The Cultural Engagement Lab seeks to advocate for the passage of critical Maternal Health legislation in alignment with our sister organization, The Center for Cultural Power’s, Gender Justice and Health Equity Program and in collaboration with MomsRising, We Testify,The Ariah Foundation, and Inspire Justice Productions. Together, we seek to amplify the voices of Black mamas and advocate for birth and womb justice. We are invested in using storytelling to support bodily autonomy, while also calling on federal government and local officials to pass the Momnibus Act.
Watch the videos below to learn more:
TAKE ACTION:
Learn more about the work in our featured article on Refinery29
Thank you to our partners:
Alejandro Hendricks defines himself as the Lo-Fi filmmaker with an acute focus on storytelling and creating inspirational and engaging moments that transcend entertainment and express emotion through serene composition, allowing an audience to surrender themselves to the character and world around them. Often described as surreal, heartbreaking, suspenseful, and relatable, the stillness in Alejandro's work takes an intimate approach, hooking you into a story that has blurred the lines between reality and entertainment.
Amir Khadar (they/them) is a Sierra Leonean-American visual artist, designer, and educator originally from Minneapolis, and currently based in Philadelphia. Their artwork is intentionally positioned in social movement spaces, where it is central in creating visual language for liberatory initiatives and agendas around racial, gender, and climate justice. Amir's illustrations and movement artwork are grounded through art's ability to imagine alternate worlds and make liberation tangible. They have collaborated extensively with Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Parenting for liberation, Wakanda Dream Lab, Forward Together, and the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice on projects that fulfill this vision.
Christa David is a visual artist, writer and researcher. Inspired by the artistic works of Romare Bearden, Wangechi Mutu, Alma Woodsey Thomas and literary works of James Baldwin, Christa David fuses the mediums of painting, collage and assemblage to create and recreate stories about home, belonging, faith, and identity. In September 2016, after years of “making art in the cracks” (nights and weekends) along-side her demanding work as senior public health researcher New York City, Christa David leaped into making art full-time. Christa David is proud two-time Columbia University Lion, holding Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees from Columbia University. Her work is held in personal and public collections throughout the United States including the prominent David C. Driskell Center and has been most recently solo exhibited at 193 Gallery Paris, France and 1-54 London. Christa David currently lives and works between New York City and Atlanta.
.jpeg)
Meet GL “Gniice” Rivera, the globe-trotting musical nomad, leaving beats in his wake from Tokyo’s bustling streets to Atlanta’s southernplayalistic scenes, D.C.‘s Gogo, to LA’s G-Funk, and beyond. He finally rooted himself in Austin, the heart of musical magic. Before music, Gniice served 15 dynamic years as an Army Officer, finding solace and inspiration in faraway lands. Music became his muse, igniting his DJing passion. Gniice’s influences? A tapestry of sounds, from The Neptunes to Prince, Sheila E. to Rick James, saxophonist John Coltrane, and the soulful notes of Sade and Aaliyah. DMX’s raw hip-hop flavor to the mix. Embracing the 80s, Gniice weaves hip-hop, R&B, Baile Funk, jazz, house, and reggaeton into mesmerizing sets. Music, he believes, unites souls, transcending barriers. Join Gniice on a melodic odyssey, where good music enchants and uplifts. Get ready for a soul-stirring journey that’ll leave you craving more. 🎶✨
Debra Cartwright (b.1988) is a painter best known for compositions using watercolor, mixed media, printmaking, and oil paint. She explores black women's relationship to medical history in the United States. After graduating from the University of Virginia and Parsons School of Design, she worked in the marketing departments of publishing houses before returning to Rutgers University for her MFA where she now teaches undergraduate students.
Delita Martin is an artist currently based in Huffman, Texas. She received a BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University and an MFA in printmaking from Purdue University. Formerly a member of the fine arts faculty at UA Little Rock in Arkansas, Martin currently works as a full-time artist in her studio, Black Box Press. Martin’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Most recently Martin’s work was included in the State of the Arts: Discovering American Art Now, an exhibition that included 101 artists from around the United States. Her work is in numerous portfolios and collections.
Dominique Daye Hunter is an Afro-Indigenous (Yésah & Nansemond) storyteller and multi-disciplinary artist specializing in poetry and fashion. The CEO of D. Daye Hunter Designs, LLC, Dominique's written and visual work explore the complex connections between historical trauma, creating safe spaces, and healing in diverse communities. The author of Seeds: Stories of Afro-Indigenous Resilience (2022), Dominique was a 2021 and 2022 Artist Investment Program cohort member with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She has a B.S. in Nonprofit Leadership Management with an emphasis in American Indian Studies and lives between Raleigh, NC and Phoenix, AZ.
