The Delaware Contemporary Announces 2023-2024 Artist-In-Residence Program

The content of this post comes from a Delaware Contemporary press release...

The Delaware Contemporary (TDC) is pleased to announce four accepted artists for its 2023-2024 Artist-In-Residence program (ARC 24) — Noel Cross, Cony Madariaga, Nasir Young, and Zifeng Zang. These artists were selected for a fully funded residency program; they will occupy a shared studio, receive one-to-one mentorship, and participate in professional development programming.

The Delaware Contemporary focuses on assisting career growth of new and emerging artists with an emphasis on providing the ARC Residency Program to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the Great Arc region of Delaware. TDC is driven to provide equitable access to career development for underserved populations and strive to diversify the nonprofit and museum industries through this opportunity. To ensure equity, the selection process works with a unique set of arts professionals. The ARC 24 jurors include Studios@ artist and former Artist-in-Residence, Stephanie Boateng, and Vox Populi member artist and arts educator Natalie Hijinx.

As part of the program, ARC 24 residents will engage with their fellow residents, the community of Studios@ artists, TDC staff, and public outreach projects. Residents will work toward a cumulative exhibition in The Delaware Contemporary's main galleries in Summer 2024.

Noel Cross is a contemporary painter and photographer from New Jersey. As a young artist, Cross attended Studio Incamminati Atelier in Philadelphia. She then went on to receive her BA from Rutgers University before completing her MFA at the University of Delaware. Her most recent works are grounded in research exploring American commodity culture, the investigation of collective cultural memory and challenging learned assumptions. The work honors the tradition of painting as an enduring cultural practice while exploring the curiosity of play. As pictorial competition redefines our contemporary visual experience, the work invites you to be fascinated by the act of looking.

Constanza Madariaga, also known as Cony Madariaga, is a Delaware-based artist born in Santiago, Chile. She has been in love with art since she was a child, and creating has been her therapy and safe space to express herself throughout her lifetime. Being able to have access to art classes in middle school and high school allowed her to explore different mediums and techniques. Although she did not continue her formal education in Arts, she has always gravitated towards it, and always made a space in her life to be able to create. In 2019, she had her first exhibition, since then she has participated in a number of exhibitions in Delaware and surrounding cities including the 2023 Artist Fellowship through the Delaware Division of the Arts.

Nasir Young received his BFA from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 2020, he was awarded The Raymond D. & Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship to go to London. Young was awarded an illuminate arts grant in 2021 and 2022, and he was the second place winner of the Philadelphia Sketch Club's 158th exhibition of small oils. In 2022, he was a Da Vinci Art Alliance Resident. Nasir’s primary source of imagery is the everyday scenes of urban inner city life. He has had multiple group shows in Philadelphia and online exhibitions.

Zifeng Zang is an accomplished artist with a wealth of education and experience in the field. Her love for art began at a young age which grew as she received formal education, including earning dual BFA degrees from Jilin University in China and West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Her career experience includes serving as a senior graphic designer and brand manager at 4A Advertising Agencies and tech giants in China, where she honed her skills in creating imagery characters and advertisement scripts using digital tools. Despite this, she always felt drawn to the traditional art of painting. This led her to pursue further education in the field and to study painting in the US, where she is now focused on developing her favorite abstract style, infused with her personal experiences and unique perspective.

For more details, visit DEContemporary.org.