6 Contemporary Black Women & Nonbinary Artists to Celebrate During Black Women’s History Week
Black women and nonbinary people have been underrepresented in the art world for far too long. Despite facing significant barriers to recognition and representation, African women and nonbinary artists in particular have persisted in creating art that both challenge social and political norms and speaks to the experiences of marginalized communities across the diaspora.
As we celebrate Black Women's History Week, we take a moment to recognize the incredible contributions of contemporary African women & nonbinary artists. In this curated collection by Pamela Otibu, we highlight just a few of the many talented artists who are making their mark in the art world today. Discover the contributions of six contemporary African artists who use their as powerful tool for resistance and liberation.
Zanele Muholi
Zanele Muholi’s photographic series Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) merges the conventions of photography, classical paintings, and recognizable ethnographic imagery tropes to make commentary on current identity politics. Muholi is a South African visual artist and activist. They turn found objects and materials into dramatic and historic tropes that hold meaning on a personal and political level. The black and white photographs draw the audience into questioning the representations of black bodies in South Africa and the rest of the world. Themes of sexual politics, gender identities, and social violence are explored in this exhibition. Muholi uses a cliché Western gaze of Africa to present a contemporary narrative of the continent, and of Blackness as a whole. Muholi’s self-portraits hold such queerness beauty, darkness, desire, and care. They add to the conversations of what it means to challenge identity and racial politics.
Toyin Ojih Odutola
Toyin Ojih Odutola’s drawings study the topography of skin. The Nigerian American artist has a distinctive style of marking, using drawing materials such as ballpoint pens, pencils, pastels, and charcoal. Her technique involves building layers of shading and blending, reinterpreting traditional portraiture. Ojih Odutola’s artworks are crafted in series, drawing inspiration from art history, pop culture, and her being. The collection features 30 recent drawings.
Wangechi Mutu is a multidisciplinary artist known for her clay and bronze sculptures and collage paintings. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, and currently based in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mutu sources African traditions in her work, along with global politics, pornography, science fiction, and fashion. Her artworks examine the state of globalization, race, gender, and colonialism. Mutu uses many artistic mediums, combining found materials, magazine cutouts, sculpture, and painted imagery. The artist recently exhibited eight large-scale bronze sculptures on slavery, mythicism, and nature at Storm King Art Center, in New York’s Hudson Valley. The artwork above “In two Conoe” was the centerpiece of the exhibition. This mythical tree-women fountain made of mossy green patinated bronze is inspired by the mangrove tree. The migratory tree is found around the world, paralleling the history of enslaved Africans transported across the globe.
Art by REWA
REWA’s bold acrylic and ink portraits celebrate contemporary African womanhood. The self-taught Nigerian artist gained noteworthy in 2016 with her collection of 14 artworks celebrating African goddesses in colorful and inviting depictions, a refreshing shift from traditional representations of African deities as fearsome figures. REWA’s artworks seek to educate viewers about her Igbo traditions and beliefs and bring the African tribe to an international audience.
Art by Thandiwe Muriu
Thandiwe Muriu’s photographs are optical illusions with a playful yet high-fashion edge. The Kenyan artist blends high fashion photography with traditional African styles, creating artworks that reflect her history and background. Muriu uses camouflage in her photographs as a commentary on the role of Kenyan women in the workplace, where traditions and modernization clash. In her experience, women are dismissed and expected to fade into the background. Working in a male-dominated career, Muriu wants her art to inspire change in Kenya.
Art by Yagazie Emezi
Yagazie Emezi
Nigeria Photojournalist and Artist, Yagazie Emezi’s artworks focus on African women’s health, sexuality, education, and human rights. She uses photography and sculptures to create visual critiques of Nigeria’s socio-political state and the media’s role in shaping these narratives, pulling from history and current events.
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