Instagram story viewer> @carringtoner> Posts

Dejha / Deee-ja

@carringtoner

4.5K

followers

1640

following

art tings + cofounder @cmxnr

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Thank you to everyone who joined us on September 16 to warmly welcome our Academic Year 2027 Distinguished Artist-Scholar in Residence, Dejha Carrington.

We were delighted to celebrate the beginning of her fellowship, dedicated to storytelling, process, and meaning-making in the arts.

Images by Quan Brinson. taken in NYU Institute of African American Affairs & Center for Black Visual Culture by @carringtoner

3

4

17 days ago

The Center for Black Visual Culture is proud to announce our Academic Year 2027 Distinguished Artist-Scholar in Residence Dejha Carrington.

Dejha Carrington is an arts leader. In 2017, she co-founded Commissioner, a collaborative model and social practice that brings locals together to support contemporary artists and collect art in their cities. As Executive Director, she has cultivated an expansive community of over 850 members to date, collectively funding more than 50 curated artist commissions in Miami, Detroit, Montréal, and Mexico City.

From 2015 to 2022, Dejha served as Vice President of Strategic Communications for YoungArts, advancing the national foundation’s mission to nurture the careers of emerging artists and alumni. Previous experience includes press relations and strategy for institutions such as the Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, TX); the 43rd Edition of the Medellín Biennial and ArtBo (Medellín and Bogotá, Colombia); and the National Film Board of Canada (Montréal, Canada).

Join us as we welcome Dejha Carrington to the CBVC and NYU community with a celebratory reception marking the start of a fellowship dedicated to storytelling, process, and meaning-making in the arts.

September 16, 2026 6:00pm - 8:00pm 20 Cooper Square 3rd Floor Lobby, New York, NY, 10003
RSVP using the link in our bio

Continue reading Dejha Carrington’s full bio on our website. by @carringtoner

439

87

a month ago

Today, it brings us incredible joy to announce the national expansion of our community-led program, supported by a $1 million investment from Knight Foundation.

Founded on models of mutual care and collective support, we’re thrilled to launch new programs that bring people together to support artists and collect art in Miami, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Charlotte, N.C.

Since 2018, more than 800 people have poured into Commissioner, making our Miami-based program the city’s longest-running crowdfunding art project. Grounded in the support of the many locals who are passionate about art and building community, members’ contributions ranging from $90 to $2,400 have surpassed $500,000, collectively funding 55 artist commissions over the past eight years.

Year after year, hundreds of us have pooled resources in ways that align with our values and capacities to support artistic practices and the production of new work. This affirmation and trust has paved the way for envisioning cultural infrastructure, systems of care, and collaborative funding models that stand to shape our shared future.

As we prepare to celebrate a new chapter with upcoming commissioned artist Stephen Arboite, we are excited to continue building on this foundation with a $1M investment from @knightfdn to expand our work in Miami, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Charlotte.

“Commissioner shows how communities can support artists, strengthen their financial durability, and open new pathways for people to become collectors and stewards of creative work,” Kristina Newman-Scott, vice president for arts at Knight Foundation. “That cultural infrastructure makes cities more creative, resilient, and vibrant.”

More than ever, we are so very clear in our belief that the future of artist support is collaborative and community-led. 🫂

✍🏾 Read the full announcement in our bio. And thank you, deeply, for vision dreaming with us. taken in Worldwide by @carringtoner

3

203

4 months ago

Louis Vuitton has unveiled a newly updated edition of its Miami City Guide, spotlighting the places, people, and experiences that define the city today.

The guide features a personal perspective from Dejha Carrington, co-founder of Commissioner and a respected voice in the art world, who shares some of her favorite Miami destinations and local insights.

Thoughtfully designed for both visitors and locals, the guide captures the energy, creativity, and lifestyle that continue to make Miami one of the world’s most sought-after destinations.

Photo credits: Louis Vuitton by @carringtoner

3

16

4 months ago

“I think of my art as my voice. It’s what I have to say about the world I live in, and it’s about who I am and what I would like things to be.”
— Faith Ringgold

The 2026 National YoungArts Week exhibition, featuring 95 works by @youngarts award winners mostly ages 15 to 18 years, offers a timely reset. Here, artists explore the fragility of relationships, culture, and the environment, and lay bare their lived experiences. A space for intimate reflection, they remind us to hold on tight: Remember who we are and where we’re going.🌞
 Members: This Thursday evening, join us for a guided tour with guest curator and @cmxnr cofounder Dejha Carrington, followed by a freehand drawing session with @rawfigspopup at the iconic YoungArts Jewel Box. Sip and sketch, elevated. 🌚

Cocktails crafted special for the occasion by everyone’s favorite bartender @ricothedon__ thanks to our friends at @titosvodka. RSVP 21+ years a must.

📷 @zay.ira courtesy of YoungArts. Exhibition on view through February 23, 2026, by appointment.

Featured images:
Kennedy Longmore (Visual Arts)
Dear Diary
Oil on canvas

Isabel Bhatia (Photography)
Plastic Surgery
Cyanotype collage, tea-toned and stitched

Christopher Barker (Photography)
Ideal Celestial
Digital photograph

Ryan Chou (Design)
SculptPads
Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender, Figma

Nate Barcot (Visual Arts)
Ăn Canh Khổ Qua Thì Khổ Qua (Bitter Melon Ends Suffering)

Overwhelming gratitude for @zayracampos, Lifetime Support for Artists manager, and to all the YoungArts teams, panels, and master teachers for leading with such care. As a wise Keshav Subash (@kebob_studio) explained during the exhibition walkthrough with fellow artists, everything is cyclical.🌖 taken in YoungArts by @carringtoner

3

1

9 months ago

3

12

9 months ago

Retour en image sur cet échange puissant entre @keithyantoine et @carringtoner. ✨
C’était plus qu'une discussion : c'était une transmission, un appel à bâtir nos propres espaces d'abondance et de mémoire.
À travers leurs échanges, elles nous ont rappelé que la créativité est un levier d'indépendance, que nos histoires doivent exister dans nos propres espaces, et que la mémoire collective commence avec nous.

