Buffalo, NY with Diasporal Rhythms

Diasporal Rhythms had an opportunity to visit Buffalo, NY which included a private tour of Buffalo AKG Art Museum with curator Aaron Ott.  We visited the Burch Art Center where curator Tiffany Gaines (first black woman curator) walked us through the retrospective exhibition of Wilhelmina Godfrey.  Time was spent exploring the public art, much of […]

An article by Siphiwe Ngwenya

I picked up the art collector in me, on the wrong side of the road, in an American neighborhood.  An article by Siphiwe Ngwenya  I picked up the art collector in me,   on the wrong side of the road,   in an American neighborhood.  An article by Siphiwe Ngwenya  This is a story of how my […]

WGN People to People

Samella Lewis

Artist Profile Samella Lewis Samella Sanders Lewis (February 27, 1923 – May 27, 2022), was an American visual artist and art historian. She worked primarily as a printmaker and painter. She has been called the “Godmother of African American Art”. She received the Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement from the College Art Association (CAA) […]

Yohance Lacour

Artist Profile Yohance Lacour The YJL Sneaker collection is an intersection of luxury, fine art, and fortitude. As a kid growing up on the Southside of Chicago, a ‘sneakerhead’ long before the phrase was ever coined; I was a part of a subculture that would reshape the American landscape forever. We not only created industries, we […]

Preston Jackson

Artist Profile Preston Jackson Sculptor, art educator, and gallery owner Preston Eugene Jackson was born on March 1, 1944 in Decatur, Illinois. He grew up in Decatur where he began drawing at the age of seven. As an artist, Jackson specializes in bronze and steel sculpture and painting. Best known for his work with bronze […]

Malika Jackson

Artist Profile Malika Jackson She completed a six-month residency at the Hyde Park Art Center ‘THE CENTER PROGRAM’ and received commissions for the Ronald McDonald Houses’ tribute to the Ryder Cup Tournament. She exhibited in group shows, Tall Grass, New Haven Michigan Art Gallery, Contemporary Art Center (Peoria), Howard Brown Center, Black Clay at Chicago State […]

Akindele John

Artist Profile Akindele John Akindele John is a metaphoric figurative artist, known for his pursuit of painting which has begun and continues apace today.  He portrays motion, metaphor, and distinctiveness in his work of art.

Candace T. E. Hunter

Artist Profile Candace T. E. Hunter Candace Hunter (chlee) creates collages, paintings, installations, and performance art. She tells stories. Through the use of appropriated materials from magazines, vintage maps, cloth, and various re-used materials; she offers the new landscape of materials back to the viewer with a glimpse of history and admiration of the beautiful. Her […]

KENNITH HUMPHREY

Artist Profile Kennith Humphrey Kennith currently resides in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the town of his birth. But in his thirty-something years, he has lived in New York, St. Louis, Denver, Mobile, and Baton Rouge. (However) his journey as an artist began at home in Vicksburg. Describing himself as a self-taught artist, he found a mentor in […]

Morris Howard

Artist Profile Morris Howard Morris was born on January 22, 1959, in Dayton, Ohio. The artist began drawing at the age of five. He started by posing his brother for portraits on paper bags. Morris recalls the Art Instruction Schools TV series hosted by Norman Rockwell as an early influence. “He made people look real […]

Jesse Howard

Artist Profile Jesse Howard Howard’s work is relevant and provoking. While masked by beautifully expressive lines and pops of color; if some of his work makes you feel disheartened, angry, or energized, well, it should. Howard combines imagery culled from many sources, such as news reports about police brutality, witnessed homelessness and desperation, as well […]

Berry Horton

Artist Profile Berry Horton Berry Horton (1917-1987) was an African-American artist who lived and worked in Chicago. He was closely involved with the South Side Community Art Center, a WPA-sponsored project launched in 1940 to serve the largely African-American neighborhood of Bronzeville, on Chicago’s south side. A hive of cultural activity, which is still going […]

