Bixa Liu, Joe Wallace
In 2018, 50 million people are living with dementia globally. In the United States, one in three seniors suffers with Alzheimer’s or dementia at the time of their death. And yet despite the millions of individuals and families affected, dementia is often a taboo subject with limited public awareness or discourse. A diagnosis can become a mechanism for segregating those affected from society, making it easy to see only the label instead of the individuals.
Dementia however does not discriminate. These portraits reflect the cross-section of races and ethnicities affected. As a nation of immigrants, so many have struggled and suffered to leave behind one community and embrace a new one. This work honors their legacy and highlights a lifetime of experience.
Opening Reception | Thursday, October 18th, 6 - 8 pm
Photography by Joe Wallace. Curated by J.Sybylla Smith
About the Artist: Joe Wallace is trained as a writer and spent ten years selling stories in adverting. For the last twelve years he has been telling stories through photographs. His approach to photography applies a fine arts sensibility to the journalist’s eye for storytelling. Wallace loves crafting an arresting visual narrative and feeds off the spark of collaboration. Whether with his subject, client, or other artists – he finds projects are richer and more rewarding when each person can express their own unique viewpoint.
About the curator: J.Sybylla Smith is an independent curator with over 27 solo or group exhibitions featuring over 80 international photographers exhibited in the U.S., Mexico and South America. Smith consults with individual photographers and arts organizations to develop exhibitions, educational programming and written content including artist statements and marketing material. An adjunct professor, guest lecturer, and thesis advisor, Smith has worked with the School of Visual Arts, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Wellesley College, Harvard University, Emmanuel College. She developed curriculum and teaches Concept Aware ®, a unique creative framework of concept development for artists, which is pending publication.
Directions: The Pao Arts Center is located in the One Greenway building, 99 Kneeland Street. For GPS driving directions, use 66 Hudson Street, Boston, MA 02111. From Hudson Street, walk up the stairs and across the deck to the 99 Albany Street entrance. The public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street. The Pao Arts Center is accessible by the MBTA green, red, and orange lines.
Contact: Cynthia Woo | 617-863-9080