Bio
Bethani Blake (b. 1999) is a visual artist based in Hartford, CT. She received her B.F.A in Painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2021 and is a member of artist collectives CUMSHOT and Bigfoot. Blake has exhibited work in Georgia and Ohio and is currently the Programs Manager for the African Diaspora at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Artist Statement
I translate a present day world which depicts personal nostalgia, recontextualizing appropriated and personal images. A first generation Black person in an immediate family of white Americans, I grew up surrounded by iconography and other paraphernalia specific to American culture and first-world consumption. Conflicting agency as a consequence of existing between contradictory circumstances, I choose to acknowledge this connection which drives me to depict my experience in contemporary society with subject matter related to cultural movements specific to the turn of the twenty-first century and present day.
My practice involves the systematic processing of information which is accessed through the Internet and social interaction. From music to video games, fandom, and social issues, I create visual work which highlights my relationship to the imagery. I am interested in the collapsing of time, how information intersects, and the irony of my position in the work I am investigating.
C/V
Education
Savannah College of Art and Design 2021
BFA - Painting & Performing Arts
Professional Experience
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art - Programs Manager for the African Diaspora (2023-present)
Wexner Center for the Arts - Curatorial Intern (2022-23)
King Arts Complex - Cultural Arts Associate (2022-23)
Whitney Museum of American Art - Biennial Staff (2021-22)
Exhibitions & Performances
2024 Styling Identites: Hair’s Tangled Histories | Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
There is Always Something Left to Love | Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
2023 Sahar Khoury: UMM | Wexner Center for the Arts
Breaking the Mold: A Survey of Women’s Art | The King Arts Complex
Native American Artist Anna Tsouhlarakis Unveils ‘The Native Guide Project: Columbus’ | The Lantern
Anna Tsouhlarakis: The Native Guide Project: Columbus | Wexner Center for the Arts
There’s a Space For All of Us | Westerville Arts Council & Otterbein University
2022 That’s a Wrap! | Gutstein Gallery | SCAD
Black Joy: Expansive, Unfiltered, Unapologetic | The Ohio State University
In Conversation with Katharina Grosse and Dan Cameron | SCAD
2021 Drawing Works | Alexander Hall, SCAD
Fragments | 400 West Rich Gallery
Hinterland Tour and Artist Talk with Andrew K. Shepherd | Instagram Live
B.F.A Senior Showcase | SCAD
Meet Bethani Blake | Shoutout Atlanta
2020 UNdefineD Art | CUMSHOT Collective
Open Studio (Spring) | SCAD
Read, Watch, Listen | Wexner Center for the Arts
5 Questions with Bethani Blake | Connect Savannah
Open Studio (Fall) | SCAD
2019 48 Hour Play Festival | 3rd Act Productions
Polaroid Stories | 3rd Act Productions
The Hype | Twenty One Pilots
Awards
2021 Summa Cum Laude | Savannah College of Art and Design
Honorable Mention | B.F.A Senior Showcase | Savannah College of Art and Design
Dean’s List (2017 thru 2021) | Savannah College of Art and Design
Publications
2023 Latest News in Black Art | Culture Type
Wadsworth Atheneum and The Amistad Center Hire Programs Manager for the African Diaspora
2022 Wexner Center for the Arts Winter-Spring Exhibitions Press Release
Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet As It’s Kept | Credits/Staff