Wilfredo Garcia Yordanis

Artist Profile Wilfredo Garcia Yordanis Walfrido, Son of renowned artist Edgardo F. Garcia, was born in the Philippines in  1966. As a second generation artist, his story begins with his father/mentor. Facing  difficult times and lack of opportunity, Edgardo left his homeland to pursue a  better life for himself and his family. He and his […]

Thomas Williams

Artist Profile Thomas Williams Thomas Williams started drawing at the tender age of 12, after comic books had  piqued his interest; in the ability of the pictorial to convey meaning and further a  narrative. His high school years were devoted to tutelary, having concentrated on   the trade, tools, and techniques of commercial art; including an […]

Shyvette Williams

Artist Profile Shyvette Williams Shyvette Williams’s early talents blossomed in Chicago, where she was nurtured  through the Chicago Public Schools System. She was born in New Orleans,  Louisiana. As a young adult, she received scholarships to the School of the Art  Institute of Chicago to study fashion illustration. Her diverse experiences,  including runway modeling, theater […]

Mavin Wells

Artist Profile Mavin Wells “The impact I want to make in photography is to make images that are different,  but, well worth the view.”– Marvin Wells    “I was interested in Art before I was old enough to ride public transit alone.  Thanks to my older brother, I was exposed to Chicago’s museums, parks,  architecture, […]

Raub Welch

Artist Profile Raub Welch Raub Welch is the owner and principal designer of Very Raub Interiors & Events,  which houses “Gallery Home”. Welch’s work spans many different mediums, with  a focus on mixed media collage.  Welch has received numerous awards in the fields of art and design, and was  named one of “Chicago’s Top Artists” […]

Steven S. Walker

Artist Profile Steven S. Walker Steven S. Walker has been creating inspiring works of art for corporations and  private collectors for over twenty years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in fine  arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, with a concentration in illustration. He  would later earn his masters in fine arts from Marywood University, where he […]

Larry Walker

Artist Profile Larry Walker Larry Walker (born October 22, 1935) is an American visual artist and professor emeritus of art. He often uses mixed media collages that represent “urban surfaces”, on the subjects of existentialism and social injustice. Walker currently lives and works in Stonecrest, Georgia and has taught at University of the Pacific and […]

Daniel Walden

Artist Profile Daniel Walden Daniel Walden is a creator and artist, who aims to spread hope and perspective through color, creativity and a constructive mindset.

Buchi Upjohn

Artist Profile Buchi Upjohn Upjohn expresses his art through a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, and acrylic; on canvas, burlap, paper, metal and wood. Upjohn believes that one’s artistic creations cannot be separated from his experiences; therefore he reaches deep into his cultural and spiritual experiences to come up with images that truly engage […]

Woodrow Nash

Artist Profile Woodrow Nash Woodrow Nash builds a sense of mystery and charisma into each of his sculptures. Through his pieces, Nash achieves his goal of integrating expression, complex symbolism and sophisticated aesthetics; to yield striking embodiments of the human soul and sensuality. Certain creative individuals seem to know what they want to do with […]

Joyce Owens

Artist Profile Joyce Owens Chicago-based artist, teacher and curator Joyce Owens Anderson, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia. Owens’ mother, Eloise Owens, was a trained opera singer; who encouraged her daughter to become an art teacher. Nevertheless, Owens attended Howard University, where she earned her B.F.A. degree […]

Faheem Majeed

Artist Profile Faheem Majeed Faheem Majeed is an artist, educator, curator and community facilitator. He  blends his unique experience as an artist, non-profit administrator and curator; to  create works that focus on institutional critique and exhibitions that leverage  collaboration to engage his immediate and broader communities, in meaningful  dialogue. Majeed received his BFA from Howard […]

