In Conversation: Kiki Symoné and Talysha Bujold-Abu
Artists Kiki Symoné and Talysha Bujold-Abu met virtually, and the Art Gallery of Windsor is pleased to share their artistic motivations, the stories and themes they depict in their work, art-making tools and techniques, and black identity as a narrative and how it informs their practice.
About the artists.
KIKI SYMONÉ
Windsor based artist, Kiki Symoné, has been honing her skills as a digital artist for the past several years. Originally a chalk pastel portraitist specializing in urban expressionism, Kiki blended her love of art, technology, and social change to bring about the perfect marriage of her passions. An alumna of the University of Windsor with degrees in Education and French, Kiki is self-taught in digital art and embraces a pedagogy of online teaching that is shared by a growing community of Millennial-era artists.
Her medium includes both digital work and photographic prints which she encourages her audience to share in windows, neighbourhoods, on placards, and in the hands of friends and family in a movement to “lift up” the voices of her beloved community.
Kiki’s digital art depicts the everyday life of Black communities. Visually capturing cultural themes of family, history, education, as well as racism and social inequality, Kiki’s art has a global audience with recent exhibits in New York City and commissions in France, Spain, Australia as well as the United States and Canada. Her illustration of subjects navigating everyday environments allows Kiki to expand the boundaries of traditional depictions of Black people in art and the open faces of her subjects are a signature feature of her work that allows viewers to step into the portrait and realize their right to expression. Kiki creates her art to emphasize the beauty and strength in the relationships and actions that make up everyday life for the Black community.
TALYSHA BUJOLD-ABU
Talysha Bujold-Abu (she/her) is an artist, illustrator, and arts educator – she holds a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Windsor (2018), and is currently the Gallery Manager & Membership Coordinator with Arts Council Windsor & Region; a non-profit organization that programs and supports all disciplines of the creative arts.
Exploring the liminal space of mixed heritage identity, Bujold-Abu addresses shifting interpretations of perceived difference - blackness as both a label and state of being. Through this work, she interrogates both implicit and explicit racism, acting as participant and witness to shifting interpretations of racial hierarchies. Talysha Bujold-Abu is a second-generation Canadian, of Ghanaian and French Canadian heritage.
Resources.
Art Gallery of Windsor Website: agw.ca
