Terrence Sanders Dead Lost or Displaced

"Take the compassionate eye of photographer Walker Evans, add the contemporary tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and a dash of poetry, and you have Terrence Sanders. Sanders's subjects confront the camera willingly and without coercion, with a variety of attitudes--some are vulnerable, others manage a shy or sheepish smile, a couple of them look high on something; all are united by their education in the School of Hard Knocks. "There but for the grace of God go I," might be the first thought to occur to viewers, followed by the question: What happened to these people that made them slip through the cracks? Was it moral weakness or just plain bad luck? Every day we pass people like this, on our way to work or in the supermarket parking lot, waiting by the bus stop, and often they barely register on our consciousness--and that is surely the express purpose behind Sanders' work: to make us look these people in the eye. These artworks preserve a momentary impression of a specific person on a certain day that for some reason the artist found worthy of documentation. Their presence is not immediate and palpable, but rather somewhat abstracted, shaped by the black and white film and the addition of diaristic prose that is yet subjective, from the artist's point of view. These artworks are politically motivated--they get under your skin, and once there, make themselves impossible to ignore. "You do your part and I'll do mine," the artist has written. Point well taken, Mr. Sanders. - JoAnne S. Northrup, Director of Contemporary Art Initiatives at the Nevada Museum of Art and the former Chief Curator at the Katie and Drew Gibson San Jose

Terrence Sanders has contributed to the landscape of contemporary art as a poet, filmmaker, artist, photographer, gallerist, curator, musician, publisher and editor-in-chief of Artvoices Magazine. Sanders mission as Editor-In-Chief of Artvoices Magazine (Established 2008) is to create a platform for emerging, neglected and under recognized artists who create important and relevant works of art arguably. Sanders, is the father of noted artist Lucien Smith. In the past 25 years Sanders has created 33 bodies of work featured in exhibits worldwide. Sanders modus operandi is rooted in social activism. In New Orleans he created a memorial featuring the 1,800 plus names engraved in gold leaf on granite on the façade of the 'Saratoga Building' in New Orleans dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The memorial's a welcoming gesture of forgiveness and unity for the city New Orleans. He produced and directed the documentaries New Orleans Contemporary Art: Post Katrina and Spare Change, which focused on the Homeless epidemic in Los Angeles. Sanders also created the art web series 'Real Art....Real Talk w/ host Clayton Campbell. Sanders opened 4 contemporary art galleries over the past 11 years. Terrence Sanders Gallery (New Orleans), Untitled Art Projects (Los Angeles) and Sanders, Smith & Stokes (New Orleans) and his current space Artists 101 in Los Angeles. Sanders exhibited the works of emerging artists for over 11 years. Sanders curated over 50 exhibitions including '60 Americans' 'We Got Next' and the 'Saratoga Collection'. Sanders exhibited more than 100 visual artists without representation at art fairs in Europe and the United States. Sanders is the publisher of Artvoices Art Books with upcoming releases of the books '60 Americans', '101 Contemporary Artists' and 'Pieces of a Man' by noted photographer Jamel Shabazz. Sanders, a published poet has hosted monthly poetry readings in New Orleans for great poets such as Sunni Patterson and Asia Rainey to name a few. Sanders' is the Director & Curator of the 'Platform Art Fair & Film Festival' launching in New York City during Armory Week 2017.

Chris Rose was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 2006 and won a Pulitzer for his contributions to theTimes-Picayune's Public Service Award. He was a finalist for the 2006 Michael Kelly Award.

A native of New Orleans, Shantrelle P. Lewis (b. 1978) is a 2014 United Nations Programme for People of African Descent Fellow and 2012-13 Andy Warhol Curatorial Fellow. She is a U.S. based curator and researcher who travels internationally researching Diasporic aesthetics, spirituality and the survival and nuances of Transnational African Diasporan communities. Her traveling curatorial initiative The Dandy Lion Project, examines Global Black Dandyism through photography and film. Other exhibits and projects have been on view in institutions throughout the U.S. and Europe. She has written for Slate, NKA: Journal for Contemporary African Art and Art Papers. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, The Art Newspaper, Art Net and Huffingtonpost. At present, Shantrelle is researching ties between the Dutch Caribbean and the African Diaspora at-large. Since 2011, she has traveled extensively throughout the Dutch Caribbean Diaspora. Currently, she is directing and producing, The Black Dutchman, a documentary about the Dutch blackface tradition Zwarte Piet and Black identity in the Netherlands. Forthcoming is her first book, Dandy Lion, to be published by Aperture in Spring 2017.

Graduated from Nicholls State University with BA in Graphic Design. Art Director for Artvoices Magazine 2008-2014. Lead Graphic Designer for Gambit Weekly 2008-2013. Lead Graphic Designer for Mosak 2015 to present. Awards 1st Place Louisiana Press Association (Ad Campaign), 1st Place Press Club Louisiana (Editorial & Design Layout).