Dale Mackey and Shawn Poynter: HERDCORE

August 6-27, 2021
Dale Mackey and Shawn Poynter: HERDCORE
Opening reception: Friday, August 6, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9 AM – 5 PM 

HERDCORE, part photo series and part “Party PPE” fashion line, is both a blithe diversion from and somber look towards the lasting cultural effects of a global pandemic in the age of connectivity. This collaboration between Central Collective co-founders Dale Mackey and Shawn Poynter vacillates between whimsical, unsettling, hopeful and cynical, echoing the range of emotions collectively experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition features portraits taken throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, embellished masks and face shields, and reflections gathered from the Knoxville community.

Dale Mackey is a mixed media artist whose work has appeared in juried exhibitions by The Visionary Arts Collective and Create Magazine. She curates The Central Collective gallery in North Knoxville and has served on the City of Knoxville’s Makers Council and the City of Knoxville’s Business Advisory Council, and she co-chaired the Dogwood Arts Regional Art Exhibition in 2014. She is also the owner of Dale’s Fried Pies, the hand pie business she started in 2012, and co-founder of The Central Collective, a mixed-use creative space she co-founded in 2015.

Shawn Poynter is a commercial and editorial photographer specializing in reportage, portraiture, and travel photography. His work has appeared in national publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vox and The Washington Post. Locally, Poynter has exhibited work with Dogwood Arts Foundation, The Emporium, and The Fluorescent Gallery.  His studio is based in North Knoxville’s Central Collective, which he co-founded in 2015.

The exhibitions are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.