Ely Center of Contemporary Art 

How did we get here?

July 18 - August 10, 2024 

Opening Reception: July 19, 2024, 5-7PM 

Artists: Caitlin McCormack, Shweta Bist, Shanti Grumbine, Roxanne Savage, Jason Ting, Valerie Lyons, Aisha Alford  Donté Hayes, Brian Kaspr, Emmanuel Amoakohene, Caroline Nelson, Emily Weiskopf, Susan Tabachnick, Vick Quezada, Josh Kramb, Swati Jain, Leila Daw, Claudia Renfro, Melissa Dadourian, Natale Adgnot, Faustin Adeniran, Kim Weston, Ying Ye, Lesley Finn, Ramón Bonilla, Linda Perla-Giron, Patrick Li and others. 

ArtPort Kingston Midtown welcomes the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (ECOCA) to present “How did we get here?” an exhibition with artists whose work asks the viewer to look, then look again. Art builds a path between the personal and the universal: our collection spotlights the moments when that path can become a winding, narrative journey. 

“How did we get here?” is as important a question for the onlooker as “Where are we meant to go from here?” The work of art is a lens into the maker’s intentions, but the audience is already looking through many lenses at once: cultural, political, intersectional. It is in the second look–and beyond–that the viewer squints, considers angles, negotiates a way into the stories our featured works contain.

The works in our proposed exhibition draw from our annual Open Call, a conscious effort to recognize and foster art that may have not yet realized the space/time/attention it needs. The stories of artists looking for the right opportunities, too, weave the personal and the universally familiar. By partnering with ArtPort Kingston, we look to add another layer of re-vision, displaying this art outside the boundaries of ECOCA’s community to different eyes with different perspectives.