Erin Smith Glenn, MFA

Erin Smith Glenn, MFA
Fairborn, Ohio, USA

STATEMENT

My most dynamic body of work connects a history of Black cultural hairstyles and adornment with contemporary times, as they are often presented and well-complemented together. This in itself is more than just an exhibit, but also as a kind of reckoning; a way of celebrating the innovations and successes of our ancestors using the creative resources and intellect of our generation. Throughout my own life, I’ve diligently observed and researched the great innovations in Black Hair Culture. Since 2008, my personal exploration of HAIRitage as a Cultural Journey has brought about new experiences, growth and development, with a focus now on a broadened vision. Expansion on this level will require the involvement of a community collaboration, which is where the theme of this show would be centered around: a visual showcase of works by selected artists within the local community who are educated and experienced on the creativity and exploration of their own HAIRitage through various creative means. In this way, the artists are also educating the viewer, as we seek more than just to entertain and adorn, but to enlighten, engage and transform the viewers perception of how they see hair and hair culture, with particular emphasis on the Black community. As an added benefit, I, the proposer, will include a brief retrospect of works in a curated wall space together, as they often are strongest when exhibited collectively. These show my research, methods and moments that have occurred over the past 15+ years.

Various resources have fed my understanding of the purposes of hair culture. The overall concept is that aesthetics and beauty was never the only intention when traditional African styles were innovated, but also the significance of the styles being used to communicate status, healthy relationships, transitions from childhood into adulthood and so much more. Through various media, I continue to find avenues in which to explore all of the ways that hair can finally be celebrated and included in a class all by itself.

BIO

Erin M. Smith Glenn is an associate professor of art, advisor of the Visual Arts Club, former VP of the board for the Dayton Society of Artists, and proud alum of Central State University, the only HBCU in the Midwest and one of only 16 HBCUs nationwide with a fully accredited Fine Arts program. She holds a terminal degree of a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati with a concentration in 2D studio art, working in a variety of media and mixed media. Since 2009, the same year her daughter was born as well as the same year she earned her respective M.F.A., Erin has exhibited works in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Vermont, Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois, including an internationally renowned exhibit in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as numerous solo exhibitions. In 2022, she was awarded Best in Show for her 4’x8′ painting of her daughter in the “New Woman” art exhibit hosted collaboratively by the Pendleton Arts Center and the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. Upon completion of the new Clifton Cultural Arts Center building in early 2024, a gallery in honor of Elizabeth Nourse, a Cincinnati-native and the first woman to gain international fame through her artwork (1859-1938), will be housed within the new CCAC. As a feature included in the Best in Show prize package, Professor Smith Glenn has been invited to spend three months creating new work in Cincinnati’s only home established by America’s most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The Elizabeth Nourse gallery will be dedicated primarily to women artists, which is profound considering less than 10% of art by women is established in galleries and museums nationwide. As the inaugural artist of the new CCAC, the public was formally invited to attend the opening reception on March 9th, 2024.

Erin’s works, along with interviews, can be found in notable publications and sites including Create! Magazine, The Layered Onion, a social benefit organization where art and mental health intersect, as well as publicly installed works in Downtown Dayton, Dayton Public Schools and in CSU’s Foundation Hall II (a professor/student collaborative effort, 2011). Through her ambassadorship with Royal Talens, a leading international art supplier, expansion as both an artist and professor always finds it’s way from the studio back into the classroom, as a way to expose students to world-class creative materials. Speaking of world-class, Professor Smith Glenn is very excited to lead a trip to Paris, France in December of 2024 to study the Black art history and influences that have shaped modern-day Paris, as Black people have done world-wide throughout time. This trip follows her first successful faculty-led trip to Rome and Florence, Italy in 2022. Unlike her initial 2008 experience during her graduate studies as the only person of color in attendance, all participants of the CSU-led group to Italy in 2022 were women of color, respectfully.

Among Erin’s lifelong pursuits is to continually practice her artwork and overall creative experiences, vowing never to stop “growing as an artist and individual”, while always striving to instill this concept in her students and her three children, Zion, Zachary and Zavier Glenn, as she does within herself. The “New Woman” award stated above has already begun to provide students with opportunities to engross themselves on the art scene. A major goal in her legacy is to greatly improve the involvement and status of people of color, especially Black women, throughout the art world, now and beyond her earthly presence. Erin proudly stands on the shoulders of many while she strives to be that same catalyst for others like herself.

ARTIST CONTACT

EMAIL | WEBSITE

IMAGES