28th ANNUAL NO DEAD ARTISTS
International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art"First Saturdays" Opening Receptions - 7 September + 5 October 5-9 PM
September 3 – October 19, 2024
Artist Statement
This work is a meditation on the 00s pony bead, a common accessory on cornrows, and the tradition of hair accessorizing as a literal method to install joy and love in the bodies of young Black children. In this way, I regard the pony bead as a symbol of care and Black pre-adolescence. The eyes arranged on this tapestry belong to Jade, Yasmin, and Sasha of the Bratz doll franchise, which debuted in 2001, and is the first fashion doll line to launch a group of affordably priced dolls with canonically diverse appearances. This tapestry is a departure from previous works in this series, which are text-based rather than image-focused. Text in earlier works selected comes from shortened versions of original poems, some of which have been arranged to be acrostic.
Biography
Akeylah Imani Wellington remembers when Xpression sold 88” packs of hair unstretched. Her sculptural and textile work concerns itself with the aughts, ironies, poor lucks, and humor as both a noun and a verb. She is interested in a somber digestion of the psychological states of loving slave-descended US citizens. In addition to completing a Winter Residency at The Wassaic Project, her work has been shown at Dream Clinic Project Space in Columbus, OH and stop-gap projects in Columbia, MO. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University and is an artist and educator based in Columbus, OH.
Curiculum Vitae
EDUCATION
2023 Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University
2020 Bachelors of Fine Arts, Louisiana Tech University
RESIDENCIES
2023 The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 You said it never happened but why was our home an antill?, Pond
Gallery, Fayetteville, AR.
2023 Little miss mary mack you make my heart go young Venus Williams
(1994), stop-gap projects, Columbia, MO.
2022 we wait in Bliss, Dream Clinic, Columbus, OH.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Collective Mending, Brandt Roberts Gallery, Columbus, OH.
I Was Here, Beeler Gallery, Columbus, OH.
Can we hold hands while we walk, 934 Gallery, Columbus, OH.
Soft Spots, Majestic Galleries, Nelsonville, OH
There Comes a Time, The Anderson, Richmond, VA.
Tall Shadows in Short Order, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY.
2023 Big cloud, Urban Arts Space, Columbus, OH.
Irrepressible soul, Urban Arts Space, Columbus, OH.
Dreaming Columbus, Muskingum University, New Concord, OH.
2021 8-layer casserole, Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus, OH.
2020 Climate Changing: On Artists, Institutions, and the Social
Environment, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
In cahoots, Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus, OH.
2019 Fresh produce, The Big Room Gallery, Monroe, LA.
2018 NC SNACK show, Louisiana School of Music and the Arts,
Natchitoches, LA.
PRESS
2023 ‘Irrepressible Soul’ aims to capture the full Black experience, written by Andy
Downing for Matter, Columbus, OH.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2024 Lecturer, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. ART 2100: BeginningDrawing
Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Encounter
with Contemporary Art after 1980s
2023 Lecturer, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. ART 2100: Beginning
Drawing
Instructor, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH. Figure
Drawing: Grades 10-12
Fall 2022 Instructor, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH. Figure
Drawing: Grades 10-12
2021-2023 Instructor of Record, Department of Art, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH. ART 2300: 2-Dimensional Design
Instructor of Record, Department of Art, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH. ART 2400: 3-Dimensional Design
2021-2023 SSAC Woodshop Technician Assistant, Department of Art, The Ohio State
University, Columbus, OH
2019-2020 Screen printing Studio Technician, The Thingery, Louisiana Tech
University, Ruston, LA.
June-July 2019 LA GearUP Instructor of Art, LOFSA, Baton Rouge, LA. “Color Theory
101”
June-July 2018 LA GearUP Instructor of Art, LOFSA, Baton Rouge, LA. “Gesture Drawing
for Dummies”
June-July 2017 LA GearUP Instructor of Art, LOFSA, Baton Rouge, LA. “Portraiture:
Stippling and Perception”
AWARDS
2022 Greater Columbus Arts Council Individual Artist Grant
2021 Fergus Material Fund Grant
Global Arts and Humanities Small Grant
2020 The Ohio State University Graduate Enrichment Fellow