David is an art director and graphic designer with a focus in collage photo illustration and a passion for social justice and activism through creative expression. His work is all about the representation of Black and brown issues and people in the progressive space. His work has been featured by American Illustration, World Illustration Awards, The Root, Essence Magazine and the Brooklyn’s Children’s Museum. David’s ultimate goal as a Black creative is to produce powerful imagery that is wholly representative of his culture and community. While managing Dpicting Studio, he also works as the Design Lead for The Ford Foundation, where he produces powerful visual assets for print and digital. His goal for 2024 is to continue to build a more inclusive space for Black designers and create access to design opportunities for the next generation of creatives/designers coming behind him.
Hueydynamite is a fine-arts painter currently based in Dallas, Texas using acrylic paint as my main tool to manifest all the crazy (but awesome) ideas in my head. Focusing on portraits, I try to make my subjects as rich in personality as in color. My artwork is heavily influenced by animation including both cartoons and anime, music, pop culture, books, and things that encompass my everyday life. I’ve had work in galleries such as the African American Museum in Dallas, Artspace111, the Moody Performance hall, 500X Gallery and the Bath House.
.png)
Kah Yangni is an illustrator living in Philadelphia, PA. They make hyper vibrant art about justice, queerness, joy, and healing- using cut up paper, drawings, and Photoshop to show a world where we are free. Kah’s art can be found on billboards and murals, in kids books and magazines, and on bedroom walls around the world. Their art has been shared by people like Indya Moore of the television show Pose, and they’ve been covered by NBC News and them. Their poster work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia. They’ve been awarded residencies with The On Being Project, Women’s Studio Workshop, and the Wedding Cake House.
Lamar is a father, a husband, and a photographer. He uses the camera to archive and preserve the community's most principal moments.
Maliyah ‘JOY’ Worthy (they/them) is a Black gender-expansive lesbian cultural worker, digital artist, and waymaker. Hailing from Atlanta, GA their work centers on Black trans* and queer liberation, Black lesbian* feminist praxis, and the abolition of prisons/police. Their current mediums are digital and curatorial, however, they are in practice with the zine and archival work.
Nye’ Lyn Tho wants to photograph the souls of her subjects. Conscious of the widespread misrepresentation of people of color in mainstream American media, Nye’ aims to create powerful, beautiful, healing stories of and for her community. In Natural Heir she plays on the visual pun of hair and heir—with a celebratory nod at the tradition within the African American community of embracing natural hair—articulating a link between hair health and environmental well-being. The fantastical in the images, exuberant natural elements creating a crown that emerges from the mind and heart of the subject, suggests a relationship with the literary tradition of magical realism and today’s Afro Futurism.
O’Neil Scott is a Jamaican born Pennsylvania based representational oil painter. Captivated by portraiture and its capacity to impart complexities that comprise the human condition his work is designed to give a voice to marginalized communities. His paintings convey contemporary subject matter and look to give the viewer a way to understand and relate across social boundaries. He had his fourth solo show in 2023 at Villanova University Gallery and has been in numerous publications including Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, American Art Collector Magazine, and Artist Magazine. His work is in private and public collections across the United States and Internationally.
Saylem M. Celeste (they/them) is a Detroit-born, place-based, Transformative Justice Practitioner that utilizes art, facilitation, and sound for collective liberation and healing. Saylem has incorporated the legacy of quilting into their practice as a methodology, to circumvent symptoms of capitalism and other carceral systems as a means to access liberation and freedom for traditionally misrepresented communities.
Shanelle Gabriel is an internationally touring artist, educator, and lupus warrior from Brooklyn, NY. Widely known for featuring on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, she has shared her fusion of poetry and singing on stages with artists such as Jill Scott, Nas, Nikki Giovanni, Talib Kweli, and Grand Puba. She competed in the National and Individual World Poetry Slam Competitions, performed at The Vatican, and has penned and featured in poetry campaigns with Pandora Music for Black Music Month, NFL Draft, and more. She recently released her third album of poetry, and with a Masters in Education from Teachers College at Columbia and over 15 years of experience as an educator, she serves as a leading consultant in arts integration & multicultural education practices.
Cienna Minniefield, also known as THE COLOR, is an Atlanta-based multidisciplinary artist and one of the founders of a Black Trans-led mutual aid organization called FOR OUR SIBS. Hailing from East Atlanta, Cienna is influenced by their Black Southern roots and personal experience. Their current work reflects Black Trans liberation Black Queer identity, and its various intersections. The COLOR’s work has been featured and commissioned by Facebook, Glossier, I.D. Magazine, and Living Walls.
Tochi J. Nworu’s journey to becoming an artist began with an 8th grade drawing class that she was unwillingly placed in. She received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Rutgers University, while minoring in Biology. She received her Medical Degree at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, completed a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency and an Interventional Pain Management fellowship. Although vast, Tochi’s work primarily illustrates aspects of her Nigerian culture and the multidimensional identity of the black men & women. She works with various mediums including acrylic and oil paints, charcoal, gold leaf, and graphite on paper, canvas, and wood. Her ultimate goal is to combine both passions in a way that brings about inspiration and healing to others.
