Gallery Y is located in the lobby of Anthony Bowen YMCA at 1325 W St NW. Please call 202-232-6936 for any schedule updates.

Open hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 7 am - 9 pm, Saturday and Sunday 7 am - 7 pm & by appointment.

To purchase art or make an appointment with the curator: contact Beth Ferraro, theartisland.dc@gmail.com or call 202-780-8275

Curator Statement:

Future / Past showcases a collection of mixed-media collages by artists Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman and Molly F. McCracken. While each artist brings a distinctive style to their work, this exhibit weaves a shared thread—exploring the connections between past, present, and future. Viewing their creations together, you can feel the dialogue between our past and future selves and the people whose wisdom and presence shape our lives.

In a world where we write letters, emails, and texts to commemorate milestones, how often do we pause to write to ourselves—to capture this moment in time? What if we cultivated a daily habit of imagining and reimagining the world we want to live in? How do we embrace joy in the every day and find the courage to create when the path forward is unclear? 

The colors, shapes, fragments of paper, and depictions of women in these works serve as a reminder to build upon what we have, to find meaning in small joys, and to foster connection within our communities. It is an invitation to reflect, create, and carry forward the beauty of the present into the future.

Follow the artists on Instagram: Gallery Y | Beth Ferraro | Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman | Molly F. McCracken

Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman

As an activist artist and educator, I am motivated to explore social and political issues in my work and to be in partnership with the community. My work explores politics and activism through art — from imagery and symbols to typography and slogans. I value the power of community engagement and my north star is to create and nurture communities of belonging.

Growing up as a third-culture kid, my mom started a family tradition where we would mail postcards back to ourselves. I have always loved collecting mail ephemera, and I still collect stamps with my dad. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, I started the “Letters to my Future Self” (series) incorporating vintage stamps.

Drawn to inspiration from textiles, political posters, and patterns found in nature, I work most closely with watercolor, collage, and fiber arts. I find collage to be an accessible medium and one of the most fulfilling ways to get value on paper. Collages allow me to focus on composition and explore color. I create collages with found paper, painted paper, and mail ephemera.

Molly F. McCracken

WOMEN IN MONOCHROME is an ongoing series, started in 2022, with women cut out of old National Geographic Magazines and resituated in abstract, monochromatic landscapes and interiors. This series' intention is not to rescue the women out of situations where they may or may not have understood that they were being photographed for publication, through the lens of what was most likely the male gaze but to honor and gift them an alternative. Removing them from that past and putting them in a fanciful beautiful location where they can rest without the pressures/expectations of society looking at them.

I work with mixed-media collages and assemblages in my studio space. Collage lends itself to a small space and can easily be left and resumed around interruptions that inevitably come from having three children. I love the process of creation and am not afraid to try new mediums, which often make their way into my work. The feeling of using tactile items like scissors, paper, and glue combined with the taking apart and reassembling of paper or other objects is soothing and meditative. The idea that I can remake something that has been cast off into a beautiful or meaningful new piece resonates deeply.

The feelings and ideas that I am compelled to transform into work include my feminist and anti-racist values, which stem from my own lived experience as a woman and mother. My work showcases women’s strengths but also our vulnerabilities and the pressure we feel in our various roles in society. Current events, particularly environmental issues and struggles with privilege, racism, and colonialism are at the forefront of my mind. I intend to bring these issues to light, in a way that is sensitive, visually appealing, potentially humorous, and always thought-provoking. I encourage people to find a connection with my work, through a deeply felt emotion or simply an appreciation of color and shape.

PAST EXHIBItions 2019-2024

This group art exhibit captures the beauty and inspiration found in the earthly landscapes and celestial wonders that surround us. From the Earth to the Sky aims to showcase the harmony, contrast, and synergy that exists between these two captivating realms. Together, we hope to inspire and instill a deeper appreciation for the beauty and fragility of our environment. We can celebrate this moment, even in uncertainty and constant change. 

This spring marks the fifth anniversary of Gallery Y. Come celebrate and support local artists and creative spaces.

The Terrell's need no introduction in the DC art scene. GATHER / TOGETHER is an intimate exhibition of both Zsudayka and James' individual work and one piece, Garden of Eden (shown here) they collaborated on together. They do this often, trading a canvas back and forth, a continuous private artistic conversation where they encourage and challenge each other's talents. All the works selected for this exhibit highlight how we gather and share our spaces together.

Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell

@zsudayka is a multi-disciplinary fine artist, curator and arts educator from Aurora, CO living in DC. Her work is cultural anthropology, largely focusing on mixed media portraiture and interior design installations that reflect American culture. Her pieces explore mixing patterns and textures to create collages using acrylic, oil, decorative and hand dyed paper, fabric, thread, linocut stamp and ink on canvas. In 2023, she was honored with the Annual East of the River award from Honfleur Gallery. Currently, she is in a MFA program at MICA in Baltimore.

James Stephen Terrell

@jtcolorofsound is a native Washingtonian who was raised in Ward 7. His parents are Rev. Dr. James E.

Terrell, Pastor of historic Second Baptist Church of Washington, DC and Retired Superior Court Associate Judge Mary A. Terrell of the Superior Court of Washington, DC. Terrell received a BFA from Howard University, MFA from Parsons School of Design, and a Master of Divinity Degree from the Union Theological Seminary. Terrell recently had an exhibit at the Priscilla Tyson Cultural Arts Center in Columbus, OH. He has taught art in DC for 15 years.

Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell & James Stephen Terrell have shown many places in DC, most recently at Art of Noize and IA&A at Hillyer. Read their full bios: www.terrellartsdc.com

“What Was & What Will” is a new solo show from artist Emon Surakitkoson. Envisioning time as a process, rather than a series of moments, these paintings represent a distilled experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chronologically, the paintings span from March 2020 to the present day, during which there has been economic insecurity, political instability, and violent hate crimes.

Materially, they embrace a stripped-down aesthetic of painting, with a monochrome palette, large brush strokes, and a deliberate approach to composition. Eschewing narration and figurative subject matter, Surakitkoson offers, instead, a dialogue of elements: black and white; texture and evenness; depth and surface. Looking closely, there is also a variety of material, as paint is combined with folded fabric and ceramic beads. These choices, elevating the process and materiality of the work, represent both a challenge towards staying focused, as well as a means of expression and release, as she comes to terms with her identity as a Thai-born immigrant living in a country that has been openly hostile to people like her. Despite this background of pain and trauma, though, the paintings also offer a path forward, by invoking the contemplation of nature, seen in a horizon line, and by cultivating a space for the joy and play of creation.

“What Was & What Will ” is both a statement, about our ability to progress and adapt, as well as a rumination for the living, who are always, necessarily, eternally caught in the present moment.

Emon Surakitkoson (b. 1985) was born in Thailand and emigrated to the United States when she was 19 years old. She has developed the unique style of sculptural, black and white paintings for which she is known, and in 2020 she transitioned to working as a full-time artist.

The exhibit is about the impact of Covid in our local communities, specifically the Black community in the DMV. IMPACT is all of your experiences during the pandemic: hope, anger, fear, joy, resistance, and everything in between. Selected Artists: Broadie, Lisa Brown, Deborah Grayson, Hilltop, Ricky Parker, Ty Phillips, Qrcky, Lora Reina, Jessica Valoris.

+ A second special featured exhibition by Life Pieces to Masterpieces Creating Art, Changing Lives will be on view in the YMCA Capital Event Room.

Both exhibits are made possible by a Choose Healthy Life grant in partnership between the YMCA Anthony Bowen Gallery Y and BCAC. Black Coalition Against COVID is leading and coordinating local efforts to help fight the pandemic and support the needs of our community. The exhibits are on view from February 19-March 30, 2022.

Robert and Roberta: A Family Portrait

by Dany Green

Curated by Beth Ferraro

August 27, 2021 - January 8, 2022

My “Family Portrait” mosaic series uses my family as a microcosm of American history. The two main “characters” are my paternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother My grandfather, Robert L. Green, is one of 9 children born to a Pentecostal minister. He grew up poor but started helped to support his family as a child by picking up small jobs here and here. He eventually earned a PhD from Michigan State University. He went on to become a civil rights activist who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. in his early career. My grandmother, Roberta Derr is a white woman who married a black man, George Sutherland, in the 1950s. When my mother was just 10 years old, her father George passed away from sickle cell anemia. Both Robert and Roberta made courageous choices and pushed through boundaries that supported the status quo at the time. Sadly, America finds itself yet again confronting systemic racism and massive efforts to undermine the voting rights my grandfather, Robert, fought so hard to strengthen. In many ways, my “Family Portrait” series can lead to a larger conversation about race, gender, poverty, wealth, education, and health.

America is in a period of adapting and overcoming the devastation of the current Covid-19 crisis and recent political turmoil. The future of this country will be a mosaic. There is no going back to the old way of doing things. Right now, we are in the process of picking up the pieces and putting them back together again. Just like I take the broken shards of dazzling sheets of stained glass and put them back together again. This time into something stronger and more beautiful.

ART IS ESSENTIAL

May 20-August 1, 2021

ART IS ESSENTIAL is our first exhibit in over a year and our first call to artists in the DMV for a group exhibit. Follow along with @YMCABOWEN and all the artists on Instagram:

@black.toystory
@elizabeth.ashe_studio
@scratchpaperpoem
@bbrody04
@d.c.mamacita
@pencildrawingart_hsin.hsi.chen
@childers.travis
@juliechristenberryart
@thebeginningg
@__cayg
@RadicalEleanor
@jarrett.hendrix
@Rikasso
@ilyin.mike
@Miriam.Julianna
@jonmalis
@Thelexmarie
@terrylart_
@Kaisalily.art
@iamrickyparker
@whitneyalanaparker
@momentframer
@luis202artist
@the_art_of_ricemoore
@dinaazsalem
@emonartdc
@jordannwine

our worlds apart

by Roslyn Cambridge

January 30 - March 12, 2020

Roslyn Cambridge, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her paintings are housed in the permanent collections in Europe, West Indies, and North America. Both of these imaginative abstract expressionistic paintings are inspired by science in nature.

from the artist: “The universality and beauty of God’s nature, the sparkle and hoy of life persistently excites me. This consciousness inspires me to observe and create paintings reminiscent of my surroundings. I choose to address the unexplained beauty in nature by recreating a series of imaginative abstract expressionist paintings on ‘Lunascapes’ and the ‘Earths Reaction’ this consciousness inspires me to observe and create paintings reminiscent of my surroundings.”

ABOUT GALLERY Y: The arts have a long history of bringing people together across boundaries; increasing understandings across historically unequal groups, and supporting the agency of underrepresented communities to create, maintain, and share their own stories. Artists and arts organizations are an important resource for the YMCA in building stronger connections. Gallery Y is a space to continue to foster these important conversations. Admission is free and open to the public. Art Collectors and buyers: If you would like to purchase art, please email theartisland.dc@gmail.com. To make a donation to Gallery Y and the YMCA Anthony Bowen’s art programs, please email diane.taitt@ymcadc.org