Photo by Donna Bassin
ESKFF celebrates the career of past resident, Danielle Scott by naming her our ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2021
Danielle came to the ESKFF Residency Program through our 'teacher' Winter Residency; a chance for teachers to get their own space and time during the school Winter Breaks. Since then, she has attended and participated in numerous events in support of ESKFF, its programs, and beyond. We were blown away at Danielle’s creative process. Her use of various small objects to create large compositions. The resulting imagery was thought-provoking and beautiful.
“Danielle is a soft spoken artist who is starting to explore loud, noise making, thought provoking work. The work represents examples of her life and passion. Her latest pieces are strong elements conveying the intense beauty and pain the artist sees in the works around her. The work taps into the relationship between politics, social justice, equality, human and women’s rights, police brutality, modern day slavery, culture and being female, lesbian, afro-Cuban/Polish Jew. Danielle’s new work depicts today’s culture. She creates using photo montage, found objects, old books and collage. Danielle collects objects that speak to her and help to convey her message. Danielle’s paintings, raw photography and eye catching found object assemblage work invites the viewer on a journey to explore a world far away from the hustle of everyday life. With influences from her mentors the late Jack Whitten, Gladys Barker Grauer and Eleta Caldwell as well as present mentors Bisa Wendy Washington and Ben Jones , Mansa Munsa and Willie Cole.” - ArtFair 14C
“The Empowering was born to help us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful and more human. I wanted viewers to feel our history, all of it and every shade – our pain, our darkness and our light. This exhibition depicts the depths of the artist heart, mind, soul and spirit. Art is not always about pretty things. It’s about who we are, what happened to us, and how our lives were affected. My vision and selection process came from Nina Simone’s quote, “An artist duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times and that is to me the definition of an artist.”The Empowering is giving voices to those who have been silenced for far too long.” - Danielle Scott, January 2021 (Pro Arts Jersey City)