By: Angela Peavey
The Saugatuck Center for the Arts (400 Culver Street) will host a Creativity Revealed program featuring 2016 Artist in Residence Sofia Ramirez Hernandez on July 18 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Hernandez will share the process behind her ambitious project, #SofiaDrawsEveryDay. The event is free to the public with RSVP at www.sc4a.org or 269-857-2399.
The #SofiaDrawsEveryDay project was what Hernandez terms “a non-negotiable daily practice” drawing project begun in 2013. During the project, Hernandez drew more than 900 pieces, of which 300 are on display throughout at the summer at the SCA in its Corridor Series
Hernandez embarked on the drawing project when violence and self-destruction were affecting personal relationships and her mental stability. She felt she needed something that would lead to self-accountability, daily productivity, and rediscovering her own self-worth. “On the days I felt totally out of control, sometimes even evil, I could find a gram of pride in sticking to the drawings,” Hernandez says.
Through self-portraits and handwritten confessions, these hand-drawn diaries document her relapses into abuse, her will to fight her own tendencies, struggles with responsibility, the trials of treatment, and the good times, too.
“This is more than a simple exhibition, it’s a personal journey,” said Kristin Armstrong, Executive Director at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts. “We are very fortunate that Sofia is willing to share this intimate experience with our community. We’re especially eager for young people to see her drawing and be inspired by Sophia’s creativity and tenacity.”
During the Creativity Revealed program Hernandez will discuss her work as a West Michigan based Mexican female artist creating works that contemplate language, duality, environment and sisterhood. She’ll also talk about her involvement with the SCA’s Growing Young Artists program with migrant students. And, she’ll perform some of her prose poetry and encourage the audience to write short pieces of their own.
Follow Hernandez on Instagram at @SofiaDrawsEveryDay or on her Tumblr page, using #sofiadrawseveryday.
About the Saugatuck Center for the Arts
The Saugatuck Center for the Arts, located at 400 Culver Street, Saugatuck, is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a more vibrant lakeshore community in West Michigan and beyond. For more information about the SCA and upcoming events, visit www.sc4a.org or call 269.857.2399.
