About this Event
Dogoyles of Jersey City Artist Talk with Victor E. Bell at Àbákẹ́ Books and Café.
Join New Jersey based ceramic artist Victor E. Bell at Àbákẹ́ Books & Café for an artist talk on the Dogoyles of Jersey City.
Victor will introduce the project and the inspiration behind these hybrid protective beings, with several of the sculptures on hand to see up close. From there, he'll guide a reflective drawing practice, sharing tips as you create your own Dogoyle. The talk closes with an open Q&A and a chance to talk together about what guardians like these can mean for us and the spaces we live in.
All materials provided. No drawing experience needed.
About the Dogoyles:
I am proud to announce that I have received an Individual Artist Grant from the Jersey City Arts Council to bring my Dogoyle Public Art Project to Jersey City.
The purpose of this project is to identify and celebrate the love that connects us all. Pet owners share a bond of devotion akin to that of regulars of a community fixture. Establishments that foster the connection of shared joy create the identity of a neighborhood.
Each sculpture in the new series will feature a hand-sculpted ceramic Threshold Guardian, sitting atop a miniature architectural ceramic rendering of its host location. Every piece will be inspired by a real pet connected to the place the sculpture was made for and gifted, at no cost, permanently to its host.
The artwork pictured here is an architectural hand-built clay sculpture of my first apartment in Jersey City, 2 Webster Avenue in the Heights, home of Àbákẹ́ Books and Café. The meaning of Àbákẹ́ is “To Be Loved”, a fitting title for this work.
The piece features Honey, a neighborhood rescue dog and regular visitor to Àbákẹ́, as a Dogoyle with a book in hand instead of an olive branch. On the overhang two brooding pigeons, our forgotten pets, grace the building with their love. Curled up on the doorstep is the 1lb, 6 week old kitten I found while I lived in this building.
Individuals who create a better reality for an area through their actions are defined by the space their love occupies. This project calls for consciousness of the connection each of us shares with all those we’ve never met across our city and in every city.
This project is supported by the Jersey City Arts Council and the Jersey City Arts & Culture Trust Fund.
Event venue & nearby stays
Àbákẹ́ Books & Cafe, 2 Webster Avenue, Jersey City, United States
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