Black and Bold: Notions of Blackness

Curated by Theodora Oyinloye and Paryse Reed

Curatorial Statement

Written by Theodora Oyinloye

Black and Bold: Notions of Blackness constructs narratives of Black identity through various expressions of Black joy and celebration, and through internal and external confrontations of Blackness. With a basis in two previous exhibitions taking place during Black History Month, artists navigate Blackness beyond the month, creating space for open and active dialogue through visual arts, written word and performance; reaffirming the importance of continued Black self expression.Grounded by experiences of Blackness, artists marry aspects of cultural heritage with social and personal signifiers. With playful imaginings of sapphic expression in the context of Caribbean culture, to zines that contextualize the identity of the artist or imagined. Artists welcome viewers to examinations of colonialism directly through a call to action or indirectly in which the artist examines the cultural and oppressive weight of hair in the Black community. Spirituality and mysticism is interpreted artistically in the context of grief and as it relates to generational pain. Finally, negative depictions of Black people are challenged by which Black women are celebrated for their softness and images of Black men in brotherhood with one another are highlighted."Black and Bold: Notions of Blackness" highlights diverse expressions of Black identity through various artistic mediums, encouraging reflections on cultural heritage and societal issues, while inviting conversation about joy, colonialism, and the weight of identity within the Black community.

Feathery and Femme

Paryse Reed, Feathers, Rhinestones and Leather, 2024

Momma, I Had a Nightmare

Rami Naamna, Poetry, 2024

Visions of a memory, rooted deep in the past
Momma would soon know the troublesome task
Of being woken up at the early hours of the morning
I got school in a few hours, momma got work too
Few negroes in my neighborhood, we were busy mourning
I walked up to mama bedroom door to turn the knob
Clock just struck two
She asked me why I’m still up after she sang my bedtime song
I weep and tell mama I had a nightmare
She readjusted in her bed, bonnet fell off, revealing laced hair
Momma pulled me close and lifts me up to her bed, my legs swinging in bliss and tears relieved
from comfort
Momma asked me, “My sweet girl, tell me your nightmare.”
And so I ramble, stuttering along the way and watch my mommas face intensively stare
Tell her the story of the garden of Eden, for God had returned and taken us back to his promised
land
I rejoiced, for the land had no flaws and I had taken God’s hand
Out of nowhere the sky had gone black and demons had came to the Garden
Wished to steal the fruit in the Garden and deforest the land for their own benefit
So they did, and succeeded
I blacked out and the land was gone, I told momma what she told me
At the darkest of times, out comes the Phoenix, and so I ask momma, what time is darker than
this?
My momma, teary eyed, looked away and asked God, “what kind of hell is it?”
She looked back at me and held me close to her chest, she told me this was no scene
That generational trauma has transitioned, I had lived her memory at sixteen
Momma told me that she was raped at that age, that the British invaded Barbados and broke
homes
Families, lives, people, hopes and futures, a historical lesson
I reminisce on that moment now, in therapy session
How that trauma affect me and all of my family
How colonialism is active in process, I know this was their intent
And so I ask, if I relive the memories of my momma, and I too have experienced this,
Will trauma be my legacy?
Or will it be theirs?

Kalon

Eniolaoluwa Olawle-Yusuf, Digital Photography, 2024

The Hand That Combs

Sydni Soobrate, Plaster and Yarn, 2022

Brotherhood In My Jeans

Natasha Okpi, Digital Photography, 2024

All Eyes on Congo

Gemima Mukendi, Laser Engraved Woodblock Print, 2024

The Long Way 2024, Grudge 2023, From Primary 2022, Functional Fear 2023, Black Goth Club 2024

Kior Barrow, Mixed Media Collage, Oil Pastel, Marker, Pencil and Printed

Body Vessel I, Body Vessel II

Kior Barrow, Underglazed Stoneware, Coil Built, 2025

Kiyomi

Kior Barrow, Needlefelt, Polymer Clay, Acrylic Paint, Fabric, Wire, 2024

Rows

Paryse Reed, Aluminum Cast Sculpture, 2025

Baby Boy

Theodora Oyinloye, Digital Photography, 2025