WAKING UP

The Contemporary Dayton is pleased to present Waking Up: The Contemporary Dayton Biennial Member and Student Invitational. The exhibition features artwork created over the past year around the theme of emerging from the pandemic by artists currently living and working in Dayton and throughout Ohio; and a selection of top emerging artists from area colleges and universities. The Mike Goheen Memorial Fund Award for Photography was selected by Tracy Longley-Cook, Associate Professor of Photography, Wright State University. Organized by Cydnie King, Curatorial Assistant.

As Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life,” Cydnie King was curious to explore how artists imitated the eventful life around them through their recent work. While organizing Waking Up, King drew on personal experiences as an artist living and working through the height of the pandemic. “I remember this odd feeling of optimism when the lockdown first started. I kept thinking, ‘I’d get so much drawing done, I can deep clean the house, I have time to make more art. This is going to be great!’ Fast forward to the end of the lockdown, and I hadn’t made anything. I spent that time at home with my 2-year-old in an isolated social bubble. I was nowhere near as productive as I wanted to be. I felt distracted, overwhelmed by the state of the world, guilty about my lack of productivity, and anxious to get back to how things were. As time pressed on, I decided to try to work through my creative slump instead of despairing and it was like waking up from a dream state. I wanted to make up for the time I lost and couldn’t get the ideas out of my head fast enough. For this exhibition, I wanted to reflect the mindset of many artists I’ve come to admire while working at The Co and explore what they were thinking during the time when most of the country was on pause.” 

2022 AWARD WINNERS
First Place: Julie Renee Jones, Underside
Honorable Mention: Joel Whitaker, Nesting 1
Honorable Mention: Shon Curtis, Mr. Musa in Autumn

The Contemporary Dayton Biennial Member and Student Invitational is presented in memory of founding member and artist, Raymond L. Must (1929–2022), and long-time member and educator, Carol A. Nathanson (1945–2022).