Printmaker | Art Book Maker | Teacher
NEWS
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AUGUST 2023
Downtown Mobility Center Sixteen artists participated in providing murals at this new seven-story, $42 million parking and mobility facility at Beale and Main streets in Memphis. Dávila's work, "Soul of a City," is based on her handmade book by the same name that was created for the project. (Book info: "Alma de una ciudad" is an accordion popup art book, xxx). The center serves as a transportation and commerce hub and has 11,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. Other murals include work by Eso Tolson, Carl E. Moore, Jamie Harmon, Khara Woods, Erin Harmon, and Beth Edwards. |
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JULY-AUGUST 2020
Maritza Dávila: Journey, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens Maritza Dávila’s dedication to printmaking is rooted in her love of process. She sees each important step that goes into creating one of her works as part of a voyage. The title of the exhibition, Journey, is evocative of ideas that are important to Dávila and are themes in her practice: the notion of travel, both spiritual and physical, the concepts of becoming, of growing into, of development and maturity. Her identities as an artist, wife, teacher, mother, and grandmother, all factor into her creations. The work in Journey reflects Dávila’s versatility as a printmaker, bringing together a wide range of her printed works, including artist’s books, collographs, silk aquatint, and screen print, sometimes all together in one piece. Read more here. JULY 2020
Memphis College of Art Closes Its Doors Reporter Tom Bailey of the Daily Memphian covered the last days of the Memphis College of Art, where Dávila had taught for 36 years. As city officials pondered what to do with the building, the final day of the college's existence included removing the last remnants of the institution that taught art students for 84 years. As Bailey reported: "Art professor Maritza Dávila backed her Ford Edge to near the front steps at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, just as the city’s Parks & Neighborhoods Division interim director Nick Walker walked up those steps to collect the building’s keys from school administrators. "Davila and a security guard placed boxes of unclaimed student art into her trunk. 'I will not allow any of it to go to the trash,' Davila said of the artwork." OCTOBER 2018
Print Exhibition at University of Memphis Here and Now: Printmaking and the Political Present is an exhibition of prints by Memphis-based artists exploring social issues of our contemporary moment on local, national, and global levels. Artists include Maritza Dávila, Vanessa González-Hernández, Nelson Gutierrez, Lawrence Matthews, Carl Moore, Joel Parsons, Jennifer Sargent, and Yancy Villa-Calvo. The show will be presented at The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the U of M. Master printmaker Maritza Dávila will lead artists in a series of workshops formulating concepts and producing the prints on view. Artists explore topics such as gentrification, climate change, gun violence, queer politics, immigration, education, and non-violent protest. The exhibition also contemplates the role of printmaking as a means of expression in our fast-paced, digital age. The exhibition runs from October 8 to November 9 with the opening reception October 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. The show runs concurrently with the exhibition Freedom of the Press: Posters from Progressive Print Shops, 1960s-1990s organized by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles, California. OCTOBER 2018
Printmaking Demonstrations and Workshop at the Dixon Maritza Dávila will give printmaking workshops and demonstrations at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens this fall. Thursday demonstrations will be October 25, November 1, and December 6 from 11 a.m. to noon. A special gallery tour will be held November 3 from 11 a.m. to noon. A printmaking workshop will be held Saturday, December 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For information, contact the Dixon at 901-761-5250. SEPTEMBER 2018
Work Accepted to Pacific States Biennial North American Print Exhibition One of Maritza Dávila’s works was chosen by juror Helen Frederick to be in the 2018 PSBN North American Print Exhibition in Hilo, Hawaii, from November 2 through December 28, 2018. The Biennial was established by the Art Department Print Studio at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 1982. Frederick is a celebrated artist, curator, educator, coordinator of international projects, and the founder of Pyramid Atlantic. From the 687 entries, Frederick selected 79 works for the exhibition to be held at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Campus Center Gallery and the East Hawaii Cultural Center. Entries came from 41 of the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. MAY 2018
Dávila to Exhibit in RiverArtsFest Invitational Art Show Maritza Dávila was selected to participate in the RiverArtsFest Invitational Art Show at ANF Architects, 1500 Union Avenue, Memphis, from October 8 to November 9, 2018. An opening reception will be Friday, October 12th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Other artists in the exhibition are Adam Hawk, Maysey Craddock, Carl Scott, George Hunt, and Catherine Erb. MARCH 2018
ArtsMemphis Announces Its 2018 ArtsAccelerator Grantees Maritza Dávila was named as one of five winners of a grant from ArtsMemphis, the regional funding agency for artists and art organizations. Here is its press release. Here at ArtsMemphis, we recognize that visual artists are a magnet for creative, entrepreneurial talent throughout our City. That's why, in 2013, we established ArtsAccelerator – a grant program for Shelby County artists in every discipline. These incentive grants are for artists at a critical juncture in their careers. Decisions are made by a rotating panel of experts, and they award five ArtsAccelerator Grants of $5,000 each, totaling $25,000 annually. The funds are intended to advance each recipient's artistic and professional practice. We administer ArtsAccelerator in partnership with our Artist Advisory Council – a dedicated volunteer group comprising artists, collectors, and curators. Thanks to the Council's hard work, we've attracted a record number of ArtsAccelerator applications in each of the last two years: we drew 96 applicants last year