Leonard Maiden

Artist Profile Leonard Maiden As an artist, I’m compelled to mine the aesthetic potential of African American imagery though experience and the whimsy of imagination. I feel a visual affinity for dark skin shining in the southern summer sun against the background of country sides, small town shops and cotton fields of the south; and […]

William Toliver

Artist Profile William Toliver William Toliver spent more than 38 of his 48 years perfecting his skill as an artist.  William’s passion for art began at the age of seven, while shadowing, his mother  conducted art contests between herself, Tolliver and his older brother; to see who  could draw the best. Although his brothers’ interest […]

Raymond A Thomas

Artist Profile Raymond A Thomas The desire to create has consumed Raymond A. Thomas for as long as he can  remember. Today, this St. Louis native has cultivated his passion into a vibrant  multi-disciplinary artistic practice; that continues to expand with purpose and daring. Thomas received a merit scholarship in 1984 to attend the  prestigious […]

Patrick Thomas

Artist Profile Patrick Thomas British graphic artist Patrick Thomas, is the founder of Studio laVista, a  multidisciplinary art studio, silkscreen press and archive. His limited edition  silkscreens have been exhibited around the world. Born in Waterloo in 1965,  Patrick studied at the Central Saint Martins School of Art and at the Royal College  of Art. […]

Pearlie Tayler

Artist Profile Pearlie Tayler Pearlie Taylor was Born in Vance, Mississippi and raised in Chicago. She was the  second oldest of nine children and spent much of her time drawing on scraps of  paper and brown paper bags. Not only did she have an interest in art, she was  also very fond of writing and […]

G.L Smothers

Artist Profile G.L Smothers G.L.’s work is highlighted with simple minimal abstract forms using a primary color  palette. This native Chicagoan is slowly building a reputation as an energetic artist  who has synthesized his artistic training into a wellspring of contemporary ideas;  that highlight people involved in everyday events. He readily admits that his secret  […]

Tony Smith

Artist Profile Tony Smith   Chiaroscuro, the treatment of light and shade in photography, drawings and  paintings. An effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling  unevenly or from a particular direction on something. Tony Smith of  Lovelace Photography & Recording Studio is at Hyde Park Art Center.

Edmundo Luiz Silva Simas

Artist Profile Edmundo Luiz Silva Simas Edmundo Simas, also known by his nickname Super Boy; was born in Ubaitaba,  Bahia, on March 14, 1941. At the age of 9, he moved with his family to the  Pelourinho neighborhood, in the Historic Center of Salvador. Self-taught, since  childhood he painted, drew and developed these skills by […]

Max Sansing

Artist Profile Max Sansing Max Sansing is a Chicago-based fine artist and one of the city’s most prolific and  talented muralists. His distinct aesthetic fuses the color-drenched dynamism of  street art with the technical elegance of photorealism. Born and raised on the  South Side by two artistic parents, Sansing discovered his passion and creative gift […]

Felicia Grant Preston

Artist Profile Felicia Grant Preston Felicia Grant Preston is a retired art instructor and visual artist. Preston received a  BA in art from Southern Illinois University in 1976, an MS ED from Northern Illinois  University in 1979, and an MA from Chicago State University in 2003. In addition,  she has studied at the University of […]

Lorrie Payne

Artist Profile Lorrie Payne “I believe that the source of my work comes from my soul, and that I am merely a  vessel through which God guides the rhythm of my creative spirit. That spiritual  energy allows my ideas to flow and ultimately manifests itself into a work of art. My appreciation of the human […]

Charly Palmer

Artist Profile Charly Palmer Over 30 years and counting, Charly Palmer’s art speaks for itself. Literally, Palmer’s  paintbrush is as a Griot. In every painting, he bears witness of African ancestry  and contemporary experiences; rhythmic, visual stories that shifts what each  viewer believes to see, should one dare to look deeply. Palmer has an innate  […]

