#emergence program

Join us Friday, November 2nd at the 40th Street AIR Gallery for a wonderful exhibition by Emergence Program artist Nicole Olivieri Pagán! Art cannot be born without something to celebrate, or something to mourn. Works by Nicole Olivieri Pagan, a Puerto Rican native in diaspora, depict the diverse beauty of the history, people, and environment of the island of Puerto Rico. Photography of natural scenery recreate moments and places of deep meaning, hinting toward a longing for home. In contrast, paintings and drawings by the artist depict topics of social and environmental injustice, racial diversity and a complex history of what it is to be “Boricua”. A year after hurricane Maria, those works have a deeper meaning, as the island is altered and its future is uncertain. The art works presented in this exposition, symbolize the string connecting the artist to home. About the artist: Nicole Olivieri Pagán (ElociN) is a Latinx artist and activist originally from Puerto Rico, currently residing in Camden, NJ. Although their expertise ranges through many art forms, favorite mediums are ink, oil paint, photography, and linoleum and acrylic print work. Through these mediums Nicole expresses a love and nostalgia for Puerto Rico, as well as passion for topics of environmental and social injustice, and inequality, with subtle hints of surrealism. Currently, the artist is working toward a Master’s degree in psychology, while working directly with youths and the overall community of North Camden. Through it all, their artistic expression continues to expand, in an attempt to convey a great need for social change.