Ep.264 features Aida Muluneh. Born in Addis Ababa in 1974, she graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in Communications, majoring in Film. Her photography has been widely published and is included in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, the Hood Museum, the RISD Museum of Art, and the Museum of Biblical Art in the United States. Muluneh received the European Union Prize at the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie in Bamako, Mali, in 2007, the CRAF International Award of Photography in Spilimbergo, Italy, in 2010, and was a CatchLight Fellow in San Francisco, USA, in 2018. In 2020, she was honored with the Royal Photographic Society Award in Curatorship.

In 2019, Muluneh became the first black woman to co-curate the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition and returned the following year as a commissioned artist for the prize. Her commissioned projects use creativity to educate and advocate on topics related to the environment and health. Her work has been exhibited globally and published in key publications worldwide. As a leader in her field, she has been recognized as a change-maker in Africa, shifting perceptions of the continent.

As a prominent Canon brand ambassador, Muluneh is deeply committed to advocating for the development of photography in Africa through her educational programs across the continent. She is the founder of Addis Foto Fest (AFF), the first international photography festival in East Africa, held since 2010 in Addis Ababa, and the Africa Foto Fair, established in 2022 in Côte d’Ivoire. The Africa Foto Fair is both an exhibition and a virtual publication that brings emerging and established talents to the global photography community. Additionally, she established the Africa Print House, which offers fine art photography printing through her studio in Abidjan—a creative space that provides end-to-end solutions for photographers in Africa. As an educator and cultural entrepreneur, she continues to develop projects with local and international institutions in Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire.

Photo credit: Mario Epanya

Artist https://aidamuluneh.com/

Efie Gallery https://efiegallery.com/

ffoto Gallery https://www.ffotogallery.org/whats-on-listings/aida-muluneh-nationhood-memory-and-hope

Art in the Middle Magazine https://www.artinthemiddle.com/exhibition/aida-muluneh-efie-gallery-exhibition-spotlight-2026

Impressions Gallery https://www.impressions-gallery.com/resource/meet-the-artist-aida-muluneh/

Canon France https://www.canon.fr/pro/ambassadors/aida-muluneh/

MoMA https://www.moma.org/artists/68306-aida-muluneh

Photography Ethics Center https://www.photoethics.org/podcast/aida-muluneh

Africa Art News https://www.africaartnews.com/posts/aida-muluneh-exhibition-this-bloom-i-borrow

The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/may/29/photographer-aida-muluneh-necessity-of-seeing-bradford-city-culture

C& https://www.contemporaryand.com/fr/events/aida-muluneh-the-homeless-wanderer

Aesthetica Magazine https://aestheticamagazine.com/aida-muluneh-an-unparalleled-voice/

1-54 https://www.1-54.com/nowness-trailer-water-life-by-ethiopian-photographer-aida-muluneh/

Phmuseum https://phmuseum.com/exhibitions/the-homeless-wanderer-by-aida-muluneh-at-galleria-giampaolo-abbondio

VOGUE https://www.vogue.com/article/the-homeless-wanderer-a-oneiric-visual-exploration-of-identity-and-belonging-by-aida-muluneh

Jakopic Gallery https://mgml.si/en/jakopic-gallery/exhibitions/692/aida-muluneh/

Textile Museum https://textilemuseum.ca/event/aida-muluneh-water-life/

David Krut Projects https://davidkrutprojects.com/artists/35609/aida-muluneh

Mickalene Thomas is a globally celebrated multidisciplinary artist renowned for her dazzling, rhinestone-studded portraits that boldly reimagine the representation of Black women in contemporary art. Working across painting, photography, collage, video, and installation, Thomas creates vibrant, layered compositions that explore complex themes of race, gender, identity, sexuality, and beauty. Her visual language draws from 1970s aesthetics, African textiles, domestic spaces, personal histories, and iconic moments in art history. By referencing figures like Manet, Matisse, and Romare Bearden, she both honors and disrupts the Eurocentric art canon—placing empowered images of Black women at the center.

