AFO Presents: Navigating Institutions and Thriving | A Roundtable of Black Creative Practitioners

Featuring:

Angelique Scott
Curtis Newkirk
Malcolm Houston

A video recording of the roundtable is available here.

Art Foundation hosted this ninety-minute virtual event that celebrated the lived experiences and creative work of three recent VCUarts alumni: Angelique Scott, Curtis Newkirk, and Malcolm Houston. Central to the conversation were the questions of “What does it mean to thrive?” and “How does one get there?” The discussion centered around a number of ways that an artist, especially a Black or BIPOC artist, may define the idea of thriving as they navigate through art school, their personal lives, and their professional experiences.

About the Artists:

Angelique Scott
Angelic Scott has been working with clay for over a decade. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, both in Art Education with a K-12 teaching license and Craft & Material Studies with a concentration in ceramics and fibers. Following her degree, she participated in several national and international residencies, including Vermont Studio Center, The Hambidge Center, and Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Greece. She regularly participates in gallery exhibitions and craft markets.

Curtis Newkirk Jr.
Curtis Newkirk Jr. is an artist from northern Virginia who currently resides in Richmond, VA. Curtis graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University. Most recently, he was featured in the New American Paintings 2020 South Issue and the 2020 documentary, The Builder. Curtis primarily works with oil and acrylic on wood. His paintings are an extension of his identity and life experiences. They are inspired by black culture, heavily influenced by hip-hop, fashion, his southern roots, and his love for the city. Curtis strives to create work that portrays African Americans in a powerful and positive way and to represent black and brown people in the art community.

Malcolm Houston
Malcolm Houston is from Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in communication arts, with a concentration in scientific and pre-medical illustration and a minor in biology. From an early age, he had a natural affinity for biology, visual arts, and sports. He started his educational career as a physical therapy major but quickly transitioned to the field of medical illustration when he realized a preparatory path was being offered at his undergraduate university. After completing his undergraduate degree, he made preparations to obtain a Master of Science, which brought him to the biomedical visualization program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He is interested in medical-legal illustration, surgical illustration, editorial illustration for medical journals, patient education, and 3-D Modeling. While in the BIVIS program, he developed skills in those specific areas to help both accurately and aesthetically depict scientific information for educational purposes.