Merci à elle pour l’inspiration.

Restez branchés pour la suite des évènements. 💣

-

A look back at this powerful exchange between @keithyantoine and @carringtoner. ✨
It was more than a discussion: it was a transmission, a call to build our own spaces of abundance and memory.
Through their exchanges, they reminded us that creativity is a lever for independence, that our stories must exist in our own spaces, and that collective memory begins with us.

Thank you for the inspiration.

Stay tuned for more. 💣

📸 : @maison.seenopsis taken in Montreal, Quebec by @carringtoner

259

8

a year ago

A memory captured on the stoop of @cmxnr co-founder Dejha Carrington’s family home in Montréal is made all the more indelible by its recent appearance in a story by Douglas Markowitz for The Art Newspaper.⚡️

In the article titled “Inside the Miami nonprofit that is rethinking art patronage,” Dejha explains why programs like Commissioner should exist:

“If we care about the creative city, we need to think about how we can help artists sustain their practice, whatever that might look like. I see collecting as stewardship and a way of decentralising this idea of memory.”

Thank you @dougmarkowitz for your words and kindness, and big up to the Montréal 2023 art trip crew pictured here—we roll deep! Commissioner is made possible by our growing member community and the many partners, collaborators, and ARTISTS dreaming anew. 🙏🏾

Images:
Slide 1- Photo by @dominiqueclairemarie
Slide 12- Installation view of State of Labor by @antonia_wrighttt, now on view at Pérez Art Museum Miami. Photo by @lazarollanescreative courtesy @pamm taken in Montreal, Quebec by @carringtoner

3

8

2 years ago

Thank you to Miami-based writer @carolinadrake for taking real time to talk about the many ways that collecting art and supporting artists can look like for the @financialtimes.

Commissioner is an art program that pools members’ fees to commission artists. We also offer programming that brings people together in artist studios, collector homes, and unexpected spaces across cities but especially in Miami. Community and collaboration power this project. Seven years in, we are most proud to have built something beautiful TOGETHER.

🫂 Big up to artists artists artists and the ecology of wonderful humans who supports them. We are so very thankful for our 600+ Commissioner members, and to our generous and growing forever team @rebekahmonson @primaryprojects @jgdavila @girlpilot @ticlau_ @oreoflip @jenna_ing @natidurang @maamzies #noigrichardguzman @nomadash @absoluteaccountingcpa and lens-based storytellers @chantal_lawrie @fujifilmgirl @jg.films @juanluismatos.info. Love our dear @lonijae305 on the cover—all the flowers. taken in Miami by @carringtoner

3

11

2 years ago

Souled Out by Reginald O’Neal (@_reginaldoneal_) opened at @vielmetter Los Angeles yesterday. Not even the beaming sun could steal the show. taken in Vielmetter Los Angeles by @carringtoner

3

11

2 years ago

When we launched Commissioner almost seven years ago, we asked folks to participate in a social experiment—to be nimble, to try things, to move differently and outside of traditional art market norms. Now Miami’s longest running crowdfunding art project, more than 600 people have joined this beautiful adventure, sharing their ideas, stories, and most significantly, their friendship.

This @locustprojects WaveMaker grant will help us turn the lens back on Commissioner, and document/publish what we’ve learned, where we’ve failed, and models for more sustainable, self-determined, arts ecosystems. We want to open-source this thing, and engage even more deeply in radical sharing and cross-disciplinary learning. 🤲🏾

So very thankful for ARTISTS along this journey, for our members, and for the incredible team powering this practice @primaryprojects @girlpilot @jenna_ing @oreoflip @natidurang @ticlau_ @jgdavila @maamzies #richardguzman. Warmest congrats to fellow grantees @christina_pettersson, @iman__c (@nami.flare), @yanira_collado, @pressurepoint.mp3, @amyabelsgelb, @margohannah_, @_swaneye, @jillian_mayer_, @eelpicnic, and @naandia.

✨✨✨

The 2024 WaveMaker selection panel included: Katerina Llanes, creative producer /curator who organized the recent #MakingMiami projects; Karen McKinnon (@orangetwistfilms), former WaveMaker grantee (2023); Selene Preciado (@selene__preciado), Curator and Director of Programs, LACE (@welcometolace), Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in L.A.; and Njeri Rutherford, Program Manager, CultureSource (@culturesource), Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in Detroit.Special thanks to @9hopes Jes Allie who helped coordinate the process while at Locust this summer as an @Arttable Fellow.

Since 2015, WaveMaker has awarded over $630,000 to 127 of Miami’s visionary artists, curators and collectives through supporting the realization of experimental programs in the public sphere. To learn more, check out www.wavemakergrants.org.

📸 Photo of @lllk333 looking at @carriemaeweems in the beautiful home of @artspeaks_mtl co-founder Lillian Mauer. Captured by @dominiqueclairemarie during our art trip to Montreal. taken in Miami, Florida by @carringtoner

3

24

2 years ago

Combine Day 🍑 @bklyncombine taken in Brooklyn, New York by @carringtoner

444

59

2 years ago