John Anderson

Calverton, MD

NFS

As a Christian, my artwork reflects my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

During the decades of slavery in America,  African slaves established and relied heavily on their churches. Religion offered a means of catharsis... Africans retained their faith in God and found refuge in their churches. In African-American history, "the church" has long been at the center of Black communities. It has established itself as the greatest source for African American religious enrichment and secular development. In my work, I portray people praying to God who is the light of the World.

Ron Beckham

Roanoke Rapids, NC

$2500

I draw and paint from life, and life experiences. This affords me a ""world view,"" as an African American who lives in the United States.’

My work focuses on concept, craftsmanship, and communication, and it’s with that spirit that I can capture and visualize the essence behind the subject matter. The control of media moves the viewer past the representational form and into the moment of time captured in the image. This is most evident when I’ve shared personal life connection to the subject. The power of the idea, and the media, transforms what is the ordinary into a meaningful expressive moment.

I have often thought of art as the last plantation—a space that must be challenged due to its exclusionary and marginalizing practices (albeit often racist). As a student, I was deeply concerned about the lack of representation within the broader American art canon. I was keenly aware of the roles Black culture, art, and artists were expected to play or were assigned. It was evident that art had a racial dichotomy, with 99 percent of literature and discussion addressing only a few, if any, contributions of prolific Black creatives. If given the opportunity, I would work to change this narrative by challenging hierarchies and produce art in the Black aesthetic.

BFA, VCU ‘77 

Retired: US Army civil svc-: Illustrator/Vis Info Spec/Info Tech Spec/IT Br Supv/IT Div Mgr/ IT Dir MgrFrom systemic challenges to the force of their spirit and voices my artwork depicts the African American story. The artwork addresses their hustle by narrating the multifaceted stories of African Americans and their enduring relationship with America. Through a montage of layered figurative imagery and  symbolic elements, the piece highlight the dialogue that shape the Black presence.

The montage of figures captures moments of ancestry, culture, and spiritual fortitude, blending references of contemporary reflections. Using clay board and scratch techniques, I create a textured surface transitioning from negative to positive narratives. Each scratch is intentional to form the story of the Black hustle.

This work critiques systemic barriers and hierarchies that have marginalized African American while challenging the perseverance that transcends those limitations. Ultimately, it honors the enduring spirit of African Americans, inspiring reflection on equity and recognition.

Frid Branham

Brooklyn, NY

$6500

During my adolescent years, I often felt pressure from my community to conform to a more ""White"" identity. As a result, I emotionally withdrew and suppressed my black heritage, mirroring what I observed in my father. As an adult, I frequently grappled with feelings of marginalization, finding myself in a space where I didn’t feel quite “White enough” or “Black enough” - truly existing in between. 

Working in a male-dominated architectural field, and drawing on my childhood experiences of foraging, scavenging, and learning crafts from my mother, I intentionally choose mediums and methods that have been traditionally labeled as “women’s work.” Through my art, I challenge societal perceptions while being acutely aware of my gender and racial differences. My work emphasizes stamina and strength, both in scale and duration.

My artwork draws inspiration from my family's history including my grandfather's experiences on his father’s sharecropper farm. The materials and techniques I use influence my work's outcome. With my interest in history, I explore the connection between our perception of nature, the forms present in our surroundings, and how we engage with these elements through our daily routines and rituals. 

While I focus on making works that examine the “every day”, I am personally involved in this perspective while reflecting on my upbringing and continued conflicts as a mixed-race woman. The monotonous crochet and drawing serves to articulate my labor: also representative of minor generational progress. I often use salvaged materials from my community and environment to comment on mass production and the disposal of these materials.

Lizzie Brown

Richmond, VA

$1600

I am an African American woman, mother, wife, daughter, and friend who is surrounded by hard-working black men who have a story and carry responsibility without complaint despite experiencing acts of discrimination. As an artist, my goal is to depict African American men, women, and children in a light of positivity, vibrancy, strength, and resilience.

