2024 CNY Artist Initiative Selections

The Central New York Artist Initiative builds upon the Everson Museum of Art’s ongoing support of the region’s vibrant arts community. Launched in January 2022, the Everson CNY Artist Initiative is a competitive program that highlights the multi-faceted talents of regional artists. Each year, Everson curators select artists to display their work in solo exhibitions at the Museum. Selections are based on the innovative quality of the work, how the work aligns with the Museum mission, and its relevance to the community.

This year, the Everson received more than seventy applications and Museum staff selected four artists who represent a diverse range of media and artistic approaches. These artists will show their work in nine-week-long solo exhibitions in 2024.

We are pleased to announce the 2024 selections for the CNY Artist Initiative!

David Edward Johnson

January 27 – March 31, 2024

Instagram: davidedwardjohnsonart

David Edward Johnson is a mixed media assemblage artist living and working in Skaneateles, NY. His work focuses on exploring belief systems, the birth and death of the American Dream, the nature and validity of desire, as well as identity and loss on a personal level. Johnson’s body of work lies at the intersection of the organic, the geometric, the iconic, the abstract, and the found, all of which inform his large-scale assemblage pieces that hover between mediums. He encapsulates his oeuvre in three words: abstraction, definition, and deconstruction.

Rachel Ivy Clarke

April 6 – June 9, 2024

Instagram: rachelivyclarke

After an early career in graphic design, Rachel Ivy Clarke turned to librarianship, which led to her current role as an associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies. Her award-winning research focuses on the application of design methodologies and epistemologies to librarianship to facilitate the systematic, purposeful creation of library services. She combines her interests in information studies, design, and textile arts to juxtapose hard data and soft textiles, using fabrics and colors to visualize information in a tangible, visceral way. She earned a BA in creative writing from California State University Long Beach, an MLIS from San Jose State University, and a PhD from the University of Washington.

Manuel Matias

June 15 – August 18, 2024

Instagram: weirdsociety_art

Manuel Matias is a creator of nostalgic street art, specializing in miniature dioramas. His passion lies in reviving the past by merging diverse art forms and combining influences from different artists to resurrect forgotten moments in intricate detail. Through this fusion of creativity, Matias aims to transport viewers to a bygone era, where memories are rekindled and cherished anew. He encourages creativity in his two daughters by letting them add their own touches to his miniatures. Their innocent and imaginative contributions bring a unique charm and unexpected element to Matias’ work.

Cali M. Banks

August 24 – October 27, 2024

Instagram: bankscal

Cali M. Banks is a lens-based artist currently based in Syracuse, NY. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a BA in Art and Technology and Global Health Studies from Allegheny College. Cali is the Communications Coordinator for Light Work, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Photography and Video Art for Indiana University campuses, and Syracuse University. Her artistic practice reclaims identity through auto-ethnographic, experimental photography and filmmaking. Banks’ work explores the ideas of public versus private narratives and the expansion of narrow, flattened definitions of Indigenous art. She is interested in the idea of image-making as a time or record-keeper, and in being able to manipulate those to recreate memories, history, and methods of healing.

The Everson CNY Artist Initiative is made possible with support from Terry and Bill Delavan.