Artist Commissions
Through Black And Free, I provided 19 emerging and established Black artists with a $3000 CAD commission to create a new work on the topic of Blackness and freedom.
I partnered with Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum (KSWRM) to create and program three exhibitions called Black And Free: Art Exhibition that featured some of the commissioned artists in multiday public programming that offered audiences new ways to engage with narratives of Blackness and freedom through artist talks, interviews, and vendor fairs from 2023-2024.
In partnership with THE MUSEUM, some of the commissioned artists and their new works were featured in a hybrid public series called Black And Free: New Art that included artists talks and vendor fairs and ran from 2022-2024.
Coco Collective Drummers at the KSWRM exhibit
An artist being interviewed at THEMUSEUM exhibit
Black And Free Market at the KSWRM exhibit
Naila Keleta-Mae presenting at THEMUSEUM exhibit
Commissioned Artists
Emkay Adjei-Manu, Lillian Allen, Sydné Barnes-Wright, Indiigo Cocoa, Ken Daley, A. Decker, Samantha Dennis, Beck Deresse, Damola Disu, Aljumaine Gayle, Janine Ilya, Àbíkẹ́ The Artist, Andre Mandela Lopez, Raechele Lovell, Miss Coco Murray, Simone Patricia, Tafui, Alyssa Vernon, and Suritah Wignall.