The Tipton Gallery presents “The Black Gaze”

On Friday, Aug. 5, the ETSU Department of Art & Design and the Slocumb Galleries presented “The Black Gaze” at their First Friday celebration in Downtown Johnson City at the Tipton Gallery.

Curated by Lynn Bachman and Lyn Govette, this art exhibit not only expresses the importance of African American culture and art but also gave many artists in the area their first place to have their art out on display to the community. Most artists in this exhibit are local, and many even self-taught in their artistry skills.

The artists included in this exhibit are Jonathan Adams, Akintayo Akintobi, Lynn Bachman, Javan Collie, Pam Daniels, Pam Faw, Jason Flack, Doniqua Joyner, Dexter Greenlee and Ian Taylor.

At this event, there was a performance by the Kingsport Ballet. Johnson City Commissioner Aaron Murphy was also the guest of honor and spoke on why he felt that this exhibit was important to not only the Black community of Johnson City but to anyone in the area who might get to witness this exhibit for themselves.

Lynn Bachman is a Johnson City local who has lived here for all of his life. He co-curated this exhibit with Lyn Govette. Bachman curated the exhibit and also displayed his art as well. He spoke on why this opportunity was important to him.

“This was my first time curating an event, and I want to give much credit to Lyn Govette,” said Bachman. “For many people here, this is their first time displaying their art, and it was amazing to see the same line of culture throughout all of our works, even though we did not discuss it before, only wanting to come together and display Black art.”

Lyn Govette lives in Johnson City as well and received her second master’s degree in Fine Arts from ETSU in 2017. She loves to be active within the community, curating exhibits, teaching art classes and involving the community in the arts, due to her position as the ETSU Slocumb Galleries community engagement facilitator.

The display will continue until Aug. 26, and the Tipton Art Gallery is located at 126 Spring St. Downtown Johnson City with gallery hours on Thursday and Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. and also by appointment on other days of the week. To schedule a visit, contact Karlota Contreras-Koterbay at contrera@etsu.edu.