George Grump

Artist Profile George Grump George Crump is a native Chicago-based, visual artist.  Themes of remembrance and the spirit of determination, traverse the scope of  Crump’s work as he’s concerned with aspects of universal notions of  existentialism, affliction, redemption and triumph.     George developed his focus on the sensual nature of art, aiming to evoke  versatility […]

Miguel Gomez

Artist Profile Miguel Gomez Miguel Angel Gomez was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on December 24, 1906.  Gomez studied lithography at the Guyayas Philanthropic Society of Guayaquil. He  worked for 36 years as a cartoonist for El Universidad in Ecuador. He appears to  have moved to southern California in about 1980 and died in Burbank on […]

Liz Gomez

Artist Profile Liz Gomez Liz Gomez is a multidisciplinary artist, activist and educator, currently based in  Chicago, IL. Gomez’s work aims to celebrate freedom, vulnerability and the  endless depths of the human spirit. Their visual practice includes portraiture,  performance and mixed media assemblage; centered in service, healing and  authenticity. Gomez’s portrait practice combats generations of […]

Eddie Filer

Artist Profile Eddie Filer jr. Eddie Filer, Jr. has been an active artist for over thirty years. While classical  portraiture is his main focus, he pursues other forms of painting and creates in  other media, including drawing and sculpture. He prefers oil paint to other media  because of its slow drying time; which allows for […]

Theodore Feaster

Artist Profile Theodore Feaster Theodore Feaster, a master craftsman of stained glass for over twenty five years. Creating stained glass pieces that display beauty and color of the African & African American life experiences.Theodore brings forth unique works of art that provoke and challenge conventional perspectives of how art is expressed through stained glass.  Theodore […]

Adedayo Dayo

Artist Profile Adedayo Dayo Dayo Adedayo, born July,1, 1964; is a British-trained Nigerian documentary  photographer, cultural anthropologist and author. Dayo is the author of Nigeria  2.0, the book documents the story behind many important places in Nigeria.  Within a space of 17 years, Dayo has travelled and documented 36 states in  Nigeria.

Sura P. DuPart

Artist Profile Sura P. DuPart Native Chicagoan Sura, (Pronounced Soo-Rah), Began his musical career as  percussionist. His mother and sister introduced him to music at an early age. By  1963, Sura became seriously involved in music after joining the Association for the  Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Over the next three decades Sura  developed his […]

Lanell Dore

Artist Profile Lanell Dore

Lessie Vernardo Dixon

Artist Profile Lessie Vernardo Dixon Lessie Venardo Dixon, is an American Fine Artist who has been drawing since he  “could hold a pencil.” Raised in Henning,TN; Chicago, IL is where Lessie discovered  his love for the Arts. While attending college, he obtained his   first art commission job, in only his second semester; from R. H. […]

James Demark

Artist Profile James Denmark James Denmark was born in Winter Haven, Florida, on March 23, 1936 into a family of artists. He was exposed to color and form at an early age by his grandmother, a wire sculptor and quilt artist, by his grandfather, a bricklayer noted for his unique custom design molds; and his […]

Lenin Delsol

Artist Profile Lenin Delsol Lenin Delsol creates realistic figurative and portrait paintings in oils, watercolors, and pastels. He paints from life with an emphasis on drawing, color, and composition. Praised for his draftsmanship and color sense, he strives to capture the features of his subjects and convey their personality and mood. As a devoted storyteller, […]

Susan Clinard

Artist Profile Susan Clinard Artist Susan Clinard, began her sculpture career over sixteen years ago. She works in wood, clay, bronze, stone and mixed media. Susan has taught in some of America’s finest art institutions; and has been awarded substantial private and public commissions. Clinard’s sculptures can also be found in many private collections worldwide. […]

Derrick Clemmons

Artist Profile Derrick Clemmons African American artist, Derric Clemmons studied fine arts and photography at Columbia College; then undertook a residency in Lucca, Italy, in 1984. He focuses on his South Chicago birthplace, producing murals and public sculptures that address culture and ideology alongside racial, social and political flux. His current work also stresses the […]