Collection: This Is My Dream, Selected By Dorian Reid (online exhibition)

About the exhibition

I'm thinking about the future, and I'm thinking about right now. When will I be able to do my own thing without getting stressed out, and without any violence or cruelty? I’m looking around and I see that the streets are blocked off. I’ve been hearing on the news: people getting shot, people getting killed. I feel like we’re in prison. On top of that I thought this area in Richmond was going to be free. I thought it was going to be peaceful, but every time I turn around there’s fighting and I’m getting sick and tired of hearing news about people getting killed. I’m getting sick and tired of violence.

People say, “don’t keep all your emotions in!” but you can’t fall apart either. So I’m trying to express my feelings as animals and shapes on canvas. Sometimes I’ll draw X’s and take all my anger out on them. I tear them up into tiny pieces to destroy the bad feeling. Then I think: things like bluejays are good; things like "I have a dream," and names for horses. 

I think we need a unicorn. I see Tre’von’s painting and it looks like a dragon breathing rainbow fire. I like to layer paint like that too. Rosita's red horse reminds me of a horse I would call Sunshine or Sunrise, and Carlota's drawing makes me think of patterns in music. Music has always been magic to me. When we were living in Berkeley, my mom and I participated in Peace Walks and we always sang together, “we shall overcome, we shall overcome!”

I dream of eventually owning a horse and retiring to a studio I can fill with my artwork.  It'll be nice and peaceful and quiet. I could paint outside, and draw the horse and the surroundings of the horse too. This way I can keep bringing out my hidden talent for art that I got from my mom. I need to keep painting and crocheting and working in ceramics. I need to share my story.

About the selector

Dorian "Dorrie" Reid is a multi-disciplinary artist creating at NIAD Art Center. For this exhibition, Reid shared thoughts on her art practice and her frustrations with ongoing civil rights violations. She selected works by her peers that reflect the pain, inequity, strength, and hope amplified by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Reid’s own work has been exhibited in galleries around the Bay Area. Her upcoming solo show at Kapp Kapp, Philadelphia, PA will feature ceramics, textiles, and paintings that collectively demonstrate her love and concern for animal and human rights.