Her work unapologetically challenges traditional beauty standards and amplifies narratives often excluded from mainstream art spaces. Thomas’s pieces are part of permanent collections at major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian, solidifying her role as a leading figure in contemporary visual culture. Beyond her studio practice, Thomas is a visionary curator, mentor, and educator. She actively supports emerging artists—especially women, LGBTQ+ creatives, and artists of color—through mentorship, community engagement, and inclusive curatorial work. She is also a Tony-nominated co-producer, further demonstrating the reach of her creativity across disciplines.

In 2023, Thomas made history as the first Black queer femme artist to have a scholarship endowed in her name at Yale University, her alma mater. This milestone reflects her commitment to fostering access and equity in the arts for future generations. Her influence only deepened in 2025 — a landmark year— in which she was named one of TIME100’s Most Influential People, became the first African-American artist to be honored with a major solo show at the Grand Palais in Paris, and was the Keynote Speaker at Rutgers University-Camden’s Commencement.

She has received prestigious accolades, including the Creative Capital Award, the Hirshhorn Museum’s National Arts Award, the Queens Museum Honoree distinction, and the Joan Shepp Woman of Substance & Style honor. She was named Honorary Co-Chair of the Dance Theatre of Harlem and was recognized at the NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health 150th Anniversary Gala for her monumental mosaic “Freesia on My Mind: The Beauty of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” on permanent display at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital in Brooklyn.

Mickalene Thomas continues to break boundaries and elevate underrepresented voices through her bold visual storytelling, cultural leadership, and unwavering commitment to justice and representation. Her work not only transforms how we see beauty and identity—it also redefines who gets to be seen, celebrated, and remembered in the world of art and beyond.

Photo credit: © Chad Kirkland, 2019

Ep.262 Kathia St. Hilaire. Born in West Palm Beach, USA, Lives and works in New York. Informed by her experience growing up in Caribbean and African American neighborhoods in South Florida, the artist seeks to memorialize the communities that she has been a part of through innovative printmaking techniques. Her work draws inspiration from Haitian Vodun flags, which are used to tell the country’s history and honor ancestral spirits. Using nontraditional materials such as beauty products, industrial metal, fabric or tires, she creates ornate tapestries that seek to preserve the Haitian history and Vodun religion that lives around us in Miami.

Kathia St. Hilaire received her M.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking at the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut and her B.F.A. in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. Her work has recently been featured in solo shows at the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA; Perrotin, New York, NY; and the NSU Art Museum Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; as well as group exhibitions at the Speed Museum of Art, Louisville, KY; The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs; Half Gallery, New York; Blum & Poe, New York; and James Fuentes, New York.

Photo credit: ©Photo Claire Dorn. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

Perrotin https://www.perrotin.com/fr/artists/kathia_st_hilaire/954#news

https://leaflet.perrotin.com/view/1216/the-vocals-of-the-chaotic-burst

Beaux Arts https://www.beauxarts.com/expos/a-la-galerie-perrotin-la-jeune-kathia-st-hilaire-regarde-vers-lhistoire-haitienne/

Speed Art Museum https://www.speedmuseum.org/exhibitions/current-speed-kathia-st-hilaire-invisible-empires/

NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/arts/american-museums-galleries-art-guide.html

NSU Art Museum https://dailyartfair.com/exhibition/17305/kathia-st-hilaire-perrotin

Culture Type https://www.culturetype.com/tag/kathia-st-hilaire/

Artfrofest https://artfrofest.com/visit/curators-eye-kathia-st-hilaire-vocals-chaotic-burst/?srsltid=AfmBOorzMbsps9gdivbbc0wWqO-1y3muLS93dRuf_UmpHii1rm_-vJ-0

Ocula https://ocula.com/art-galleries/perrotin/exhibitions/kathia-st-hilaire/

e-flux https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/611610/kathia-st-hilaireinvisible-empires

Daily Art Fair https://dailyartfair.com/exhibition/17305/kathia-st-hilaire-perrotin

France24 https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/arts24/20260113-artist-kathia-st-hilaire-s-deceptively-delicate-visions-of-chaos-and-resistance

Sortiraparis https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/exposition/articles/340085-kathia-st-hilaire-une-exposition-engagee-a-la-galerie-perrotin

Slash https://slash-paris.com/critiques/kathia-st-hilaire-galerie-perrotin

Actuart https://www.actuart.org/2026/01/kathia-st.hilaire-the-vocals-of-the-chaotic-burst.html

Amelie du Chalard https://www.amelieduchalard.com/

Franceinfo https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/monde/outremer/expo-l-artiste-kathia-saint-hilaire-explore-les-blessures-d-haiti-pour-parler-du-monde-1669956.html

Mudam https://www.mudam.com/collection/kathia-st-hilaire

Tiffanie Delune. Born in Paris, France in 1988 and living now in Montpellier in the South of France, she has exhibited internationally in Europe, North America, West Africa and Asia.

