Artist Workshop: Nyugen Smith

In conjunction with Re|Sounding, now on view, join Maine Maritime Museum this spring and summer for an artist workshop and lecture series. Each month from May through August, we are hosting a different contributing artist for a unique learning experience, each examining art as a tool for exploring histories, and uncovering how historical and cultural contexts can influence art. The four mediums explored throughout this workshop series are painting, oral storytelling, assemblage, and poetry.   Each of the four artists leading these interdisciplinary workshops will bring a distinctive approach to exploring both local and personal histories through art. Come learn more about their individual craft and get a better glimpse inside their process, before practicing it yourself! Join Maine Maritime Museum and artist Nyugen Smith for a hands-on assemblage workshop in Long Reach Hall. All materials will be included, and participants will leave with a completed piece. No prior experience required, with more details forthcoming. Workshop attendees are also welcome to come early for a lecture from Nyugen from 1:00–2:00 pm. Museum admission is included with registration. Choose a cost that is appropriate and works for you. Register Today Photo: Erica MacLean Nyugen E. Smith is an artist living and working in Jersey City, NJ. His work addresses Black cultural identity. Guided by the metaphorical roots of this colonial legacy, Nyugen is interested in the dynamic interplay between various thematic nodes, including architecture, language, performance, ritual, trauma, DNA memory, climate change, and migration.Central to his practice is an emphasis on the utilization of pre-existing materials, the body, and play, within the art-making process.    Nyugen holds a BA, Fine Art from Seton Hall University and an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been presented at the Museum of Latin American Art, Peréz Art Museum, Museum of Cultural History, Norway, Frist Art Museum, Blanton Museum, Newark Museum, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others. Nyugen is the recipient of the Creative Capital Award, Leonore Annenberg Performing and Visual Arts Fund, Franklin Furnace Fund, Dr. Doris Derby Award, New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant, and Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant. Exhibit Contributions Bundlehouse: FS Mini No. 12 (Garvey Aight) Spirit Carriers Working in the museum's historic blacksmith shop to forge a custom stand for the Bundlehouse sculpture