Restoring the Black Woman
The Black Women's Affinity Group at Madison College hosts an annual exhibit in honor of the late Dzigbodi Akyea, who was an academic advisor at the college for nearly two decades. “Restoring the Black Woman” is the 2024 exhibition, featuring work by artists Bolanle Awosika, Paulina Ivanova, Althea René Miller-Sims, Monica Mims, DarRen Morris, Martina Seignarack, Crystasany R. Turner and Britney Woods. The exhibit continues through Feb. 29.
DarRen Morris
The painting "Natural Woman” by DarRen Morris.
The painting "Natural Woman” by DarRen Morris.
media release: The Black Women’s Affinity Group presents “Restoring the Black Woman” 3rd Annual Dzigbodi Akyea Art Exhibit
The exhibition includes work artists who highlight the experience of Black women in multiple mediums, through multiple lenses.
Feb. 2-Feb. 29 at Madison College’s Gallery at Truax.
Opening ceremony: Thursday, Feb. 1
5:30-6:30 p.m. Networking/food service
6:30-7:30 p.m. Program
7:30-8:30 p.m. Gallery viewing/networking
The opening ceremony and exhibit are free, and the public is welcome.
Reserve free tickets at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
The Art Gallery is located on the mezzanine in the entrance of the Truax Building Room A1005, 1701 Wright St., Madison.
Guests may park in the visitor or student lots. Free admission, public welcome.
Hours: Monday 9 am - 6 pm; Tuesday 9-11 am, 2:30- 6 pm; Wednesday 9 am - 5 pm; Thursday 9 am – 6 pm; Friday 11 am - 3 pm. Closed weekends. Questions? Contact: Gallery@madisoncollege.edu or 608 246-4576.
More on the exhibit:
Experience “Restoring the Black Woman” at the Dzigbodi Akyea Art Exhibit hosted by the Black Women’s Affinity Group (BWAG) at Madison College on Feb. 1.
Meet the extraordinary and innovative artists at Thursday’s opening ceremony and celebrate Black History Month.
Milwaukee-based acrylic artist Bolanle Awosika creates canvases that inspire love, hope, joy, and peace, to heal the soul.
The Los Angeles-born visual and spoken word artist Althea René Miller-Sims describes her work as a chrysalis to spur healing and rebirth. Rooted in Black feminism, the Fitchburg artist mirrors the world that alienates but through her art demonstrates that Black women are never alone.
Dr. Crystasany R. Turner celebrates the beauty and nuances of Black womanhood while challenging the intersections of race, gender, and spirituality. “I hope my journey and art will inspire other Black women to honor every aspect of their existence-spirits, mind, and bodies—both within and beyond institutional spaces,” Turner says.
DarRen Morris’ “Natural Woman” selected as the exhibit’s promotional image, shines with the artist’s African-Jamaican roots, spiritual beliefs, and the reality of being imprisoned for life.
The exhibition also includes work by Paulina Ivanova, Monica Mims, Martina Seignarack and Britney Woods.
For the Madison College and the local community, the annual BWAG art exhibit has a powerful impact on the Black woman community, says Black Women’s Affinity Group President Chevon Bowen.
"’Restoring the Black Women" aims to provide Black women both within and outside our institution the opportunity to process the harm they may or may not realize is forced upon them, and to provide insight on strategies we can use to protect our spirit, our dignity, and our sanity,” says Bowen, a workplace culture strategist at Madison College. “Our gallery event centers our community and showcases the vital need for institutions to adopt systems and structures that truly propel equity and justice in the pursuit of higher learning."
The exhibit, in its third year, is named after Dzigbodi Akyea, a former Madison College academic advisor and community leader who passed away in 2021 and was a great source of inspiration to her colleagues.
The Black Women’s Affinity Group aspires to be a safe place for Black women employees of Madison College to come together and build community.
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