Her solo exhibitions include “The Geography of Feelings”, Gallery 1957, London, United Kingdom (2024), “There's Gold on the Palms of My Hands”, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana (2023), “See Me Flowing”, Band of Vices, Los Angeles, United States (2022), “There's Gasoline in My Heart”, Foreign Agent, Lausanne, Switzerland (2022) and “Seeds of Light”, Ed Cross Fine Art, London, United Kingdom (2020).

She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including: “Sacred Movements”, Galerie Christophe Person, Brussels, Belgium (2025), “Alchemical Gestures”, Galerie Revel, Bordeaux, France (2025), “The Fabric of Life”, Paul Smith, London, UK (2024), “A Spirit Inside”, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, United Kingdom (2024) and The Lightbox, Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom (2023), “Touching the Sky”, Mucciaccia Contemporary, Rome, Italy (2023), “In and Out of Time”, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana (2023), “Unlimited”, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana (2022), “The Storytellers”, Gallery 1957, London , United Kingdom (2022), “Mother Nature”, The Core Club, New York, United States (2022), “Her Dark Materials”, With Eye of the Huntress, London, United Kingdom (2021) and “In the Midst of All That Is”, Band of Vices, Los Angeles, United States (2021).

In 2023, Tiffanie Delune was in an art residency with Gallery 1957 in Accra, Ghana. In 2022, the artist was nominated to the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize 2023 and in 2021 to the Reiffers Art Initiatives in Paris, France. Her work has notably been published in the Financial Times, The New York Times, The Evening Standard, Cultured Magazine and Frieze Magazine and has covered the medical publication Ethics & Human Research, The Hastings Center, Garrison, NY, United States (2023), the poetry books Open Leaves poetry collections — Poems from Earth, Harryette Mullen, Black Sun Flowers Poetry, London, United Kingdom

Photo credit: Ninon de Buyl

Artist https://tiffaniedelune.com/

Christophe Person https://www.christopheperson.com/artworks/2121-tiffanie-delune-morph-x-2025/

Gallery 1957 https://www.gallery1957.com/artists/82-tiffanie-delune/

Art Paris 2026 https://www.artparis.com/fr/artist/112715 |

https://www.artparis.com/en/gallery/3485

Drawing Now https://www.drawingnowparis.com/en/exhibitors/christophe-person/

Galerie Revel https://www.galerierevel.com/exhibitions/26-alchemical-gestures-tiffanie-delune-kartini-thomas-kimia-ferdowsi-kline-alymamah/

Cultured Mag https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2021/07/08/tiffanie-delune/

C& https://www.contemporaryand.com/fr/events/tiffanie-delune-theres-gasoline-in-my-heart

SHOWstudio https://www.showstudio.com/news/frieze-highlights-how-spirituality-and-geometry-coalesce-in-tiffanie-delunes-exhibition

Asakan https://asakan.art/tiffanie-delune-je-ne-cherche-ni-a-plaire-ni-a-menfermer-je-souhaite-uniquement-appeler-au-reve-a-lemotion-a-la-question-et-au-dialogue-entre-les-mondes-et-limaginaire/

Artnet https://www.artnet.fr/artistes/tiffanie-delune/

Mucciaccia https://mucciaccia.com/it/tiffanie-delune/

Ep.260 Stephanie Sparling Williams is the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Before coming to the Brooklyn Museum, she was the Associate Curator at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, and a Visiting Lecturer in Art History and Africana Studies at Mount Holyoke College. Prior to her appointments at Mount Holyoke, she was the Assistant Curator at the Addison Gallery of American Art, and in 2016-2017, she was the John Walsh Fellow at the Yale University Art Gallery.

