi, Ruby Gonzalez Hernandez, Aisha Nailah, Moshopefoluwa “MO” Olagunju, Daniel “Silencio” Ramirez, Liah Sinq, Arvia Walker, and Yves Wilson
Gather honored the work of artists who archive oral histories, collect and conserve artifacts, and otherwise assume the role of culture bearer—those who dutifully gather, reinterpret, and hold the stories and symbols that both define and enrich our communities.
Curated by nico w. okoro
Orchid Gallery–an alternative exhibition space showcasing artworks by regional, early- to mid-career artists of color–was established to meet the following community needs:
to invest in artists as visionary yet economically marginalized creative entrepreneurs
to build accessible, culturally-specific space in Greater New Haven
to mobilize art and artists as drivers of community impact and social change
Orchid Gallery is powered by a spirit of innovation and experimentation, and celebrates artists who boldly question and envision creative solutions to the socio-economic issues that disproportionately impact Black and brown communities.
Orchid Gallery is located on the ground floor of The Lab at ConnCORP, located at 496 Newhall Street in Hamden.
Orchid Gallery is open to the public Monday - Friday, 9am - 4pm and by appointment. To book an appointment, please email the@bldg.fund.