Voices of the Diaspora: The Artisans Behind the Canvas

Aaron Douglas (1899-1979) was an American painter and illustrator, active during the Harlem Renaissance. He might be most known for his Aspects of Negro Life mural series that traces Black people from an African past to a modern United States. He created illustrations for in Opportunity and The Crisis, two publications and was eventually invited to an art critic at The Crisis. Douglas was also a teacher, who influenced the development of countless students at Fisk University. In 1940, he accepted a full position in the art department and worked his way up to become chairman of the art department. He retired in 1966. Douglas received his BA in Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. 

Abdoulaye Konaté (1953- ) is an Malian textile and sculptural artist. His woven tapestries have reference socio-political and environmental concerns. Konaté references West African practices of using textiles as a means of commemoration and communication.  Konaté studied painting at the Institut National des Arts de Bamako and then at the Instituto Superior de Arte, Havana, Cuba.

Abe Odedina (1960- ) is a Nigerian painter. He works on board rather than canvas to invoke mural traditions. For Odedina, the material is deeply tied to the resulting work. Odedina's inspiration draws heavily from figurative and oral traditions of African art and ancient Greek and Yoruba mythologies. His bold colors create surreal interior scenes. 

Abner Dubic (1944- ) is a Haitian painter. Many of his paintings depict daily life in Haiti. These scenes range from country life, farm work, and festivities. 

Abraham Oghobase (1979- ) is a Nigerian artist working with photography. He explores history, culture, and environmentalism through his practice. Oghobase pushes photography to its limits confronting and deconstructing traditional modes of image making.  Oghobase received his MFA in Visual Arts from York University, Toronto. 

Adiskidan Ambaye (1977- ) is an Ethiopian sculptor and painter. She has a background in furniture design. This grounding informs her work as a sculptor. To Ambaye, sculpting and drawing are interrelated. Her sculptures are usually preceded by gestural sketches, influencing the basis for her three-dimensional compositions. Amabaye received her degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2002. 

Adler Guerrier (1975- ) is a Haitian-American creating work through mixed-media drawings sculptures, photographs, installations, and videos. He explores the visual identities of urban spaces using various materials and techniques developed primarily in the media of photography and recording, subverting the constructions of race, class, and culture by exploring everyday spaces. ⁠Interested in the political and poetic, he seeks to chart moments in American social and political settings with the city as his backdrop.  "Reconstructing Identity", Miami MoCAAD's inaugural group exhibition featured Guerrier.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1DWHlMQ25o

Aimé Mpane (1968- ) is a Congolese sculptor and installation artist. His work centers on the relationship between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium. Mpane creates sculptures, mosaic-like wall hangings, and portraits, all carved from wood. Ultimately, he makes work about the connection between people and place and Congolese history.  He received his BA from the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa in 1990. 

Aisha Tandiwe Bell is an American artist interested in the idea of "traps", fragmentation, and hyphenated identities through sculpture performance, video, sound, drawing, and installation. The process of mythmaking and ritual in her work call into question the categories of race, class, and sex and the societal ideas around them. Bell received her MS in Art and Design Education with a focus in Painting from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 1999 and an MFA in Ceramics from Hunter College, New York, NY in 2008. She received her BFA in Painting and Art Education from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 1998. 

Ajamu X (1963- ) is a British artist, curator, archivist, and activist. His photographic practice explores Black male and queer sensuality. Many of his subjects are LGBTQ folks who are out socially. X's work is a celebration of queer vibrancy and intimacy.