1 of 2
“New World Coming” by Arit Emmanuela Etukudo
2 of 2
“The Christening”
Nigerian American artist Arit Emmanuela Etukudo produces works that explore new territory with an aim to build community. The Maryland-based artist hopes to bridge the gap between those who think they can’t be creative and those who create.
Her vision coincides with 1708 Gallery’s mission to empower artists to make pieces that matter to local communities. It’s one of the reasons Etukudo was selected for 1708’s pilot Artist Residency Program. The goal of the pilot program is to help develop a full residency initiative and ultimately support diverse artists. Etukudo will be artist-in-residence from Dec. 13 to Jan. 17, 2025.
While others may refer to her work as interdisciplinary, Etukudo regards what she does as self-portraiture that incorporates moving image installations and performance art. In practice, this appears as curations of visual effects, soundscapes, poetry and sculpture that serve as evidence of the abstract worlds of her subconscious and fluid identities as a Black queer African woman.
This will be Etukudo’s first visit to the region. “I’m really excited to go down to Richmond,” she says. During her monthlong residency, she will focus on a new piece called “I Used to Bring Fire,” which she hopes to present as a work-in-progress as well as a community-building workshop, sharing tangible forms of self through sculpting, drawing and other media. “[This piece] is part of a series that bears witness to the metaphysical, that creates a physical body, the formal body, through dance and movement,” Etukudo explains.
She says it can take her anywhere from a month to more than a year to complete a piece. While here in the River City, she plans to hunt for inspiration and explore who she is in a new place. While she doesn’t insert herself into her installations overtly, she does sometimes participate as a live performer, noting that her work lives in “the evidence of the after.”
Etukudo is the third artist to participate in 1708’s pilot program, which was launched in September. Scheduled for residencies next year are sculptor Mark Wilson (Jan. 24-March 21, 2025), collage artist Chelsea A. Flowers (March 28-April 25, 2025), and duo Angela Davis Johnson and Muthi Reed of Hollerin Space (May 9-Aug. 8, 2025).
Emily Smith, the executive director of 1708 Gallery, says the pilot residency program is seeking to learn from experience by selecting artists who have participated in other residencies. The hope is to put those lessons into establishing a program, including identifying a length of time that’s most suitable for visiting artists and the best ways for them to establish community connections.
The six artists participating in the pilot program were selected from a field of 100 applicants who were invited to apply for one-, two- or three-month residencies. “The initial call was open to artists in any discipline, primarily individual artists including visual and writing, within a 350-mile radius of Richmond,” Smith says.
For the duration of their visit, participants reside and work in a spacious apartment and workspace on the second floor of 1708 Gallery’s building at 319 W. Broad St. The building doesn’t have an elevator, which may make producing and moving large-scale installations more difficult. Smith also notes that a residency isn’t a guarantee for an exhibition in 1708, but, she says, “We are interested in the outcomes.”