The African American experience is complex. Oftentimes, our very existence can be perceived as a threat, or we are viewed as less than. Navigating spaces structured to work against us while being contributors to society, building family and legacy, remaining resilient, evolving, and pushing forward can feel laborious. The painting "He Is Enough" depicts an African American male with a stoic, downward gaze. Many times, black men are fighting silent battles as they carry the heavy load placed on their shoulders. The gaps in the pattern behind the man represent the parts of himself where he feels inadequate, contrasted by the refined patterns present in his shirt. The use of metallic colors throughout the shirt and hat are included to show he is a man of value despite the assumptions and judgments placed on him by society.  He is worthy and he is enough.

Justyn Canada

Richmond, VA

$500

I grew up in the same upbringing and social environment. The people in the artwork are inspired by real life strong-headed and determined role models and family that played a part and role in raising me and how I carried the same hardworking and optimistic values.

The reason why the artwork I summited addresses the theme It's About the Hustle is because it displays three different images of individuals with separate lives and situations but what connects them together is that they all ARE displaying a sense of hardship and struggle trying to push their way out from the bottom  of  economic and social obstacles to striving up to better opportunities and success for them and their family. Whether it is the Weight of the World of an unsung African American mother who is trying to relax after a hard day of work of maintaining and holding together her family but is interrupted by a world size stress. Then the young man coming out of high school looking up and thinking about his future with a cup of coffee ready for work. Then the last piece of a teenager being drafted to Vietnam to serve his country in the 1960's despite how he is treated in his country.

Sandra Chandler

Nashville, CA

$3500

My identity as a 65-year-old African-American woman deeply informs my artwork. Growing up in California and living in Nashville, I draw inspiration from my heritage, experiences, and creative evolution. My work reflects resilience, transformation, and storytelling, using repurposed materials like denim and vintage quilts to honor sustainability and resourcefulness. 

As a mother, educator, and artist, I bridge personal and collective narratives, empowering others through quilting and wearable art. My journey as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and my roles as a teacher and mentor enrich my art with themes of connection, service, and self-expression. 

This piece captures my path of growth, celebrating change and individuality. It reflects my identity—a blend of history, creativity, and empowerment—telling stories that inspire and connect across generations and cultures. Through this work, I hope to share art and the spirit of transformation and authenticity that defines me.

The Fabric of Resilience is an art quilt honoring Jackie Robinson, a pioneer whose courage and perseverance broke baseball’s color barrier and inspired change. Made from repurposed denim, the quilt reflects resilience and connects Robinson’s legacy to African American history, labor, and creativity.  Robinson’s iconic number 42 is at its heart, symbolizing his transformative role in sports and society. Surrounding it are raw-edged patches and precise stitching, representing both the struggles he endured and the triumphs he achieved. Denim’s durability mirrors Robinson’s strength, while indigo accents honor African American history, linking his story to broader narratives of endurance and artistry.  

This quilt uses quilting traditions as a tool for storytelling and activism. It celebrates Robinson’s legacy while inspiring reflection on justice, equality, and resilience. Through this piece, I invite viewers to honor his contributions and continue his vision for change.

Frederick Chiriboga

Richmond, VA

$1900

I am aware of the abuse that occurs in industrial and commercial labor, and I feel that unions have made an important positive difference. In fact, Black men and women were among the first to join and organize unions in many fields, and mining is no exception.

My sculpture alludes to coal miners in general, and the large part that Black miners have played in this industry. In the United States coal mining started in the 1730s in Midlothian, Va. and in the Black Heath mine in Richmond, Virginia. The Midlothian Mining Company used around 150 enslaved Black workers in the Richmond Basin. 

In the last century, in the U.S. alone, more than 100,000 miners of all races have died in coal mines, and 75,000 from black lung disease since 1968.

Sam Christian

Richmond, VA

NFS

My identity is the work. My story is not uncommon. Black folx, through enslavement, migration, urbanization and injustice, have been separated from their lineage for centuries. I didn’t know about my family past grandparents and am just now learning who I am, but I still hit the roadblocks of missing info. Ancestry.com confuses slave owners with parents. Census takers didn’t have to have strong reading and writing skills. All this creates a hazy picture of who I am. Personal Affects is part research and interview, part folklore and guessing. Blackness is part folklore and guessing

Personal Affects is homecoming. It is my effort to give my family a name and a land to be from. Personal Affects is telling the story of black folx separated from home. Denied their own history. It is a letter to my grandmother, Loretta, who taught me how to quilt and how to dream. This letter is not all love. It is truth and truth is not always easy to tell. Personal Affects is my attempt to tell the truth about my family and connect the long broken connections from me to the people I am from. 

