Select art experiences and design processes based in community interests and address cultural concerns.
The South Providence People’s Archive (SPPA) is a physical and digital collection of recorded memories and dreams celebrating the Black and Native American residents in the Public Street area – past and present. The archive will include — but will not be limited to — cultural art, family photos, community print-works, digital scans, and audio recordings that document the people, places, and ways of life that animate the neighborhoods surrounding Public Street.
This is a Providence Commemoration Lab project: A collaboration of the Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism and the Rhode Island Historical Society. Funded in part by the Mellon Foundation and the American Rescue Plan.
Photo Credits: k. funmilayo aileru, Chrysanthemum and Dominique Sindayiganza
The Intercultural Beading Circle is an ongoing program where community members gather to practice seed beading traditions from their respective lineages. The circle creates intentional space for participants to reconnect with their cultural heritage through craft. Open to all skill levels, the circle offers instruction in basic techniques to support continued learning.
Past program partners include PRONK!, LHCPR, and PPL
Photo Credits: Edwige Charlot and k. funmilayo aileru
The "All Black Lives Matter" street mural was co-created by local artists and community members to commemorate the Black and Indigenous histories and cultures of Providence, RI. The mural emerged from a year-long, community-led process inspired by the 2020 uprisings and nationwide movement to install "Black Lives Matter" street murals. The public artwork was located in Kennedy Plaza on Washington Street, adjacent to Burnside Park. Contributing artists were Abenda Sohn, Ayeel Schofield, Sarah Samways, Vessna Scheff, and Nafis M. White. The project was facilitated by lead artists k. funmilayo aileru and Rodney Davis.
Photo Credits: Stephen Cooke, Nafis M. White, and City of Providence.
Blackearth Collective & Lab facilitates intergenerational, culturally specific, and gender-inclusive creative production while promoting economic justice through community-based craft and design. The collective is guided by two-spirit, queer, and trans artists, educators, and organizers. Blackearth envisions thriving, community-centered creative economies throughout Providence, Rhode Island, and beyond.
Co-founding members are k. funmilayo aileru, Edwige Charlot, Kou Tukala Nyan, Jesus Holguin, and Justice Gaines.
Image Credits: k. funmilayo aileru and LitArts
Select design services and experiences that culturally responsive and aesthetically affirming.
The Plantain Press Collective is a Black printmaking and graphic design project founded by artists Adriana Warner, Edwige Charlot, and k. funmilayo aileru. Based in New York City and Providence, RI, the collective blends traditional printmaking with contemporary graphic design to create culturally responsive and affirming visual narratives.
Design Credit: Adriana Warner
Photo Credit: k. funmilayo aileru
Hope in the Ever-Living Now was a virtual event for PVD Ideas Fest featuring creative works performed in response to Frederick Douglass's "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" The intertitle for the event's recording was designed by k. funmilayo aileru. The designs were inspired by Black and Native American cultural aesthetics specific to the Northeast and their diasporas.
RIBS Kwanzaa Stories was a week long virtual event featuring performances from the Rhode Island Black Storytellers on the principles of Kwanzaa. The virtual background for this event was designed by k. funmilayo aileru in collaboration with Edwige Charlot.
Select artworks featuring processes such as digital collage, projection mapping, sculpture and installation.
