The Academy Art Museum, in collaboration with Brea Soul, presents the third annual Exchange: An Annual Art Showcase. Featuring ten regional artisans, the showcase will kick off with an opening reception on Friday, August 9, followed by a talk with a panel of curators, artists, and creative leaders on Saturday, August 10. Exchange celebrates artists and takes on many characteristics of community—exchanging ideas, craft, and support! Join in to discover new art, shop from creative entrepreneurs, and connect with a vibrant art community.
FEATURED ARTISTS
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Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Dina AZ. Salem grew up on the Mediterranean Sea, where, as a child, her innate ability to masterfully produce representational drawings, paintings, and sculptures was first recognized and nurtured by her late father, Ahmed Zaki. Now, residing and with a studio in Washington, DC, her artwork depicts the visual language of the soul as a tool to express the depth of human experience and emotions. |
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Eric January is a multidisciplinary artist from Chicago IL, a recently graduated painting major at Howard University, Summa Cum Laude. His work explores contemporary life in the Black community, ranging from observing athletes to everyday people. He uses surreal dramatic language rooted in the prophetic black tradition. Blending the line between raw abstract expressionism and romantic gestures, Eric surfaces a balance between motion and stillness. |
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Shashi is an artist pursuing a Bachelor of Arts at Pratt Institute and specializes in surreal, melancholic mixed-media pieces. Her work expresses themes of female pain and identity, influenced by her experiences as a Korean American, Queer woman. |
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Olivia Morgan is a Jamaican-American born artist & photographer. Their creative journey started in 2016 when they moved out of their family home. Photography helped Olivia break free from self- isolation. Overtime, crafting a shooting style that reflects Their artistic journey as a queer woman of color, championing a mission to shine a spotlight on overlooked and underrepresented people. Using film photography to capture the emotional & physical narratives of people – inviting viewers to partake in their stories Creating a more inclusive and accepting world. |
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Ken Brothertonhas a BFA from the University of North Texas, Denton, TX, and is based in Arlington, VA. Although it has never been his official vocation, photography has long been central to his creative expression. He says he tries not to chimp—that habit of constantly going back to review pictures just taken —and prefers to keep his eyes and mind looking forward to the next potential image. The photos he presents in this show and his current portfolio, are street photography, candid, unscripted moments of people living their everyday lives. His work is currently included in an exhibit entitled Street+Night+ Architecture at the Black Box Gallery in Portland, OR. |
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Niles Tatumis a self-taught multimedia artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He first began creating at the age of 8, deeply inspired by the vibrancy of the cartoons in his youth. His beginnings would later foreshadow his propensity for hyper-saturation. |
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Taylor Wheatly, a 24-year-old artist born and raised in Easton, MD, founded CreaTAYtive Customs. As a mother of a two-year-old, Taylor uses her art to express uncomfortable truths and to inspire others to share their voices. She is passionate about bridging the creative gap in her community. Specializing in realism and expressionism, Taylor’s mission is to grow her brand into an all-purpose and accessible creative service, providing innovative solutions to her local community. |
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Trang Huynhwas born in 2002 in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam and currently lives and works in the United States. In 2024, she received her BFA in General Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art. Historical, political and personal references of growing up as a Vietnamese Post-War generation acts as a catalyst for Huynh to use art as a healing tool. She portrays people with colorful traditional clothes in intimate settings to explore the intertwined relationship between love, pain and forgiveness. Huynh is currently an Artist-in-residence at Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD.
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Whitney Elliott’s love for fiber art bloomed in 2018 when she and her husband and experienced two miscarriages just months apart. From there, Whitney started looking for a hobby to keep her mind busy during that devastating time. While shopping for home decor items, she came across a macramé wall hanging and thought “I could probably make that.” Therefore, she did! Based in Cambridge, MD, Double Rainbow Design officially opened in February 2019 and she hasn’t looked back since. She makes modern macrame made with positive thoughts and positive vibes. |
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Erik Holdenis a Washington, DC-based artist who works in contemporary art. Using subjects with blurred faces and pop culture references, his paintings present collages of figuration, pairing subjects in the classical poses and draped fabrics of the Renaissance, cartoon characters, and parts of famous paintings. His subjects all play familiar roles that are timeless in the stories we share as humans. |
FEATURED PANELISTS
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Brea Soul is a creative strategist and curator with over a decade of experience in arts and culture. Initially from Trappe, MD, she holds a B.A. in Fine Arts and an M.S. in Strategic Communications from the University of Maryland, College Park. Now based in Miami, FL, Brea is Superblue’s Senior Brand Marketing Manager and curates artful experiences through Soul Studios, championing emerging creatives and communities with opportunity disparities. |
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Gail Patterson, a physician and art lover, originally launched her gallery at Art Basel Miami and the Outsider Art Fair in 2012-2013. After an intensive career in medicine, she now brings her enthusiasm for contemporary Afro-Caribbean art, particularly Haitian works to the Eastern Shore. Through Spirialis Gallery, Gail aims to connect cultures and people through the Spirialis Gallery, thus emphasizing and exploring our common humanity. |
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As a self-taught portrait painter from Baltimore, G.Pack’s artwork reflects a fusion of classical Baroque influences with contemporary sensibilities, aimed to celebrate and preserve the vibrancy of his Black cultural heritage. With a commitment to showcase Black history and culture through portraits, he aims to expand the representation of Black subjects and voices in the realm of contemporary fine art. |
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