In this series, I use all my practices, fibers, ceramics, wood and writing to tell the story as it happens and is happening.

Justice Dwight

Henrico, VA

$1100

I’m a black queer artist who loves ballroom and I love to explore where queer intimacy meets at ballroom from a spectators point of view.

Voguing and ballroom culture, rooted in Harlem’s Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities, are powerful expressions of African American creativity. Through innovative dance, fashion, and performance, they celebrate identity, resilience, and defiance of societal norms. Reflecting themes of liberation and collective strength, ballroom culture has become a lasting symbol of resistance and artistic innovation in American history.

In these works I’m exploring how work requires Werk.

Daniel Goodwin

Hampton, VA

$80

I have one Black parent, and one White parent. In America, that makes me ""black"". That doesn't make any sense, of course, but that's the way things are right now. I look forward to the day when we get rid of race altogether.

I used to work as a janitor in Upstate NY. This plate references the daily tasks I once performed. I included a reference to a maid on the back of the plate as a way of giving homage to the African American workers who came before me. The texts includes the words to the old spiritual song "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". Like many laborers before me, I too used to sing to pass the time.

Jimmy James Greene

Hyattsville, MD

Sweet Grass, Painted Plexiglass over Collage, 27 x 20 inches, 2023

$2000

"Sweet Grass" tells the story of African Americans as a dynamic, creative force that has profoundly shaped American culture. I focus on the deep connections between people of the African diaspora. The art of sweet grass basketry is practiced on both sides of the Atlantic, and stands as a powerful testament to resilience, an “Africanism” that endured even the horrors of forced migration through the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

"Sweet Grass" portrays a Black woman engaged in the art of basket weaving—a craft that fostered self-employment and served as a vital source of supplemental income beyond low-wage jobs. This piece highlights the ingenuity and resourcefulness that have long been hallmarks of Black labor, capturing the spirit of independence and creativity that has sustained generations.

JOHNSON KELLY

My experience is dictated by my identity as an African American woman who specializes in a craft that is historically pioneered by women of color globally. My personal knowledge is informed by over a decade of fine arts education, sewing and textile work in addition to a restoration apprenticeship before beginning my current position. As a recent college graduate, I recognize that as automation continues to dominate the global market we are collectively witnessing the slow death of craft-based and skilled labor in the workforce. With mass production, we are also witnessing a rapid decline in the quality of our goods. I feel there is something to be said about the decline in quality of goods when we remove the hands that craft and maintain them, especially when the originators of those crafts are women of color.

Historically, African Americans have always worked in labor to varying degrees, but it is seldom appropriately credited as skilled labor. ‘The Dry Room’ is a personal reflection upon my position as a restoration specialist and the labor I perform as well as the labor of the men that I work alongside. Technical approaches to cleaning and repair vary based on the type of rug and overall condition, however the drying process is standard for all rugs that come through our facility. The drying room is one of the few places where you can see the true scale of the rugs, and the diverse beauty of these culturally and sentimentally valuable textiles is only highlighted alongside one another. With many rugs being antique, composed of natural dyes and fibers, and varying structurally, it takes a skilled hand to complete the process properly. Skilled labor is a dwindling resource in the modern era, it is essential that we recognize the people who take on these roles in our communities.

Alexis Jones

JERE KITTLE

My art connects me to two primary inclinations: the natural world and social justice. I believed them to be connected. In regard to this body of work, I identify myself as a product of white privilege. As such, I was also deprived. I was taught histories that omitted or distorted the stories of African Americans, of indigenous peoples and others, and the value of their contributions in the formation of my country. I am a target of deliberate misinformation. For this, I am angry, frustrated and sad.

But I am thankful that my coming of age coincided with the coming of age of the civil rights movement that began in earnest in the 1960s. I am grateful for that education. I am lucky that I worked for many years alongside people of diverse colors, religions, origins, abilities, et cetera, and gained firsthand and deeply held understanding of the equality and worth of all. For this, I am joyful, and I celebrate. I hope these are the qualities that I bring to my work.

