September 29–December 29
This Land is Your Land examines what is possible when there are boundaries without borders. In “Non-Committal” Elisheba Johnson questions the mutuality of her connection with her hometown of Seattle, cleverly highlighting the relational nature of belonging and freedom. In “Pathways” Deja Milany traces her experience of relationship and community through the entwining of the braid. The specific location of Milany’s exhibition at (Seattle) Salon grounds her work in her intention to “challenge the world’s interaction with black hair.”
This pairing of two solo exhibitions illuminates how our freedom is not merely dependent on one another, but rather deeply interwoven together.
Contributors on This Land Is Your Land:
Elisheba Johnson // Featured Artist
Deja Milany // Featured Artist
Tola Atewologun // Conversation Host
Tiffany Danielle Elliott // Lead Curator
Connor Walden // Lead Programs Manager
Raziah Ahmad // Graphic Designer
Elisheba Johnson
“Non-Committal”
September 29 - December 29, 2021
I feel like I have been in an unequal relationship with my City for a while now. A lover but never a partner. Weekends but no weeknights. I have been priced out of the housing market in Seattle for 10 years now and while I continue to love Seattle, and invest in us, I have noticed her level of commitment to me is not there. She has been seeing other people for a long time, but I haven't figured out how to break up with her yet.
"Non-Committal" is part of an ongoing inquiry I have about my experience being outpriced of my hometown, a wildly gentrifying City.
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Elisheba Johnson is a curator, poet, public artist and consultant that lives in Seattle, WA. Johnson, who has a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, was the owner of Faire Gallery Café, a multi-use art space that held art exhibitions, music shows, poetry readings and creative gatherings. For six years Johnson worked at the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture on capacity building initiatives and racial equity in public art. Johnson was a member of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Network advisory council and has won four Americans for the Arts Public Art Year in Review Awards for her work. She currently co-manages Wa Na Wari, a Black art center in Seattle’s Central Area that uses the arts to build community and resist displacement.
“Non-Committal”, 2021, Elisheba Johnson
Deja Milany
“Pathways”
September 29 - December 29, 2021
Born in Atlanta, GA but has always called Detroit her home. After receiving her BFA, in Fibers from CCS. She has taught at CCS, shown at the Trout Museum in Wisconsin, is a recipient of the Red Bull Microgrant, and has had a solo exhibition at Interloper Gallery in Washington.
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This series of work is about the unknown and known. Lately, life has been complicated. Recognizing all the things that I know and don't. There was a time in my life where I knew where I was going, what was ahead of me, and how I’d get to the finish line. But as I grow older, & learn more the less I really understand about life. There will constantly be twists and turns and crossed paths and u-turns. And I'm finally becoming OK with that. The hair braiding is a representation of the things that I do know. The things that are secure in my mind and body: my identity & the path that each braid is representing; the footsteps I have taken throughout my journey.
