Please join the College of the Arts on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, for an artist talk and exhibition gathering with artist, designer, educator and PSU Art + Design alumna Nia Musiba, winner of the 2022 Andries Deinum Prize for Visionaries and Provocateurs. In this talk, Musiba will share her thesis research on the main factors that contribute to a lack of Black workers within the creative industry. This research laid the foundation for her ongoing project, "The Alphabet of Black Creatives," which aims to highlight the existence of various Black creatives around the Pacific Northwest through interviews, events and workshops. She will share highlights and findings from her interviews with Black creatives, as well as her plans to develop this project so it may continue to provide space for Black creatives to share their experiences in the industry and serve as a place of connection and inspiration for emerging Black creatives to reference.
"Everybody deserves to see themselves reflected in the world around them through art and media," Musiba writes. "Right now, the United States has a massive representation issue. The lack of Black workers in creative careers and leadership positions within those fields leaves very little space for Black voices and visions to be accurately represented within art, media, and popular culture at large. This can impact how we view Black individuals as an entire nation and can perpetuate harmful ideas about the Black community and their experiences. It also upholds the idea that many people subconsciously hold that creative spaces are meant primarily for white people. "
The exhibition, "The Alphabet of Black Creatives," will be on view in the Broadway Gallery from Tuesday, September 26, 2023, through January 29, 2024.
Please note that the location for the Artist Talk has changed to the Lincoln Hall Studio Theater, Room 115.
The event is free and open to the public.
Learn more about Musiba's project and the Deinum Prize.
Image: Nia Musiba