In a world moving closer to individuation, what does it mean to go inward as a collective? In a world that feels over saturated with noise and information what does it mean to feel stillness? What untapped gifts, insights or information are hidden inside of you? 

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With the etheric, intuitive accompaniment of music by Zero Charisma, 2024-2025 Emerging Artist Program awardee Corinne Smith invites you to join in on one of the most important aspects of her personal practice: dream re-entry.

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Similar to the process of lucid dreaming, Corinne Smith invites you to explore the beauty and messaging of your own subconscious and discuss how our individual experiences may be shared or inspired by the collective. How do you connect to your dream world? What is it telling you? How do you honor your own personal magic? What tools can you bring from your findings to share with both yourself and the collective for our greater good?

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Participate as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. This experience is as much for you as it is for all of us. We look forward to sharing with you.

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This program is presented in conjunction with Emerging Artist Program Awardee Corinne Smith's exhibition Silene Capensis, on view at MoAD May 29-July 21, 2024.

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About the Exhibition

Since early childhood Corinne Smith, who also goes by Critty Smitty, has been sensitive to the unknown. Suffering from night terrors, sleep paralysis and, sometimes, a strange difficulty in distinguishing between what is real and what isn’t, Smith is of the notion that maybe it all lies somewhere in between. With the use of Silene capensis root, also known as the African dream root, the Oakland-based artist has been practicing guided meditation and dream re-entry to access powerful dreams that provide knowledge and symbolism to establish further connection to the divine ancestral lineage and to promote healing.

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Smith utilizes dream re-entry, intuitive plant medicine, and color as a medium to cultivate a deeper relationship with difficult aspects of self, revealing prolific mythologies in spiritual realms. Paintings, illustrations, risographs, and animations offer a peek behind the curtain at the etheric process to discover self and ancestors, utilizing non-colonial ways of knowledge. Corrine Smith: Silene Capensis is presented in conjunction with MoAD’s 2024-25 Emerging Artist Program, which highlights local, emerging, and mid-career visual artists and art collectives through solo exhibitions that reflect the cultural and artistic richness of the African diaspora.

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About the artists

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Community access and participation is an important component of Corinne Smith’s (@crittysmitty) art practice. Smith has exhibited in solo and group shows including Revori and Revori Artist Talk at San Francisco Public Works Salon (San Francisco) represented by Rowan Coughlin of Slate Gallery, Local Content at E14 Gallery (Oakland), Friends of Irrelevant Press at Aggregate Gallery (Oakland), and Queer Expo at Clay Clubhouse (Oakland). Her art books and zines are represented by Irrelevant Press (CA & NY). She has participated in a panel discussion on the arts at Shack 15 in partnership with Oakland Art Murmur. Smith’s murals are on view throughout the Bay Area, including murals for 826 Valencia, Tenderloin Community Benefit District (TLBD), the Ferry Building, Shack 15, SBVRSL, Oakland Unified School District, and Touchstone. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from University of Michigan and previously ran a shop and creatives pace in downtown Oakland, CA.

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ZERO CHARISMA (@z.e.r.o.c.h.a.r.i.s.m.a), is a distinctive voice emerging from the rich tapestry of the Bay Area's artistic landscape. Her origin story as a queer, black, and indigenous afro-futurist fuels her work.  

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Listeners often find themselves transported into a dreamlike state when enveloped by her melodies, reminiscent of profound meditative journeys. Zero Charisma’s music wraps you in a state of transcendence, as it bridges the stories of our spiritual realities, ethereal and grounded.

Nature's vibrance forms the core of her lyrical universe. As her voice layers and loops around itself forming haunting choruses, Zero Charisma builds a powerful current of song, adding layers of lyrics, sometimes accentuated with the pulse of synths and beats.

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