New Exhibit & Opening Reception at GNO
Good News Only recently announced a new exhibition entitled Forgotten Ones which runs at the gallery through August 24th. To kickoff the new exhibition, GNO will be hosing an opening reception on Thursday, July 26th from 6-8pm where teen curators Karla Almazan, Mikayla Garner, Jackie Mauleon, and Ellie Medel will be available to answer questions.
For this new exhibit, Good News Only collaborated with Project Onward this summer. During recent summer field trips to Project Onward, the GNO curators met many of the artists, heard their personal stories and learned about their artistic process. All of the artwork in Forgotten Ones is on loan from Project Onward artists.
Project Onward is a studio and gallery dedicated to the creative growth of artists with mental and developmental disabilities. Located in the historic Chicago Cultural Center, Project Onward provides workspace, art materials, professional guidance, and opportunities for exhibition and sales to artists who have exceptional talents but face challenges ranging from autism to mental illness.
In a statement, the curators said this about the new Forgotten Ones exhibit:
Karla: “For me, Forgotten Ones refers to the artist perspective – it is their story about people who have affected their lives and how they don’t want those people/events/things to disappear from the world. It is important to remind themselves of it, they create those works to remind themselves and show other people, ‘Hey this is a man or event who changed someone else’s life, they don’t deserve to be forgotten.’”
Mikayla: “Blake Lenoir’s Iranian endangered species series is about animals that we may never have heard about. His work allows you to compare them to the animals you do know and learn something new. Even the nature preserves that are close to us, it makes us appreciate them more. It seems like some of the Project Onward artists experienced loss or death or someone close to them and it influenced their work. That’s how we chose the theme.”
Jackie: “Forgotten Ones means that it is important that after time has changed and people have been forgotten to remember those people again. Michael Bryant’s Mayor Eugene Sawyer is a good example of someone who has been forgotten since he was mayor for such a short time.”
Ellie: “I think people tend to follow whatever is modern and they’ll move on from the past quickly. To me, Forgotten Ones is like letting people know to remember – they know it but they don’t know enough – about the past. Forgotten Ones is stating that ‘they existed’ ‘they were here’ but you just don’t remember it.”
