How do people build community? What shape does that community take during a global pandemic? Congregate will explore these and other questions through the work of three different artists.
The show is at Kinfolk House, a gallery opened earlier this year by the husband-and-wife team of artists Letitia and Sedrick Huckaby in the Polytechnic neighborhood.
Kinfolk is indeed a house, the former domicile of Sedrick’s grandmother, Eastside fixture Hallie Beatrice Carpenter. It took the Huckabys a few years, they said, to turn it into a gallery and community space.
The opening show, Welcome, featured art by Letitia and Sedrick that paid homage to Carpenter, or “Big Momma,” as she was known to family, friends, and neighbors.
“Congregate becomes the next step in that story, bringing people together and moving beyond the Huckaby family to think about community,” said Jessica Fuentes, Kinfolk House director.
The three artists in Congregate are Colby Deal, a photographic artist born and raised in Houston; Angela Faz, a multidisciplinary Oak Cliff-based artist focused on the reclamation of public space; and Skip Hill, a mixed-media artist from Padre Island and now living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Fuentes said the gallery plans to incorporate a national, state, and local artist into future exhibits, to put the different perspectives in conversation.
The response to Kinfolk House’s unique model has been good so far, Fuentes said. Though the Cultural District and downtown are just short drives away, not everyone can or wants to go on an excursion to see art.
“Sitting in a home in a community opens up opportunities for people who wouldn’t otherwise visit a gallery,” Fuentes said. “It’s not in this large, intimidating space, right? It’s in a home, a very warm-feeling home with the wood walls and a big backyard.”
Congregate
Opening reception 7pm Sat at Kinfolk House, 1913 Wallace St, FW. Free. KinfolkHouse.org.
