Artist/photographer/graphic designer Gail Patrice Mallory will present The Collective’s second ARTrepreneurship livestream workshop Saturday, January 16, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Tune in to the workshop with ZOOM.

“Art and creativity come naturally to me,” Mallory said. “It’s a way to express how I view the community and its effect on my own self-perception.”

Mallory's artwork began as a visual representation of herself, desperately searching for the beauty within, she admitted. She describes how she suffered for many years from insecurities, long before she realized she was an artist. Her insecurities were based on her appearance, which is one of the reasons that lips and noses were exaggerated in many of her earlier pieces. Art was more than art for Gail; art was an escape, a therapist and an unconditional friend. Register on Eventbrite.

Ricardo Osmondo Francis’ exhibition “2020” opens Thursday, January 28, with a 5 to 8 p.m. virtual reception via ZOOM at The Collective.

The solo show of new original paintings by the Houston native, New York City based artist and curator is an allegorical reflection of mankind’s response and reality to the unprecedented COVID-19/Coronavirus worldwide pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020.

This series is deeply inspired by the Roman writer Ovid, and his collection of myths called “The Metamorphoses.” In this exhibition, Francis reimagines our current year through a series of dreamy yet provocative images that in essence is a spiritually aspirational reflection of our collective reality. Francis’ often illustrative fairy tale like imagery takes on a bolder socially conscious tone in this new body of work-- all while representing the possibility of human involvement, progression and continuation despite the many obstacles and uncertainty that this virus has evoked worldwide. Read more

Do all that you can to keep yourself and your family and friends safe and healthy by staying informed from a reputable source. Here is the link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov).