Celebrate Black History Month with San José Public Library as we invite you to our first Local Black Artists Showcase featuring five, talented artists from San José and the greater Bay Area.
Spend fifteen minutes in the world of each respective artist as they invite you into their virtual spaces. Explore their unique artwork while listening to their personal narratives, journeys and inspirations. You are encouraged to engage in discussion with all of our presenters.
Meet the Artists
Christopher Adam Williams is a visual artist whose practice utilizes portraiture and figurative painting to convey complex narratives, including that of race and gender, originating for a deep empathy with his subjects. Born in Oakland, California, Christopher’s current studio base is in San Francisco, where he resides with his wife. His drawings, paintings and films have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, museums and galleries, including Show Times popular network series, The L Word Generation Q, Tunnels of the Mind (Times Square, NY), Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA), Spark+Echo Arts (New York, NY), Artist Talk Moderator: Dewey Crumpler, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA; Artist Talk Host: Uncle Bobby X, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA;My Studio Gallery (Sacramento, CA) and The Golden One Center (Sacramento, CA).
Christopher received his Bachelors in Fine Arts and Masters in Fine Arts from San Francisco Art Institute, where he was awarded Best in Show, MFA and a finalist for the Headlands Arts Center Graduate Residency. 2020 Winner of The Black Artists Fund Sower award.
Delgreta Brown is a Contemporary and Afrofuturism Visual Artist. The self-taught artist is a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana (2005). Delgreta has exhibited her artwork throughout Northern California. Her artwork expresses themes of love, hope, music, prosperity, exploration, navigation, technology and spirituality. She has an affinity for using mixed medium elements combined with cultural aesthetics. Delgreta's work translates into ethereal portraits, vibrant abstract works or mystical landscapes. Additionally, she creates luminous large-scale experimental works of art as murals or installations. The dynamic artist was featured at the "Nightlight Multimedia Festival" by SOMArts Cultural Center (2017) and the Arts Equity Summit 2019 hosted by Arts Connect International (ACI). She is a grant recipient of the Center for Cultural Innovation; recipient of the 'Sower' Grant" from the Black Artists Foundry (BAF); scholarship program awardee of the Center for Holographic Art (2020); Digital Evolution Artist Retention (DEAR) Artist Retreat Fellow of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), Republic FC Kickstart Grantee, recipient of a Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC) "Ripple Grant" and awardee of the "Right to Heal" Digital Zine from the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network: Centering Mental Health Multi-Racial Equity.
Delgreta's recent solo exhibitions include, "Onyx & The Butterfly" and "Dreams and Abstract Vibes From The Rift." The unique exhibitions offered a physical gallery exhibit and/or gallery experience in virtual reality (VR) online platforms. The artist's exploration of VR helped her to adapt to the challenges of presenting her artwork publicly during the health pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Her introduction to VR provided new insights and opportunities while offering continued visibility and accessibility of her artwork. Currently, she is developing a new body of work for her next forthcoming virtual art exhibition.
Paige Mason is a Central Valley-based freelance illustrator/artist who has had the pleasure to have called San Jose, CA “home” for six years with her family of five! She is currently living back in her hometown of Fresno where she has welcomed her newest son, and continues to make and teach art for a public elementary school. Paige has been extremely fortunate to still participate within the San Jose art community through Local Color, SJMade, and now Nirvana Soul Cafe! When looking at Paige’s art, the viewer will be entranced by original characters who tell a story all through just one framed illustration. Her art stems from joy, whimsy, and the imagination of kids!
Shani Williams is a San Jose native who was raised by a single mom, and grew up with four older sisters. She has always loved observing all forms of art, but only recently discovered her passion for creating it herself. Shani's artwork is inspired immensely by her surroundings. The people who inspire her and the picturesque places she's visited all influence her work. She finds art to be therapeutic, and an exhilarating way to momentarily cancel out the chaos of the world. Creating is something you can always find her doing with any spare time, whether it be painting, sketching, or crafting resin art. Creating pieces that can convey meaningful messages is something Shani finds gratification in. Growing up around a circle of resilient, yet poised minority women has inspired much of her creative work. She is passionate about social justice and women's rights and aims to create pieces that celebrate black and other minority communities.
Visit her social media Instagram (art page) @art.xshani
Aambr Newsome grew up in Sacramento, California where she first found her love of the Arts while working on decorations, art projects for school, and various other contraptions that were made from random objects found where ever she went. Currently, she spends her time illustrating and writing an independent comic that is a social commentary on being a young working class woman of color living in an underground society, while pursuing her B.A. in Fine Arts. Many of her other artistic endeavors include muraling, sculpting, painting, printmaking, and 2-D layered dioramas.
While she gained most of her experience through school, painting in the community, and set design, she has also assisted in curating, preparing installations, and artistic event planning. Now, she lives in Oakland, California where she exhibits her work and continues her studies.
Save the Date
Don't miss out on this unique virtual experience! Please join us to meet, support and celebrate these local artists. This event is free with parental discretion advised.
Thursday, February 17, 2022 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM on Zoom
Add new comment