This work is part of an intensive study of the BLM protests at the Lee statue in Richmond VA. Over a 9-month period, I visited the site, drawn to the emotions expressed through the medium of graffiti, from outrage to healing; and to the abstract images the graffiti unwittingly formed — overlapping and intertwining gestures shared in communal outpouring. My attraction to the abstract forms is born of their enigmatic quality that beckons me to connect with their creators. That sense of connection ties me to those who found a place and a way to speak their truths.

This series this piece is from uses photos of the graffiti and re-forms it to suggest traditional, African tribal shields used in warfare or ceremony. In practice, shields were often imbued with herbal compounds to protect against harm. In this context, this shield expreses the ideas of freedom of expression and protection from oppression; and ultimately equality, to enable African Americans to participate fully in the pursuit of prosperity.

TAJA LINDLEY

I'm a Black queer femme feminist woman most known for my performances, installations, films and podcasting addressing state sanctioned violence, reproductive freedom, economic sovereignty, bodily autonomy and our relationship with the past.

I have a passion for people and a commitment to community: I’ve supported hundreds of folks having abortions and giving birth as a full spectrum doula. I’ve organized sacred spaces for people to share their reproductive stories (i.e., miscarriage, stillbirth, breastfeeding, contraception, and more). I’ve trained health care providers on racial equity and maternal health. And I design and lead trainings about how to provide nonjudgmental, radically compassionate pregnancy options counseling and emotional support for people navigating experiences with pregnancy, parenting, adoption, and abortion.

I'm also actively involved and employed in social movements organizations. 

All of these experiences inspire my art works, processes, and projects.

I'm the creator of the Black Women’s Dept. of Labor: a project and podcast about race, gender and the double entendre of labor - to work and give birth. After 2 successful podcast seasons, I created Invoice #001.

Invoice #001 is a framed archival print addressing the involuntary labor of lactating enslaved Black women wet nursing 12 generations of white Americans; and it's accompanied by Pump & Feed – a performance ritual film about Black women breastfeeding when returning to work after maternity leave.

The U.S. was built with our bodies and labor, and yet we don't benefit from it: we experience the highest pay gap and the worst maternal health outcomes. This project audits and interrupts the under- and uncompensated labor of Black women by asking nonrhetorical questions about the value, currency and social responsibility of Black women's reproductive and economic labor.

BlackWomensLabor.com

TajaLindley.com

ColoredGirlsHustle.com

SIA MASON

I am a black creative who works a normal job. I often struggle with making time to be creative. My work reflects my awe of those who make that time no matter what. It was created with the intent to not only influence others to do the same, but myself as well.

This painting is inspired by young black men and women who work normal jobs by day and hustle their passions during their personal time. With the uprise in pop up shops and black farmers markets, we’re starting to see many black people share their crafts. Things we have grown, mixed, or created by hands enrich our communities when we share them with each other, and it’s a beautiful thing.

BARBARA OSBOURNE-HARRIS

My artworks are layered remnants of remembrance whispered by Ancestral voices spoken into my inner spirit. Whispers become reflective glimpses of visual interpretations of my life and its intersectionality with the past, present, and future.   Encounters with Spirit, nature, literature, music, color, texture and the local and global community guide interpretations and responses.  My personal and collective experiences as an African American within the context of family and community has taught me by observation and personal labor the value “lifting as we climb”.  ""Poll Worker Apprentice"" is influenced by an Aunt born in 1919 who was committed to voting rights, registered voters, worked the Polls and recruited others to work. She advocated in the family and community.  ""Poll Worker Apprentice"" is past, present, and future. The  child is present surrounded by the past and holding the future.

Artwork captures the inclination of African American laborer’s intentionality for hidden purposes.  The labor “hustle” performed physically & intellectually co-exist in several spheres simultaneously; past, present, future; tangible & intangible. Labor is performed with an ardent sense of urgency extending beyond themselves with agitation to cross boundaries; mothers scrubbing floors to send children to college. Hustle is competitive struggle.  Poet’s work is intellectual hustle; holding a white picket fence (white culture), poem of resilience, other arm a tablet naming Black women poets & West African proverbial symbol (perseverance & resourcefulness. Her dress with Mende Masks used in female rites of passage. Her poetic hustle is communal. The Field Worker's hat a Halo, basket for cotton, wooden arm for physical strength, clutched tablet with West African proverbial symbol Child of Heaven, & dress foretelling the future. African American Hustle is communal past, present, future.

