*A Famine of Hearing*, by Sarah Zapata, installation detail at Performance Space New York, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.

Deserve What You Dream, an art exhibition at NXTHVN in New Haven, CT, explores the healing power of daydreaming amid racial disparities in sleep quality. Curated by Marissa Del Toro and featuring works by Derrick Adams, Isaac Bloodworth, Jihyun Lee, and Sarah Zapata, the exhibition provides a space of respite and rest for viewers to experience the liberation of daydreaming. The exhibition is on view until September 1, 2024.

Punctuated by a curated arrangement of usable, loungeable furniture dispersed amongst the works on view, Deserve What You Dream invites visitors to sit and rest while gazing at leisurely pool scenes of Black joy from Derrick Adams’ Floater painting series; abstract paintings of musings and intuitive thoughts by New Haven-based artist Jihyun Lee; intricate sculptures and latch-hooked rugs by Sarah Zapata; and a vinyl window install of Adventures of Joy Da Black Boi from New Haven-based artist Isaac Bloodworth.

Significantly, Black individuals and people of color have historically had higher rate of sleeping issues, ranging from low-quality sleep to short and long sleeping hours. With sleep being a critical aspect of a well-balanced and healthy life, the exhibition encourages viewers to find a moment of reprieve. Included artworks encourage viewers to slow down and relish in the pleasures of the here and now and to engage in a path of imagination, healing and liberation to simply exist and dream.

Interview by Tyler Nesler

I had not heard about the high rate of sleep issues for Black individuals and people of color, and I don't feel it's very well publicized. As a curator, what attracted you to this particular issue as a thematic approach for an art show?

Marissa Del Toro: I approached this particular issue from a personal perspective. Members of my family and community have always discussed poor sleeping issues. I myself encountered a terrible bout of insomnia a few years ago, and I was curious to know why. As a follower of Tricia Hersey’s Nap Ministry, I found it important to share her message of rest as resistance and the power that rest holds as a path towards a future where liberation is a true existence.

*A resilience of things not seen*, by Sarah Zapata, installation detail at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

Tricia Hersey’s 2022 book, Rest is Resistance, proposes that when we allow our bodies to rest and nap, we resist the status quo and provide ourselves “a portal to imagine, invent and heal.” In what ways does this exhibit encourage viewers to slow down and connect more with the present moment?

Through the design of the exhibition space, visitors are encouraged to find moments of rest in the accompanying resting spots and seating areas. There is also a cozy reading nook with free books from a local non-profit called New Haven Reads that we collaborated with so visitors could come in and read in the gallery or take a book home to read. We also collaborated with New Haven Sketchers, a local drawing sketch group, to have their monthly meeting coincide with the exhibition opening. They provided several sketchbooks for our visitors and community members to draw along and create their own inspired drawing.

Exhibition view - photo by Chris Gardner

The concept of "daydreaming" seems somewhat derided these days, almost equated with laziness or aimlessness, the opposite of "hustle culture." Conversely, how do you think daydreaming can help the creative process and overall productivity, and what are some works in the show that express the joys of unstructured musings?

Daydreaming is vital to the creative process and overall sense of “productivity.” When we allow ourselves to rest, we are able to provide for ourselves more fully and tap into an energy of power, imagination, dreams, and creativity; the building blocks for a liberated future. Without daydreaming, there is frequently a chaotic state of frenzy, anxiety, and burnout because “hustle culture” does not naturally allow the space or freedom to rest. It always in the move for the next “hustle.”

*Floater 49,* 2017, by Derrick Adams. Acrylic and fabric on paper, 50 x 50 inches. Courtesy of Derrick Adams Studio.

What was your process for finding works and artists that best fit the exhibition's themes? Did you have particular aesthetic criteria, and were there any challenges in finding the right works that fit your desired tone?

The process was pretty fluid and began with Sarah Zapata and Derrick Adams works as anchors for the show. After doing additional research and connecting with Isaac Bloodworth and Jihyun Lee, the exhibition felt complete. I also knew I wanted to curate an exhibition with different forms of mediums. Hence, the inclusion of textiles, paintings, sculptural installation, and a window vinyl mural.

*Floater 106,* 2020, by Derrick Adams. Acrylic and fabric on paper, 50 x 72 inches. Courtesy of Derrick Adams Studio.

Are there any elements of the NXTHVN space itself that made it ideal for an exhibit that included furnishings and encouraged relaxed contemplation of the works?

NXTHVN’s gallery space has these beautiful skylights that I wanted to play with by blocking out some of the light to create a somewhat cavernous space with Sarah Zapata’s A resilience of things not seen installation hanging from the ceiling to partially cover it (shout out to NXTHVN’s Facilities department for making my vision come to reality). Additionally, for this exhibition I had the opportunity to include artworks in the aula, our large community program space where we frequently find visitors and members of our community sitting and resting in. It’s a beautiful area with large brick walls that I knew would be ideal to display Zapata’s textiles from her Famine of Hearing and Existing with the Moon under our Feet along with Jihyun Lee’s paintings.

*Tracking the thinking path,* 2024, by Jihyun Lee. Oil pastel, acrylic, graphite, pastel, oil on unprimed canvas. Courtesy of the artist and Arario Gallery.

*Doll Shelf_Red Scene 3, 4*, 2023, by Jihyun Lee. Watercolor painted stuffed cotton objects in various sizes, found objects, yarn, felt, plaster stone, sewing pins, clay stands, glass bottles, painted porcelain, wooden shelf, red-tinted plexiglass, 19 ¼ × 37 ½ × 7 ½ inch. Courtesy of the artist and Arario Gallery.

Deserve What You Dream has been up for over two months now. During this time, what interactive dynamics have you observed from visitors with the works? What sorts of responses and impressions have you gotten from visitors that have either met or exceeded your curatorial aims?

Many of the visitors have simply come in to sit in the gallery, which signals to me that they felt comfortable and welcomed enough to rest within the space. There have also been a number of visitors who have taken a book or two home, which is another sign of success for me. I’ve also received a lot more responses about how the space felt more inviting for all ages with many visitors noting their younger children or nieces, nephews, and niblings enjoying it.

Deserve What You Dream is on display through September 1, 2024, at NXTHVN, in New Haven, CT.

Tyler Nesler is a New York City-based freelance writer and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of INTERLOCUTOR Magazine.

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