Neighborhood Profiles/east side - Photographs by RObin Perez
In Progress / Saint PAUL / circa 2023
This exhibit was co-curated with IP artists Mary Richardson and Robin Perez for presentation at Studio 213. The team worked to select and present the following works. Images will be displayed through August 2023 and is available to view upon request.
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY July 14TH 5:00PM
213 Front Avenue . Saint Paul MN. 55117
Robin will be present to answer questions and provide a personalized tour of her work at this time at In Progress’s studio 213 A light meal will also be provided.
East Side Arts Council
977 Payne Ave, St Paul, MN 55130
Neighborhood Profiles will have 10 pieces presented at the East Side Arts Council June 26th - July 25th, 2023. People are welcome to stop by to see her work displayed there as well.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My intention is to photograph people and places with an eye for capturing the “inner essence”, which lay at the heart of all things –one needs only quieten one’s self, soften the gaze in order to view through the “eye” of the Spirit Within---in order to encounter this energetic essence.
A way of considering what this would look/feel like is the quiet calmness of soft rain falling in a garden of flowers and hostas; a happenstance encounter with a deer on a woodland walk, where both you and the animal lock eyes –and the “knowing” that is exchanged. There are many such examples.
At present, I am engaged with beginning the first of many profile series; this one is currently entitled Neighborhood Profiles: East Side. This is a take on a project done back in my hometown of Gary, Indiana. I photograph the “rougher” areas of the city, looking for aspects commonly overlooked or otherwise not seen.
I am beginning with the East Side, and working my way outward from there.
Biography
Robin Perez is a native of Gary, Indiana. She is a creative writer and artist who has, since 1995, presented various photo profile exhibitions featuring historical and architecturally interesting sites, places, and buildings in and around the metropolitan Chicago area, as well as photo profiles of individuals living their Inner Talent. She has exhibited her works in various venues within the metropolitan Chicago area.
Her special interest is authoring The Inner Talents Series, a compilation of photography, interviews and written commentary profiling people living their Inner Talent and following their dreams. At present, Robin is delving back into the world of photography and photo profiles, beginning with a fledgling project, “Neighborhood Profiles: East Side Stories”.
Robin’s goal is multifold: to work to develop her series such that it is displayed at myriad venues, to work with communities on art projects projecting/emphasizing positive stories and awareness as well as to travel to various places to create and display photo profiles.
Robin has been working on a series of photo profiles under the umbrella “Inner Talents Series”. She began this work back in her home state of Indiana, and is now looking to turn her photography into a formal career, after 20+ years working in higher education.
In Progress is a 2023 recipient of a Creative Support Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Additional supporters for this exhibit series include: The F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, The Saint Paul Cultural Star Program and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.