Sparling Williams has taught interdisciplinary courses on American Art, Art and African Americans, Latinx Art, and Museums and Exhibitions at Phillips Academy, Andover; the University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Eastern Connecticut State University, and Mount Holyoke College. She also holds the 2026 Anschutz Distinguished Fellowship in American Studies at the Effron Center for the Study of America at Princeton University. Her curatorial practice is predicated on interdisciplinary research, writing, and teaching on American art, and foregrounds Black Feminist space-making.

Her scholarly work is invested in the space of the museum, with a focus on African American art and culture, and the work of U.S.-based artists of color. Related interests include material histories, cross cultural exchange, strategies of address, and contemporary art that engages with the history of the United States.

Sparling Williams holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity, and a certificate in Visual Studies from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. in Fine Art and Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Sparling Williams has published a monographic study on feminist conceptual artist Lorraine O’Grady, and over two dozen academic articles, reviews, and catalogue essays. Her book on O’Grady, Speaking Out of Turn: Lorraine O’Grady and the Art of Language (UC Press 2021), was awarded 32nd Annual James A. Porter Book Award. Her recent work, Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art reimagines how contemporary audiences experience historic American art. Disrupting traditional presentations of art from the Americas and offering a new set of approaches to collection display and interpretation, this groundbreaking reinstallation and accompanying publication reframes 2,000 years of art drawn from the world-renowned holdings of the Brooklyn Museum.

Ep.259 April Bey by Phyllis Hollis

Ep.258 Born in Moscow in 1986, Yulia Bas pursued fine art studies from an early age. After earning her architecture diploma, she made the move to Western Europe. Today, she resides in Barcelona, Spain.

In 2008 she and her partner established a successful yacht design studio. Shortly after they relocated to Italy first, then to Spain. Several years ago, after more than a decade in design she rekindled her passion for art, engaging in private study and collaborations with artists, curators, and art historians. Yulia has forged partnerships with international galleries, showcasing her work in solo and group exhibitions, including a display at Christie's London, as well as participating in various art fairs.

Her works are being acquired for the collections around the world.

Artist https://www.yuliabas.com/

Galerie LeRoyer https://www.galerieleroyer.com/fr/artists/35-yulia-bas/

Gillian Jason Gallery https://www.gillianjason.com/artists/57-yulia-bas/

G.Gallery https://www.g.gallery/about

Glogauair https://glogauair.net/open-studios/december-2023/yulia-bas/

Luisa Catucci Gallery https://www.luisacatucci.com/yulia-bas-2/

Art Cat https://www.setmanadelart.cat/esdeveniment/yulia-bas-caminaboires/

Ep.257 Robert Garland is currently the Dance Theatre of Harlem Artistic Director. Mr. Garland was a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company achieving the rank of principal dancer. After creating a work for the DTH School Ensemble, Arthur Mitchell invited Robert Garland to create a work for The Dance Theatre of Harlem Company and appointed him the organization’s first Resident Choreographer. He was also Director of the Professional Training Program of the DTH school, and the organization’s webmaster. In addition to choreographing several ballets for DTH, Mr. Garland has also created works for New York City Ballet, Britain’s Royal Ballet, Oakland Ballet and many others. His commercial work has included music videos, commercials and short films, including the children’s television show Sesame Street, a Nike commercial featuring New York Yankee Derek Jeter, the NAACP Image Awards, a short film for designer Donna Karan, and the “Charmin Cha-Cha” for Proctor and Gamble. Mr. Garland holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Juilliard School in New York City.

Photo Credit: Nir Arieli

Robert Garland https://www.dancetheatreofharlem.org/people/robert-garland/

Dance Theatre of Harlem in Paris https://www.dancetheatreofharlem.org/dthinparis/

Pointe Magazine https://pointemagazine.com/robert-garland-dance-theatre-of-harlem/#gsc.tab=0

New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/arts/dance/robert-garland-dance-theater-of-harlem.html

San Francisco Classical Voice https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/arts/dance/robert-garland-dance-theater-of-harlem.html

National Arts Center https://nac-cna.ca/fr/bio/robert-garland

Dance Consortium https://danceconsortium.com/resources/choreographer/robert-garland/

Pulse Kenya https://www.pulse.co.ke/story/the-ballet-world-needs-robert-garland-why-isnt-it-calling-2024082008555077311

