The word “NEFARIOUS”
came from the 17th-century Latin word nefarius which meant wicked, abominable, or impious. The history of female-identifying, non-binary, queer, BIPOC peoples who have activated against the anti-other of society has often been associated with this term, coinciding with the absence of their representation in many spaces. Through workshops, pop-up galleries, artist talks, and creative events, Nefarious Contemporary aims to honor and advocate for these peoples by providing what our society has failed to - a platform for them to safely exist within
Nefarious Contemporary was born out of the want to promote artists who were categorized as “the other” while creating the flexibility and impermanence not held by most gallery spaces. Our first event, The Witching Hour, was hosted in the living room of my apartment in North Baltimore. A very DIY show not uncommon for the city. But now Nefarious only exists as this virtual entity documenting its past lives.
While Nefarious’ current existence is primarily made of virtual exhibitions and workshops, my hope is to produce more exhibitions within unconventional spaces in the near future. For now, our focus as a creative space is to provide opportunities for artists to continue their creative practices during these times of increasing uncertainty, and promote all beings who have been historically deprived of doing so due to their lack of societal conformity.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any creative projects you’d like to explore together. And as always, stay nefarious.