Theaster Gates
I am inspired by Theaster Gates’s approach to archiving as a living and communal act. His practice preserves Black histories, objects, and spaces that are often overlooked or discarded, transforming them into sites of memory, care, and cultural continuity. I am especially drawn to the way he merges art, preservation, and social engagement, treating materials and histories as vessels that hold emotional and collective significance.
Wangechi Mutu
Wangechi Mutu’s work inspires me through its layered exploration of identity, hybridity, memory, and the Black body. Her use of collage and fragmented imagery feels archival, assembling histories and narratives that have been disrupted or erased. I admire how her work combines mythology, femininity, and postcolonial histories to create new visual languages rooted in transformation and resilience.
Bisa Butler
Bisa Butler inspires me through her use of quilting as portraiture and historical preservation. Her vibrant textile works honor Black life, ancestry, and everyday experience while challenging historical absence within traditional archives. I am particularly inspired by how she uses fabric as both material and narrative, allowing color, pattern, and texture to communicate memory, identity, and emotion.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons
María Magdalena Campos-Pons’s work deeply resonates with me because of the way she explores migration, ancestry, spirituality, and cultural memory. Her practice often reflects the emotional weight of displacement and inherited histories, particularly those connected to the African diaspora. I am inspired by how she intertwines personal narrative with collective history, creating work that feels both intimate and expansive.
