Americana refers to the symbols and iconography traditionally associated with the United States. It's how we culturally interpret and represent our country. Given the complexity of American culture, this exhibition proposes a revised definition of Americana as not monolithic, but something plural and constantly re-imagined. Through the appropriation of American iconography and creation of new Americana, these three artists develop and present their own sense of American culture and identity. As women, the artists in this show also navigate their gender within America’s masculinist culture. This intersection of identities with mass culture contributes to the individual iterations of Americana. Hybrid Americana(s) serves as a reminder that there is no single American identity or culture, but rather a myriad of intersectional personal experiences and interpretations existing at once.
Hybrid Americana(s) was exhibited at the Bolivar Art Gallery in Lexington, KY from October 1-16, 2021.
BRIANNA ARMSTRONG
Brianna Armstrong is “a vivacious Afro-Latina artist” based in Lexington, KY. She received her BFA in art studio in December of 2020 at the University of Kentucky. Armstrong claims herself to be a jack of all trades, and a master of some as she excels in her career of craft. In 2020, Brianna displayed her artworks at her virtual BFA Graduating Exhibition, Memory Immortal, with the School of Art & Visual Studies - as well as the Lexington Art League for the Herself Exhibition. Within that same year, Armstrong was also an Assistant for the Inaugural Call for Art for the Cornerstone Digital Media Wall. This year Brianna has designed and modeled for the Inspired by Nature Show at Oak Hill Gardens. She is also the CEO for her fashion business Designs By Bri Marie, launched in October 2021. Ms. Armstrong wants her work to be seen in a powerful light so she is able to inspire and pave a way for people without a voice, people of color, and women of color.
STEPHANIE CUYUBAMBA KONG
Stephanie Cuyubamba Kong is an American artist and educator interested in the ideas of cultural vernacular, ethno-musical studies, and art as a vehicle for agency. Her current interests reside in reggaetón discourse, utopia, and snack locality. As an artist, writer, and musician she is fascinated by language and its most abstracted forms. She believes in illuminating marginalized histories and promoting intersectional discourse within education, art, and performance.
MELISSA VANDENBERG
Born and educated in Detroit, Melissa is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and curator living in Eastern Kentucky. Her studio practice explores the political landscape using national identity, folk art, ancestry, immigration, and the perception of a homeland as points of departure. She gravitates to everyday materials like matches, fabric, stickers, wood, and commonplace objects. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Iceland, and extensively throughout the United States. Melissa received a BFA in 1999 from Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan and a MFA in 2005 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She has been the recipient of numerous grants including a Kentucky Foundation for Women Artist Enrichment Grant, the Al Smith Fellowship, Great Meadows Foundation Travel Grant, and was shortlisted for the Luxembourg Art Prize in 2016. Melissa is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Eastern Kentucky University.