and an incredible 107(!) applicants this year. (That's an increase of roughly 80 percent over our 2016 numbers.) In other words, this was our most competitive round of ArtsAccelerator funding ever! The winners are Maritza Dávila, MB, Wilbert Mays, Andrea Morales, and Catherine Patton. The three distinguished grant panelists are Allison Glenn (Associate Curator at Crystal Bridges), Senga Nengudi (world-renowned installation and performance artist), and Wassan Al-Khudhairi (Chief Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis). ArtsMemphis values equity and inclusion in our grant-making; with that in mind, it's worth noting that the five grantees named above are all artists of color. This speaks to the tremendous creative capital within our city's historically under-represented communities. Since its inception in 2013, our ArtsAccelerator program has awarded 24 grants, totaling $100,000. Recipients have used their grants for a variety of meaningful projects, including: paying for childcare in order to spend more time making art, and acquiring new studio space to create larger works. ArtsAccelerator Grants are made possible by donations from generous individuals and foundations. Click here to help us sustain this vital program for visual artists. FEBRUARY 2017
MCA Faculty Receive International Recognition From the Memphis College of Art Communications Office. MCA Professor of Fine Arts and Printmaking Maritza Dávila collaborated with artist Indrani Nayar-Gall to create an artwork titled “Girl and Waves,” which was accepted into the internationally juried 2017 Atlanta Print Biennial. Dávila co-created the piece as part of her award from MCA’s Martha and Robert Fogelman Faculty Enrichment Fund, which was awarded in 2016. The piece will be on view March 15–April 14 at Kai Lin Art in Atlanta, Georgia during the 2017 SGC International Printmaking Conference (March 15-18). MARCH 2016
Dávila’s Students Host First Print Palooza From the Memphis College of Art Communications Office. Memphis College of Art’s Printmaking Club will open its doors to the public for the first Print Palooza on Saturday, March 19 in Rust Hall, 1930 Poplar Ave., Overton Park. Print Palooza will give guests an inside look at the Printmaking department with a print sale, as well as studio tours and printmaking demonstrations. The print sale will feature over 200 reasonably priced prints in a variety of printmaking techniques including etching, screen print, lithography, and mixed media. The prints come from the Printmaking department’s archives, and include work from student artists as well as professional artists including John Torina, Allison Smith and MCA Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs Remy Miller. Proceeds will directly benefit the Printmaking Club, specifically to assist in sending printmaking students to the Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI), the largest annual printmaking conference in the world. A group of MCA students regularly attend the conference with Professor Maritza Dávila and, as a result of their attendance, have been invited to participate in additional opportunities. “In the past students who attend have been able to network, find jobs, receive invitations to assistantships and exhibitions, and apply to graduate schools,” said Dávila. “However, some students lack the financial resources to attend, especially when the conference takes place in more distant locations like San Francisco or Portland.” Funds raised from the sale will directly support student participation in this year’s conference March 30–April 2 in Portland, Oregon. MARCH 2016
MCA Faculty Awarded Grants From the Memphis College of Art Communications Office. Six faculty members at Memphis College of Art have been awarded grants from the Martha and Robert Fogelman Family Faculty Enrichment Fund. The awards will fund, fully and partially, artistic ventures that faculty members have applied for and will complete within the year. The Fogelman Family Faculty Enrichment Fund provides annual cash awards to support the exploration of new areas of creative endeavor, scholarly research, artistic workshops and other means of artistic advancement that will enhance teaching, advance faculty professional standing, and benefit the Memphis College of Art community. Recipients this year include Professor Maritza Dávila, Visiting Professor Colleen Fitzgerald, Professor Susan Maakestad, Associate Professor Michele Noiset, Interim Director of MFA Programs Eszter Sziksz and Associate Professor Leandra Urrutia. Dávila, chair of the Fine Arts department and a prolific printmaker, will use her award to complete a new book art project. FEBRUARY 2015
MCA Student Artwork Returns to James Lee House From the Memphis College of Art Communications Office. History has come full circle, as artwork from students of Memphis College of Art once again adorns the walls of the James Lee House. MCA professor Maritza Dávila will act as curator for a series of exhibitions of work produced by MCA students and faculty. The first exhibition, Return to the Academy, will mark the launch of the Gibson Gallery. The gallery is named in honor of J.W. and Kathy Buckman Gibson, co-owners of James Lee House, in recognition of their lifelong support of the arts in Memphis. “The shared history with the Memphis College of Art is one of the James Lee House’s many charms,” said J.W. Gibson, “and the opportunity to create art and cultivate artistic talent are such important parts of the rich history and quality of life in Memphis.” The exhibition features the work of MCA printmaking students Elizabeth Escamilla, Margaret Davis, Heather Coleman, Alexandria Bell, Lyman Anderson, Slade Bishop and faculty members Dávila and Eszter Sziksz. The work will be on view through Feb. 28. Listed on the National Historic Register, the James Lee House began its life as a two-story farmhouse in 1848, and in 1852 was purchased by banker Charles Wesley Goyer who added a second home. It was sold to James Lee, Jr. in 1890 and in 1929, Lee’s daughter donated the house to the City of Memphis to become the James Lee Memorial Art Academy, now known as Memphis College of Art. The college relocated to its current campus in Overton Park in 1959. “It is so exciting to return to our roots at the James Lee House,” said Dávila. “The idea of featuring artwork by MCA students and faculty in this space is absolutely perfect and opens many creative possibilities for the Memphis community.” |
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