T. OWENS UNION

Every artwork that I create is a historical mirror of my identity as an African American woman. My personal cultural experiences, the strong character of my hardworking parents, the artistry of my grandmother through her quilts,  and the extension of ancestral Black history from current times through slavery are all instilled into my identity.  These cumulative factors are then translated into art.

My art describes aspects of African American culture and history. The lack of a fully realized historical portrait of this community in American society has regularly resulted in invisibility and suppression.  Some works are inspired by those who were treated as something less than human by governmental agencies, medical institutions, or existing societal norms. Others represent the strength, beauty, and perseverance of people of color despite what has been experienced over decades.  My grandmother from Tuscaloosa, Alabama made tied, patchwork quilts, and the quilt; a symbol of protection and guidance in our community, is often incorporated into the art.  The art in turn consists of a patchwork of drawings and found and historical materials which are digitally rendered into collages. My father was raised on a farm in Alabama and brought farming traditions to our family property in rural Michigan. The Farm Series is an homage to Black farmers throughout history. We are farmers, too.

VINCE QUEVEDO

Black lives matter, and it is crucial to continually tell the story of how Black people helped to build America. I have been deeply influenced by the significance of Black history and the ways in which it has transformed the world. I have been working with images that celebrate Black lives, highlighting both their physical beauty and intellectual contributions.

My artistic expression is intricately woven into human experiences, reflective practice, and experiential learning through creation. I utilize quilting, handcrafting, and photography to scrutinize diverse facets of contemporary culture and society meticulously. Positioned within the arts and culture domain, it honors human imagination as manifested through art. Design thinking is fundamental to my methodology as I transform personal insights and concepts into tangible embodiments. Additionally, I innovatively harness digital technology to bring my ideas to life and craft a distinctive and captivating perspective for viewers to engage with.

RICH LAPREA

As an abstract expressionist, I use my art to navigate and communicate the complexities of being a working-class woman in modern America—juggling multiple jobs while also pursuing my passion for art. This constant balancing act is not just a part of my daily life; it’s a fundamental part of my identity.

These works are not just about my hustle; they reflect the collective experience of many Black women and working-class people who are carving out space for themselves in a world that too often overlooks their contributions. My identity, in all its facets, is embedded in every brushstroke and every color choice, as I continue to push forward on my path as both an artist and a woman in this world.

Little Black Girl represents my inner child—once free-spirited and full of dreams, uninhibited by the constraints of society. This piece reflects who I was before I became hyper-aware of the limitations and struggles imposed by systemic racism and societal expectations.

TERI RICHARDSON

My African American childhood began in southern Minnesota, then moved to the suburbs of New York years before I entered college in NYC. Currently in Brooklyn, I identify as an abstract painter, working in denim since 2005. 

Denim is THE iconic, and common thread throughout the history of American labor. Considering facts regarding slavery, fieldwork, factories, and current day cubicle farms, denim tells our work and play stories while dressing our culture, movements, rebellions and attitudes. Denim reflects the tenacity that spurs people to push beyond struggle, oppression, marginalization and enslavement. My work honors the resiliency within American culture by exclusively using Levi’s denim because when enslaved people were officially freed in 1865, Levi Strauss had begun its strong hold in American industry. This event celebrates shifts in industry as an authentic bridge to realize, celebrate and respect our past— my family history, and discerning truths in our collective present.

My childhood connection to denim has deepened since creating ‘Stir’ (Seven Years), an artwork that commemorates enslaved Americans who used their bare arms as mixing tools in toxic vats within the indigo dying process that caused their arms, and irises of their eyes to turn blue. When I learned that captured runaways were sentenced to indigo plantations knowing that death was expected within seven years, ‘Stir’, originally conceived as a set of seven separate identical soft sculptures, (currently only one sculpture of 7-pairs of arms), became a base coat of sorts for my work since.

Because African Americans are literally part of denim’s contribution and culture— my work speaks loudest through the familiarity of this well-loved fabric, and more enduringly through denim’s dark past. Artistically, Arrested Development, The Slow and Steady and Color Wash express motion, migration, the knotting of experience and time through texture, strength, steadiness, organic play and industriousness.