Yale https://schwarzman.yale.edu/artist/robert-garland

Bach Track https://bachtrack.com/performer/robert-garland

News Tank Culture https://culture.newstank.fr/article/view/264305/etats-unis-robert-garland-directeur-artistique-dance-theater-of-harlem.html

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garland_(choreographer)

Ep.256 Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe is a Ghanaian-born, Portland-based painter whose work moves quietly but with immense presence. Born in Accra in 1988, he trained at the Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Ghana before relocating to Portland, Oregon in 2017 where he continued to develop his distinctive visual language. His luminous oil portraits have been exhibited internationally, from Los Angeles to Sydney, and his work is included in major museum collections and group shows across the United States and Europe.

What began as an exploration of figurative painting evolved into a deliberate visual language rooted in identity, embodiment and cultural narrative. Quaicoe has spoken about how his move from Ghana to the United States deepened his awareness of how Black bodies are seen, read and experienced in different cultural contexts. This awareness, he explains, informs how he paints presence, gaze and posture.

Vangart https://vangart.fr/otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe/

Lex Weill https://weillgallery.com/artists/41-otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe/biography/

Zongville Appreciation Series https://zongoville.com/blogs/news/otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe-24-12-2025

Russo Lee Gallery https://www.russoleegallery.com/artists/otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe

Roberts Project https://www.robertsprojectsla.com/artists/otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe

Zara https://www.zara.com/us/en/search?searchTerm=otis%20kwame%20kye%20quaicoe§ion=WOMAN

Artsper https://www.artsper.com/fr/artistes-contemporains/ghana/98535/otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe

Almine Rech https://www.alminerech.com/exhibitions/8892-otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe-superficial-incisions

Juxtapoz https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe-you-re-in-america/

Rubell Museum https://rubellmuseum.org/2021-otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe

Deeds Magazine https://www.deedsmag.com/stories/in-conversation-with-exhibitor-otis-kwame-kye-quaicoe-about-pharrells-upcoming-femmes-group-exhibition-in-paris

​Kandy G Lopez (b. 1987, New Jersey) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring cultural identity, representation, and power through fiber art, portraiture, painting, and mixed media. Born to Dominican parents, she draws from her experience navigating multiple cultural landscapes.

Kandy G Lopez holds a BFA in Painting and a BS in Marketing/Management from the University of South Florida and earned her MFA in Painting from Florida Atlantic University in 2014. Her background in both fine arts and business informs her meticulous material investigations and strategic engagement with art institutions. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Arts at Nova Southeastern University, where she integrates critical theory with hands-on material practice.

Photo credit: Jade Lily

Artist https://www.kandyglopez.com/

ACA Gallery https://acagalleries.com/artists/kandy-g-lopez/

Hyperallergic https://hyperallergic.com/kandy-g-lopez-situational-identity-new-works-in-fiber-aca-galleries/

Armory Art Center https://armoryart.org/event/past-the-eyes-artist-talk-kandy-g-lopez/

Colossal https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/05/kandy-g-lopez-embroidered-portraits/

Fondation Florence https://www.fondationflorence.fr/espacecult

Vogue https://www.vogue.com/article/kandy-g-lopez-textile-truths-faces-of-resilience-aca-galleries

Orlando Museum of Art https://omart.org/artwork/kandy-g-lopez-installation-view-from-the-florida-prize-in-contemporary-art/

Riverside Art Museum https://riversideartmuseum.org/exhibitions/kandy-g-lopez-invisible-threads-2/

Out Clique https://www.outclique.com/layers-you-can-see-inside-the-art-of-kandy-g-lopez/

Canvas Rebel https://canvasrebel.com/meet-kandy-g-lopez/

Bold Journal Magazine https://boldjourney.com/meet-kandy-g-lopez/

Meer https://www.meer.com/en/99807-textile-truths-faces-of-resilience

Visual Arts Center of Richmond https://www.visarts.org/blog/blog/2024/a-conversation-with-visiting-artist-in-residence-kandy-g-lopez/

Luxe Source https://luxesource.com/article/artist-kandy-g-lopez

VR Art Platform https://vrallart.com/artist/kandy_g_lopez/

Craft Council https://craftcouncil.org/articles/the-queue-kandy-g-lopez/