Bill Text: VA HJR366 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Grace Benjamin.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-07 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ366ER) [HJR366 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR366-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Grace Benjamin, an accomplished young artist from Woodbridge, was selected to be featured as part of the Access/VSA Emerging Young Artists exhibition presented by the Volkswagen Group of America and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Office of Accessibility in 2023; and
WHEREAS, the Access/VSA Emerging Young Artists exhibition, a Jean Kennedy Smith Arts Disability Program, is a national art program and exhibition that showcases 15 artists with disabilities, ages 16–25, at venues across the country, highlighting their individual talents and perspectives; and
WHEREAS, the theme of the 20th exhibition of the Access/VSA Emerging Young Artists Program was "Interchange," prompting artists to explore the intersection between their disability and artistic identity; and
WHEREAS, Grace Benjamin was selected from hundreds of young artists to be included in the Access/VSA Emerging Young Artists exhibition, which was displayed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., before touring the nation; and
WHEREAS, inspired by her parents' experience as refugees from South Sudan, Grace Benjamin incorporates illustration, graphic design, weaving, and figurative painting in her artwork to create visual narratives that explore and reflect human connections; and
WHEREAS, Grace Benjamin's creative process melds traditional and digital approaches, playing with the dualities between introspection and outward expression, resilience and vulnerability, and the past and present, which are core to her multidimensional human experience and identity; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Grace Benjamin for being featured in the 2023 Access/VSA Emerging Young Artists exhibition; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Grace Benjamin as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for her achievements and best wishes for her continued success.
