Instagram story viewer> @sysclark> Posts

Sonya Clark

@sysclark

23.4K

followers

4243

following

Free 🇵🇸 🇸🇩 🇨🇩
Guggenheim Fellow
Professor/artist who believes art and education impact change.
Child of Caribbean folks. @marigirlsproject

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

[Guggenheim Fellow!] Today it was announced I was selected to receive this prestigious prize. It might seem to be recognition of a singular achievement, but let me assure you that this honor is communal. The number of people who have supported, guided, encouraged, mentored, loved, challenged, and taught me through the years is endless. This one is for each of you. This is for the ancestors. This is for the one who has been by my side for thirty years. This is for the friend who encouraged me to apply once again and all those who wrote letters of reference, this time and all the previous times. This is for all of you who uphold the power of art and artists. I am so honored to join the fellowship. Congratulations to each in the cohort! Deeply grateful to @guggfellows #guggfellows26

📷with #glenligon MeWe @studiomuseum

#grateful #blackartist #guggenheim by @sysclark

3k

495

6 months ago

Calling all marigolds! Indigo Arts Alliance’s 2021 Mentorship Resident Sonya Clark invites Black women and Black female-identifying individuals to take part in her forthcoming project, “Marigirls.”

Inspired by Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” 9- to 11-year-old characters (Freida, Pecola, and Claudia), this project draws on Morrison’s use of marigolds as a symbol of Black girls thriving.

To participate, visit the link in our bio to submit one photo of yourself between the ages 9 to 11. @sysclark hopes to collect up to 750 photos.

Together, the images will represent a rich archive of Black girlhood and reflect the ways Black women continue to flourish despite all obstacles. The final artwork will be unveiled in 2028 as part of an upcoming exhibition.

And the best part? For each photo submitted, Clark will personally donate $10 to @indigoartsalliance, helping to sustain our mission of building artist relationships that last a lifetime.

Follow @marigirlsproject to watch #Marigirls grow! #SonyaClark #IndigoArtsAlliance #ToniMorrison by @sysclark

3

18

a year ago

“Hairdressers are my heroes. The poetry and politics of Black hair care specialists are central to my work as an artist and educator. Rooted in a rich legacy, their hands embody an ability to map a head with a comb and manipulate the fiber we grow into complex form. These artists have mastered a craft impossible for me to take for granted” - Sonya Clark (@sysclark)

Sonya Clark’s “The Hair Craft Project” was a unique collaboration between the artist and Black hairstylists, who embody their own distinct form of artistry. Recognizing the stylists as fellow textile artists, Clark has noted that hairdressing was the first textile art form. Using her own head as a canvas, she partnered with the stylists to dismantle the barrier between hair salons and art institutions, revealing both as spaces of craft, skill, improvisation, aesthetics, and commerce. Each meticulously crafted hair design was documented through photography and paired with a complementary textile panel that the hairstylists intricately created on canvas. “The Hair Craft Project” builds upon Clark’s previous work with sculptural fiber wigs, a practice she began as a student at Cranbrook Academy of Art while delving into the broader cultural significance of braiding. These works showcase Clark’s deep appreciation for hairstyling as an art form and bring to light the remarkable creativity inherent in this ritualized practice, which has been passed down through generations.

See “The Hair Craft Project” on view in Sonya Clark: We Are Each Other, through September 22.

#sonyaclark
#weareeachother
#sonyaclarkmad
#Blackhair
#haircraftproject by @sysclark

21k

534

2 years ago

[these truths...] 'Edifice and Mortar' 2018: bricks stamped with the Declaration of Independence, black hair as mortar, and a mirror reflecting the viewers in blue, all add up to an upside down US flag. Thinking of #ThomasJefferson, #SallyHemmings, and erased and recovered histories, in the moments of flailing democracy. #250th @thearmoryshow @goya_contemporary_gallery by @sysclark

307

9

22 days ago

Now on view at The Armory Show: new and never before exhibited releases by linn meyers (@linnmeyers) alongside recent works by Sonya Clark (@sysclark) and Ellen Lesperance (@ellenlesperance). ⁠
⁠
Swipe to see: Indigo Between Cornrows by Sonya Clark; Sounding Piece by linn meyers; XOXOX (All Night) by Ellen Lesperance⁠
⁠
🗓️ September 24–27⁠
📍Javits Center, NYC⁠
📌 Tamarind | Booth N3⁠
⁠
DM us or email tamarind@unm.edu for the full checklist including works by Jordan Ann Craig, Jeffrey Gibson, and Rachel Perry.⁠
⁠
#tamarindinstitute #thearmoryshow by @sysclark

234

6

25 days ago

The land bears witness. The body holds truths. Dendrochronology is an LP.

