I fell in love while taking a ceramics class at a local community college. I immediately felt the power of working with clay and connected with its ability to bring out a deep understanding of the stories and history that had been imprinted on it over time.
“I lay my burdens and my flowers down together
mixing them quickly and quietly against my colander
fixing coriander and culantro I serve for my nerves
set under the Sirius
& this is where I’ll fix my problems
I’ll be cooking up good smells, and good trouble
in the age of Aquarius
& quiet the problems that plague me.”– Lay It Down The Drum, Chiara Atoyebi”
Gwendolyn Knight was an American painter who painted her entire life, but did not come into her own as an artist until the late 1970s and didn’t have her first retrospective until the age of 90.
Artist, writer, activist, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard’s latest work, “Stuff instead of a Memoir,” published by NYU Press, explores the storied 86-year-old’s life in cinematic detail keeping her readers engaged from cover to cover.
Every fiber and form of Leigh’s work speaks to the sonic truth of Black female power, presence, and self-assuredness embodies the nature of women from the African Diaspora.
July is disability awareness month and I wanted to remember the artist Judith Scott for her ability to transmute the negative experiences in her life into bright and imaginitive creations. Scott was an internationally renowned American fiber sculptor born with Down Syndrome.
As I continue to delve into the themes of motherhood, relationships, loss, and second chances, I became intrigued by Alice Neel’s story. Her experiences resonate with the struggle faced by daughters of women who feel confined by their circumstances. As women, we often emulate what we saw our mothers do or strive for the independence they were unable to attain. Ironically, even if we succeed in breaking free from financial constraints, we may still struggle with unspoken emotions of grief and loss.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”
To experience a Bisa Butler exhibition is to encounter the collective memory of a community interwoven with vibrantly hued threads. It is a reminder that the stories we choose to narrate, and the voices we amplify, shape our understanding of history. As we continue to reassess and reinterpret these moments in time Butler’s work provides an invaluable perspective, and a testament to the African American journey and contribution to the American tapestry.
In the 1970s, Ringgold became increasingly interested in performance art, collaborating with other artists and musicians to create elaborate spectacles that combined music, dance, and political commentary. Her most famous work in this vein is “The Flag is Bleeding” (1967)
Please see the themes that we have selected for 2023–24. Download the PDF and submit your abstract on our contact page.