SCOTT BRITNEE

My vision is inspired from historical events that have left a major impact positively throughout the world. I chose to present world peace, taking a stand, and advocate for change through art. Sharing and spreading a message that has a wakeup call to society.

We are aware that this isn’t new to society but it’s a known factor to which we must share but there is a positive outlook to the traumatic issues we face rather your connected to different social classes we all are equal, and the world needs to be reminded that equality and fair treatment is needed to be better as a people.

I push world peace each moment I can especially through my art. Art is a great way to share a message and gain attention from every culture and change the dynamic of people mindset throughout the world. This is a message that I want people to be aware of and my art is proof.

This piece is titled “Don’t forget to help grandma with the groceries”. Which shares a story of a grandmother walking from a church that carried a free food program where she picked up food to feed her family. During her walk from picking up the food she runs into a protest that’s about “survival, and jobs” from people who are on strike, and she joins them. To feed your family, you have to hustle and bustle as an old timer would say.

What inspired me is the Black Panther Party. In doing research I found that in 1969 Huey P. Newton created the Free Breakfast for School Children Program, or the People’s Free Food Program, that was a community service program run by them that focused on providing free breakfast for children before school, and spread throughout the nation. 

This program was an early manifestation of the social mission envisioned by Black Panther Party, along with their founding of the Oakland Community School, which provided high-level education to 150 children from impoverished communities.

JANATHAL SHAW

The work is a reflection of my experience and focus on the life experiences and history of women and Black Americans in American Society.

I am a ceramic sculptor and portrait artist who focuses on social justice in my work.  It has been at the heart of my artistic journey.   My pieces center on the humanity, resilience, trauma, challenges, and spiritual journeys of Blacks in America. I hope to have the audience engage in critical dialogue with each other and intimately with the work itself.   At the core of my portfolio is the role racism plays and has affected how Blacks are perceived and valued.  Are we seen as human beings, and contributors to the fabric of American society?  The narrative in this drawing is just a slice of the reflections and challenges I experience in balancing my goals with my immense responsibilities.

Paul Terrell

Moseley, VA

$300

I am the grandson of a white sharecropper. I grew up hearing the stories of growing up on a tobacco farm in western North Carolina during The Great Depression. My dad was able to join the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the President Franklin D. Roosevelt administration to be housed, fed clothed, and help send money home to his family. I have read only 10% of the African American population were allowed to participate even though they were struggling with the same economic poverty. My experiences as; a student, Public School Art Teacher for thirty nine years, Scout Leader, coach, and community member have been important at helping me see the needs and value of every human being. I love history and the truths are there for all of us to learn from.

I chose this essential farm implement to represent a century of black progress on so many levels. On January 15th, 1865, Special Field Order 15 was issued by General William Tecumseh Sherman to redistribute 40 acres and a mule to the newly freed slaves to provide a transition to self-sufficiency and economic independence. The order was revoked by President Andrew Johnson following President Lincoln’s death. Sharecropping and disproportionate imprisonment became the new form of enslavement. Tuskegee University’s horticulturist Booker T. Whatley advocated for Clientele Membership Clubs in the 1960’s as a way to help Black farmers keep their land. Repeal of Jim Crow laws in 1965 aided the ending of a legalized discriminatory system. These led to the transition of localize farming into ironically titled, CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture), a model for connecting consumers with local farms.

Leticia Thomas

Durham, NC

$750

As a Black woman professional, my identity is inherently intertwined with the artwork. My experiences as a photographer and therapist, coupled with my personal connection to the nail salon as both a client and an observer of the Black brilliance that exists in this space, have profoundly influenced my artistic vision.

My unique perspective as a Black woman allows me to capture the essence of the salon as a hub for Black brilliance, celebrating the diverse range of professional women who frequent this establishment. This piece is not just a snapshot of a nail technician at work, but rather a reflection of my own experiences and the stories of countless other Black women who hustle tirelessly to achieve their goals and contribute to their communities, while also making the time to indulge in nail care and art. 

By sharing my artwork in this exhibition, I aim to shed light on the resilience, creativity, and empowerment that define the Black female experience in America.

In this black and white photograph, I capture the essence of the "It's About the Hustle" theme by highlighting a Black woman nail technician, who owns and operates her own salon, diligently working on a client's nails.

