The InterFaith Works and El-Hindi Center for Dialogue hosted its 2017 Racial Justice Awards Ceremony last night at Syracuse Stage in Syracuse, NY.  Interfaith Works, founded in 1976, builds “bridges of understanding among people of different religions and across racial divides."  The El-Hindi Center “serves as regional hub for constructive community engagement and the important work of dialogue” among disparate groups of people to foster mutual understanding and trust. The 2017 awards ceremony recognized Zau Jat N-Hkum with the Racial Justice Youth Award; Jawwaad  Rasheed received the Catalyst Award; the Organizational Award went to the Brady Faith Center located on the City’s South Side, and Auburn resident and social justice leader, Laurel Ullyette was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award.   aaduna visual arts editor, Lisa Brennan with Laurel Ullyette, recipient of the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award Dick Ford, pianist and director o...

Artistry can easily be defined as a combination of skill, knowledge of craft, imagination, creative intent, and perseverance. But is that all of the story? I suspect it is how an artist intertwines, loops, twists and weaves all these nuances into a visual entity that ignites the viewer’s imagination and creates the need to see more, experience other levels of subtlety, instills the desire to embrace all that the artist has to offer. Some is never enough.   Unwrapping Vanessa: Fiber Memory Art by Vanessa Johnson is a visually mesmerizing exhibition of personal stories expressed in fabric, beads, small and found objects, and photographs. The exhibition explores Johnson’s new work that “honors the voices of women and girls who continue to influence the artist’s life, and speaks to her own transnational experience through women who inspire." Ms. Johnson combines her over two decade background as a fiber artist, writer, storyteller, community activist, and actor to bri...