Photo: Photo: Brooke McCarthy/WBZ NewsRadio
NEWTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Randolph native Jamaal Eversley's latest exhibition was made possible thanks to a little help from his friends.
The exhibit is called Real F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and features art pieces collaborated on by a group of Eversley's friends. Eversley began the project by starting on a painting and then sending it to a friend in Texas for them to add a section to it, before sending it off to the next person to add their own part.
Real F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is the culmination of all the collaborative work between the artists—each piece features small sections done by the various different artists with their own unique visions and style. The exhibit features art in many different mediums like paintings, textiles, and mixed media.
Eversley said he came up with the idea for a collaborative exhibit in 2019, but when the pandemic hit, he saw it as an opportunity to stay connected with his friends and fellow artists.
"I have to support others and I have to have others support me, and that's how Real F.R.I.E.N.D.S. was born," Eversley said. "We were alienated due to what we had to be [doing] and it gave us a support system. We checked in on each other and checked in on the artwork."
One of the paintings in the exhibit is of Steve Urkle, a character from the television show Family Matters. Eversley said as a kid he was teased for looking like Urkle, which is why featuring a painting of him in the exhibition was important.
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"He is an icon for not only black nerds and nerds of color, but for nerds overall," Eversley said.
The exhibition is part of the BIPOC curator program at the New Art Corridor in Newton, which is a program that works to give Black, Indigenous, and other POC artists a chance to showcase their work. Real F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is on display at the Trio building in Newton and will run until March 13.
WBZ's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports.
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