The relationship between the artist's hands and the client's conveys a powerful message about connection, trust, and community. The intricate details of the nail artistry are a testament to the skill and dedication required to succeed in this field.

The composition invites viewers to reflect on the countless hours of hard work and determination that African American entrepreneurs invest in building their businesses. This image serves as a testament to the resilience and perseverance of Black women who create opportunities for themselves and their communities.

With this piece, I aim to celebrate the tenacity of African Americans who relentlessly pursue their dreams and redefine success through their unwavering hustle.

Alana Walters

Philadelphia, PA

$150

My work focuses on the connection between black hair and mental health. Throughout my life, my hair has changed  in color, length and style depending on my mood and how I’m feeling. Within my pieces, I am reminded about how much weight hair can hold not only physically but mentally. Even when we don’t want it to, our hair can become a point of contention for some and be praised as a crown for others.

The work I submitted is directly related to the work of black hair artists. Within my submitted pieces you will see the imagery of several different black hairstyles such as braids, two-strand twists, and crochet locs that I have carved and stamped through relief printing. “Not Too Tight” is one of my variations of those old hair braiding posters that we used to see in salons. With the new age hairstylists, we rarely get to see these kinds of images anymore because the work is now being done in their homes. Everyone knows at least two or three people who do hair whether it’s an auntie, a school friend or a parent, there is no shortage. And this labor of love that we grew up with has now become a successful side hustle for many in the black community.

Sandra Chen Weinstein

Lake Forest, CA

$1600

I am an advocate and activist for human right & civil equality.

Black Lives Matter

Since 2020 we have seen a reshaping and refocusing of the civil rights movement in America. The many tragic and unfortunate events propelled by excess force from police towards people of color and African American deaths were the most recent catalyst - from Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old in 2014, to George Floyd in 2020. It has been over 150 years since slavery ended in the United States. Since then, there have been many people leading movements and overcoming adversities to continue the fight against racism. While there has been much progress in the way of civil rights, equal opportunity, and reduced discrimination, it is easy to forget the individuals who broke out of societal norms and the challenges they faced. The portrait of the young boy gazing in silence with the American flag background echoes our past to the present.  I would like to encourage people and communities to continue an open and empathetic dialogue.

Ashley White

Richmond, VA

$500

As a 38-year-old Black woman, my identity is deeply intertwined with the themes in A Seat at the Table. My lived experiences of navigating societal expectations, balancing creativity with labor, and embodying resilience directly inform this piece. The collage reflects the dualities that we tend to face: abundance and exploitation, strength and vulnerability, tradition and modernity.

Growing up in a family where words, art, and culture were central, I’ve seen how the labor of Black women often sustains communities while going unrecognized. My work honors these stories, blending symbolism like Ndebele neck rings for wealth and the basket for the power of our words, with modern elements to represent our continued evolution.

This piece also reflects the influences of my creative process, shaped by music like Solange's A Seat at the Table, which speaks to reclaiming agency and self-expression. My art is a celebration of Black women’s unyielding power to thrive despite societal challenges.

A Seat at the Table explores the abundant yet underappreciated labor of Black women throughout history. Fruits symbolize a bountiful mindset, contrasting with the world’s reliance on the "fruits of our labor." The Ndebele neck rings reflect wealth and status, while the basket around the woman’s neck represents the power our words hold in shaping our narratives.

This piece blends traditional cultural elements with modern fashion, bridging history and contemporary identity. The clock and man’s eye highlight the duality of time and societal expectations placed upon Black women. The cactus and other plants symbolize strength and resilience, thriving even in adversity.

Created while listening to Solange's A Seat at the Table, this collage captures the intersection of creativity, labor, and innovation that defines Black women’s experiences. It celebrates survival, thriving, and the rich narratives of those who have built and sustained communities with ingenuity and strength.

Zacari Yonkers

Henrico, VA

$200

As a black artist, I tend to highlight our experiences. Whether it be through my hair, the music we listen to, or the food we eat. My art is personal to the community and that gives me a unique perspective to this exhibition.

In Wash Day, the central theme is black hair and community. Black hair is a really important part of our community, and this piece focuses on the hair and the process of getting your hair done. It's part of a larger series of the entire journey, and with the theme of Black Labor, hair stylists are staples amongst the community.