Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Cunningham.
Gina, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in western Massachusetts but moved to downtown New York City as soon as possible, where I lived during the riotous 1970s and 1980s. I attended Hunter College and participated in performance art at venues like The Kitchen in Manhattan.
The plight of immigrants has always been a deep concern for me. When I left New York and moved to Miami, I began housing and supporting refugees fleeing Haiti by boat. With my husband Peter Eves, I purchased a derelict hotel and hired Haitian artists to decorate the interior; opening Tap Tap restaurant in 1994 to great acclaim.
I raised my two daughters above Tap Tap, as it quickly became an award-winning restaurant featuring social justice art exhibitions along with Haitian cuisine, Caribbean influenced cocktails, Haitian bands, voudou celebrations and wild karaoke nights. Continuing to support the refugee community in other ways, I collaborated with Lou Anne Colodny, director of the Center for Contemporary Art (now the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami), to showcase Haitian artists.
I hold a Master’s degree in communication and I’m certified as an open water scuba diver and as a fine art, video and film production instructor. After I left Tap Tap in 2000, I helped found the Academy of Communication and Digital Media at Miami Beach Senior High, started an innovative film club and worked with film festivals to hold showcases of prize-winning, student-made short films created under my direction. I produced an award-winning television commercial for Discovery Espanol with my student filmmakers, worked with artists commissioned by the Miami Light Project and taught filmmaking for Nike Filmmakers’ Bootcamp. I taught art workshops to displaced teachers at universities in Haiti, after their devastating 2010 earthquake. I organized art classes in schools in India, one in a crowded slum and another in a Muslim school where girls have limited access to education. Lately, I accomplish most of my work as an artist. Throughout the decades, my yoga practice has endured and helped to guide my life.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
As a neophyte writer, I have been working on a story that has gnawed at me since I was a little girl. It is my dream to develop my script about my great aunt; a young, immigrant woman’s anomalous rise to nefarious power and how that power, along with the hardships of being a woman, became her downfall. I am researching opportunities related to my first-screenplay-the fascinating story of a strong, female anti-hero.
My recent, visual art projects address issues of immigration, feminism and water protection, including a digital series of water-themed and climate change videos. I record fragile, sacred, watery environments which deserve further examination. Relegated, yet vibrant cultures and the problems of disregarded people need documentation. As a working artist, I consider myself part of a global community. I believe in generating creative projects outside of a museum, gallery or studio setting to reach all kinds of people. I have collaborated on performances with musicians, yogis and dancers and been awarded artistic residencies in Iceland, Korea, India. This year I will be traveling to Canada for a residency and exhibition and then Haiti in December 2019 for their Biennale.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
My advice is to live your passion and be true to yourself. Be of service to other beings, you will feel better, richer and happier if your actions can help people. It’s never too late in your life to work as an artist; life experience informs activism and can work as an important catalyst. Try to practice yoga to your best ability, even if you have limitations. Practice empathy. All these life lessons I have learned along the way, but I wish I had known this all as a teenager.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
An archive of my recent work can always be seen at my website: www.ginacunningham.com and on Vimeo.
My current visual work is exhibited in the critically acclaimed show “Ripped from the Headlines” curated by Ellie Schorr at Fat Village Arts District in Ft. Lauderdale until July 2019.
Locally, there have been recent exhibitions at Under the Bridge and Bridge Red Project Space in North Miami. In 2017, I was the 1st place winner of the Juried Biennale at the Art and Culture Center in Hollywood, FL.
In Los Angeles where I spend a lot of time with my family, I have exhibited at South Bay Contemporary, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition space and at Pico House in downtown L.A. Internationally, I was part of the Gallery Tally Project, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle upon Tyne in the U.K. In Moscow, Russia, I exhibited at The State Darwin Museum and the beautiful Apothecaries Gardens at Moscow State University, I was part of the Barim showcase in Gwangju, Korea, the Valletta Film Festival Art Shorts in Malta, and the Video Dance Festival and the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano both in Havana, Cuba.
How can people support my work?
I have been supported and encouraged by a number of fierce women working hard as independent curators. It would be great to have gallery representation and a dealer to work with. That is my dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ginacunningham.com
- Email: ginayapling@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginacunningham/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.o.cunningham
Image Credit:
Gina Cunningham
Peter Eves
Donna Freeman
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