
Madison College will open its SOULful Joy art exhibit with work from 14 artists to celebrate the joy and perseverance of Black women on February 6.
The SOULful Joy art exhibit is a continued effort in honor of Dzigbodi Akeya, a longtime academic adviser at Madison College who long dreamed of startingt her own exhibit but passed away before she could make it happen. The Black Women Affinity Group at Madison College aimed to bring her dream to life with the Dzigbodi Akeya Art Exhibit.
The group disbanded, but Michele Turner, lead researcher at Madison College, and La Tasha Fields, instructor at the college, picked it up to continue its legacy with different themes. This year’s exhibit will be centered on the joy and perseverance of Black women.
“Black women are supposed to be one of the most looked down upon groups. And we’re like, ‘Well, okay, doesn’t matter what other people think about us or what other people do, there’s still joy in being a Black woman,’” said Turner. “We want to focus on the joy of being a Black woman.”
The exhibit will feature works from 14 artists across Wisconsin in different mediums. Notable artists include Deserè Mayo, a local artist who was commissioned by Wingra School for a mural and series of works for the school. Mayo will showcase a variety of works including her aptly named “Soulful Joy” piece.
Other artist include Brooklyn Doby, Alice Traore, Jaundy Brunswick, Sharon Bjyrd, Lilada Gee, Janee McCoy, Falesuh Walker, Bolanle Awosika, Dynae Saba, DarRen Morris, Crystansany Turner, Sabrina Madison and Adwoa Asentu.
Turner said it’s more important now than ever to highlight the power of Black women to overcome. The work from the 14 artists aims to showcase the joy that can be found through resilience.
“I think we’re very resilient and we want to celebrate that. We’ve overcome a lot of different things, but we’re going to still enjoy life,”Turner said. “We’re still going to enjoy our family. We’re still going to not let things get us down.”
The SOULful Joy Art Exhibit will open Feb. 6 with an opening ceremony at 5:30 p.m. at Madison College’s Gallery at Truax, 1701 Wright St., in the Truax Building. It is free to attend; registration is encouraged but not required.
The exhibit will remain up in the Gallery at Truax throughout February and will be free to view. Gallery hours are 9-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9-3 p.m. on Friday.