Saturday, December 3rd at 6 – 8 pm
Celebrate our newest exhibition on the 1st floor Gallery at BloomBars: “Places of Memory” by Farah Ahmad.
Farah’s art consists of abstract paintings, mixed media textural paintings and digital prints inspired by aerial landscapes, cartography, migration and travels.
She is inspired from a natural and virtual world as we are linked and connected in various forms and means. Farah draws up image sources such as aerial photography, nolli maps, architectural drawings, grids, Arabic script as well as virtual and electronic media references.
The primary mediums chosen to create her body of art are acrylic paint, rice paper, steel wire and plaster on canvas, as well as computer programs and linoleum blocks for prints.
The event will also feature a donor drive to register people into the National Bone Marrow Registry in hopes of finding a match for Amit Gupta, and an amazing man not yet 30 who is in urgent need of bone marrow transplant.
There is a 1 in 20,000 chance of finding a donor match, which would double his chances of survival. South Asians are significantly underrepresented in the Bone Marrow Registry so there is great potential for this to help others. And of course, all are welcome to attend, register and sign up for the registry regardless of ancestry.
Artist Statement:
Most people are familiar with maps that are often used as guides to a destination, or as a static indicator of world populations, illustrating climate and terrain. We often take maps for granted without understanding their value as tools which allow us to see a broader vision and to make sense of the world around us.
Farah Ahmad creates marks and maps that reflect memories of her life migrating to four continents and the significance of these memories and their interplay with evolving cultures and traditions. Her work blends global world experiences and identities that intertwine through time to create unique stories that have universal resonance. Her inspiration is drawn from her multicultural heritage, as a fifth generation South Asian Muslim born in Kenya, from her memories of life in four continents – Africa, Asia, Europe and North America – and from her training as an architect.
Farah balances technology with art, as well as layering cultures and traditions, experiences and identities through the exploration and depiction of landscapes seen, remembered and imagined. Using patterns and rhythms from layers found within urban settings, she creates textures that are similar to what we witness in a new absolute and virtual landscape.
Farah has showcased her work in many exhibitions, contributed to charity auctions and has undertaken private commissions. Most recently, her art was the Winner of Columbia Heights Mosaic Project sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in Washington DC. She continues to explore issues of identity as a multi-cultured artist in America.
