DIGITAL RESIDENT

All digital residencies are posted on our instagram account and archived in the highlights.

Terence Nicholson

MAY 11 - MAY 22, 2020

Terence Nicholson is a born Washingtonian and a longtime native of Anacostia. A graduate of the Corcoran School of Art, he was a recipient of the Rosenbaum Memorial Scholarship Award. Terence has exhibited in three East of the River Art Exhibitions, and his solo exhibit, “Intro-Circumspective” at Willow Street Gallery in D.C. received critical acclaim. He served as Curator for Honfleur Gallery and Art Director of Anacostia Arts Center. He currently works as an Exhibit Specialist at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and Katzen Museum of Art in Washington D.C. Terence has recorded and toured worldwide as a composer, producer, and improvisational lyricist with Jazz Saxophonist, Steve Coleman, pianist Omar Sosa and Hip-Hop band, Opus Akoben. He served as a Cultural Envoy for the US State Department in 2005 and 2006 for the American Music Abroad program in Asia, Suriname, Egypt and the Middle East. Presently, Terence fronts a rock band called Thaylobleu, which performs nationally, and most notably opened for the recent resurgence tour of the legendary Detroit, punk band, Death. Terence has been a practitioner and teacher of Chinese martial arts for over twenty-five years, and holds over twenty gold medals from national and international tournaments. In 2018, he won the 6th Annual World Kuoshu Tournament. He has taught self-defense and Tai Chi classes for community and professional organizations and businesses, including the World Bank and the White House staff under the Obama administration. 

Gated Community

At this point we all have been affected in some way or another by the spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Practically every country has watched it run through Wuhan, China like a tornado, and continue to cripple individuals and community healthcare infrastructures throughout the rest of the globe. As the battle to mitigate the spread of the virus continues to linger, so does the call for social distancing and in many cases, to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. I have a good friend that lives in Wuhan, who warned us of the coming danger months before the first case was reported in the US. Having friends in other countries has also given me a window into how the practice of social distancing is being perceived and carried out (or not), globally in comparison to what is occurring from one state to the next in the US. 

Gated Community is a pondering on matters of class, privilege, the penal system, racial disparities, public health/service, and government brought about by the instruction to practice social distancing. It also questions peoples’ perception of separation. One person’s solitude is another person’s confinement, etc. The piece is presented as a moving collage in video and stills on a blank canvas, bordered by hazard tape. This is accompanied by a backdrop of sound which I have composed. The imagery reflects the complexities of life in a time of compulsory apartness for the good of the whole.