.jpg)
William Toliver is a self-taught contemporary artist currently living in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Always having an interest in art as a young child, it was not until 2012 that he began to work on his skills. Toliver enjoys using his artwork as a tool for empowerment and positive representation of all people. His goal as an artist is to challenge your perspective of our world by redefining the mental boundaries placed upon us by society. Toliver's take on timeless subject matter features vivid colors and intricate details that create one of a kind masterpieces. Most of my inspiration comes from finding beauty in the simplicity of life, and the moments caught between camera flashes.
Amir Khadar (they/them) is a Sierra Leonean-American visual artist, designer, and educator originally from Minneapolis, and currently based in Philadelphia. Their artwork is intentionally positioned in social movement spaces, where it is central in creating visual language for liberatory initiatives and agendas around racial, gender, and climate justice. Amir's illustrations and movement artwork are grounded through art's ability to imagine alternate worlds and make liberation tangible. They have collaborated extensively with Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Parenting for liberation, Wakanda Dream Lab, Forward Together, and the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice on projects that fulfill this vision.
Debra Cartwright (b.1988) is a painter best known for compositions using watercolor, mixed media, printmaking, and oil paint. She explores black women's relationship to medical history in the United States. After graduating from the University of Virginia and Parsons School of Design, she worked in the marketing departments of publishing houses before returning to Rutgers University for her MFA where she now teaches undergraduate students.
Dominique Daye Hunter is an Afro-Indigenous (Yésah & Nansemond) storyteller and multi-disciplinary artist specializing in poetry and fashion. The CEO of D. Daye Hunter Designs, LLC, Dominique's written and visual work explore the complex connections between historical trauma, creating safe spaces, and healing in diverse communities. The author of Seeds: Stories of Afro-Indigenous Resilience (2022), Dominique was a 2021 and 2022 Artist Investment Program cohort member with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She has a B.S. in Nonprofit Leadership Management with an emphasis in American Indian Studies and lives between Raleigh, NC and Phoenix, AZ.
David is an art director and graphic designer with a focus in collage photo illustration and a passion for social justice and activism through creative expression. His work is all about the representation of Black and brown issues and people in the progressive space. His work has been featured by American Illustration, World Illustration Awards, The Root, Essence Magazine and the Brooklyn’s Children’s Museum. David’s ultimate goal as a Black creative is to produce powerful imagery that is wholly representative of his culture and community. While managing Dpicting Studio, he also works as the Design Lead for The Ford Foundation, where he produces powerful visual assets for print and digital. His goal for 2024 is to continue to build a more inclusive space for Black designers and create access to design opportunities for the next generation of creatives/designers coming behind him.
Saylem M. Celeste (they/them) is a Detroit-born, place-based, Transformative Justice Practitioner that utilizes art, facilitation, and sound for collective liberation and healing. Saylem has incorporated the legacy of quilting into their practice as a methodology, to circumvent symptoms of capitalism and other carceral systems as a means to access liberation and freedom for traditionally misrepresented communities.
Cienna Minniefield, also known as THE COLOR, is an Atlanta-based multidisciplinary artist and one of the founders of a Black Trans-led mutual aid organization called FOR OUR SIBS. Hailing from East Atlanta, Cienna is influenced by their Black Southern roots and personal experience. Their current work reflects Black Trans liberation Black Queer identity, and its various intersections. The COLOR’s work has been featured and commissioned by Facebook, Glossier, I.D. Magazine, and Living Walls.
Tochi J. Nworu’s journey to becoming an artist began with an 8th grade drawing class that she was unwillingly placed in. She received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Rutgers University, while minoring in Biology. She received her Medical Degree at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, completed a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency and an Interventional Pain Management fellowship. Although vast, Tochi’s work primarily illustrates aspects of her Nigerian culture and the multidimensional identity of the black men & women. She works with various mediums including acrylic and oil paints, charcoal, gold leaf, and graphite on paper, canvas, and wood. Her ultimate goal is to combine both passions in a way that brings about inspiration and healing to others.
William Toliver is a self-taught contemporary artist currently living in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Always having an interest in art as a young child, it was not until 2012 that he began to work on his skills. Toliver enjoys using his artwork as a tool for empowerment and positive representation of all people. His goal as an artist is to challenge your perspective of our world by redefining the mental boundaries placed upon us by society. Toliver's take on timeless subject matter features vivid colors and intricate details that create one of a kind masterpieces. Most of my inspiration comes from finding beauty in the simplicity of life, and the moments caught between camera flashes.
Thank you to our partners:
.jpg)
.png)
.jpeg)
.jpg)
.jpg)