Douglas R. Ewart
The polymathic Douglas R. Ewart (Born in Kingston, Jamaica 1946) has been honored for his work as a composer, improvising multi-instrumentalist, conceptual artist, philosopher, writer, sculptor, mask and instrument designer, visual artist, tailor, cultural community builder and more. As an educator, Ewart bridges his kaleidoscopic activities with a vision that opposes today’s divided world by culture-fusing works that aim to restore the wholeness of communities and their members and to emphasize the reality of the world’s interdependence.
From Kingston, Jamaica, Ewart immigrated to Chicago in 1963. There he studied with the master musicians of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians—an organization at which he later served as chairman at different intervals from1979-1987 and into the millennium. He also studied music at Harold Washington College, VanderCook College of Music, and electronic music at Governors State University.
Ewart is the founder of Arawak Records, is the leader of ensembles such as the Nyahbingi Drum Choir, Quasar, the Clarinet Choir, and Douglas R. Ewart & Inventions. He is a designer and creator of instruments and kinetic sonic sculptures that have been exhibited in venues such as Houston’s Contemporary Arts Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago. “Crepuscule,” his vast conceptual work is collectively actualized by scores of musicians, dancers, visual artists, poets, capoeirista, puppeteers, martial artists, activists and the honoring of elders and more.
Ewart’s honors include the 2019 Jamaica Musgrave Silver Medal presented by the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) for outstanding contribution to art and education, 2022 McKnight Distinguished Award as a Multi-Dimensional Artist, 2022 McKnight Fellowships for Community-Engaged Artist, 2022 South Korean Gugak International Workshop Fellow, U.S. Japan Creative Arts Fellowship, a Bush Artists Fellowship, and an Outstanding Artist Award granted by a former Chicago Mayor, Harold Washington. Ewart is a Professor Emeritus at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago IL.
EXHIBITIONS
Busan: Seeing in the Dark, Busan Biennale,
August 17 - October 20, 2024
New York: Outsider Art Fair
March 2 - 5, 2023
New York: The Art of Counterpoint, 8 Musicians Maker Art, at Zürcher Gallery, New York
November 10, 2022 - January 10, 2023