Sonya Clark’s (@sysclark) medallion featured in “Declare: A Civic Gospel” was inspired by her visit to Monticello to record the eyes of descendants of the people enslaved by Thomas Jefferson. She walked the grounds with folks whose embodiment of their ancestors manifests profoundly in the present.

At the ghost circle of the famous felled tulip poplar, a new tree emerged. Within the textured bark, its watchful eye holds this nation accountable for our past and what becomes of our future.

Learn more about “Declare: A Civic Gospel” at the link in bio. The publication was made in partnership with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (@tjmonticello). by @sysclark

3

1

a month ago

Thank you Dr. Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian and champion of histories told true. Because of your previous career as curator at the @smithsonian's American History Museum, I became aware of the confederate flag of truce, a dishcloth used to signal the end of the Civil War at Appomattox. I was inspired to create "Monumental Cloth the Flag We Should Know", a series of works to bring attention to this little known flag, a flag which could've and should've marked the end of white supremacy. Yet here we are and those of us who know all the work that you've done are grateful for all the work that you've done. (AND...a few years ago the Smithsonian acquired, Monumental, my 100 scale replica of the artifact) #americanhistory #truthfully #art #gratitude @fabricworkshop @americanart by @sysclark

847

20

a month ago

#Marseille with many beloveds. How I love this place and sharing its complexity with those close to my heart! taken in Marseille, France by @sysclark

281

15

2 months ago

[Haircut for a Poem @vipbarber406] "Sonya Clark's performance project invites clients in Black-owned #barbershops to read Calvin Hernton's poem,The Distant Drum, in exchange for a haircut. This Bozeman, Montana edition of the project celebrates the legacy of Black and Indigenous #artist #EdmoniaLewis and her wealthy older brother Samuel who was a barber (among many things) in Bozeman in the 1800s. This project is an extension of the Lewis legacy. Documention of the performance will be on view as part of the Chisel and Razor exhibition @tinworksart."

A haircut might seem like a little thing but if you know anything, you know it means a lot. It is an embodied poem of care, community, and culture.

I'm in deep gratitude to Kevin Moss, an excellent artist/barber for hosting the project at his VIP barbershop, Nnamdi @thennamdikanaga and Sam @samoverturfphoto for their thoughtful documentation, each of the ten Black gentlemen who participated, curator Melissa Regain for conceiving of the exhibition and inviting me, and the amazing staff at Tinworks. This is just a part of a monumental group exhibit which will open this summer. by @sysclark

99

12

5 months ago

Salvador, Brazil you have my heart! Soul nourishing from the food to the sea to the art/artists/curators/designer/historians to endless museums to the rhythms of the diasporic culture that pulsed through every moment, I am filled. Thank you @aramyamihotel for the beautiful views and cheerful staff. Thank you @nadiataquary and @adelmo.lins for your big hearts and stunning work. Deep gratitude to my beloveds Marcia and Daniel Minter and Rachel Harding for building a bridge for my spirit to revel in this magical city. I hope to be back again and again🤎🤎🤎 taken in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil by @sysclark

292

44

7 months ago

In NYC for business, art, food, friends and family. Feeling nourished. Thank you to my people, fellow artists, and Brooklyn Museum, Whitney, Hauser Wirth, MAD Studio Museum, and Pratt Manhattan taken in New York, New York by @sysclark

177

14

7 months ago

My beloved Richmond family. If you can't feel the love in these photos, I can't help you. And, yes, my flight was canceled because of a snowstorm. And, yes, that kept me in Richmond for 3 more days. And, yes, it was a joy. by @sysclark

346

31

8 months ago