Dindga McCannon (born: July 31, 1947) is an African-American artist, fiber artist, muralist, teacher, author, and illustrator.[1] She co-founded the collective
Where We At, Black Women Artists in 1971.[2]
Early life and education
McCannon was born and raised in Harlem and was inspired to become an artist at the age of 10. She is self-taught and works intuitively. Calling herself a mixed-media multimedia artist, she works at "fusing my fine art 'training' with the traditional women's needlework taught to me by my mother, Lottie K. Porter, and grandmother Hattie Kilgo — sewing, beading, embroidery, and quilting into what is now known as ArtQuilts."[3]
Career
Dindga McCannon has been an artist for 55 years. In addition to her work as a quilter, author, and illustrator, Dindga considers herself a costume designer and muralist and a print maker. Her work involves women's lives, portraits, and history.
In response to sexism and racism in the art world, artists in the 1960s and 1970s created collectives as a way to fight oppression. In the 1960s, McCannon was a member of
Weusi Artist Collective. This is how McCannon became interested in the
Black Arts Movement.[4] The Weusi Collective was interested in creating art that evoked African themes and symbols, as well as highlighting contemporary black pride.[5] In 1971, concerned to represent her experience as a Black woman artist and single mother,[2] she hosted the first meeting of the
Where We At group of black women artists, a group started with
Kay Brown and
Faith Ringgold, in her apartment. It grew into a group of women, who supported each other, taught workshops, and exhibited in one of the first group shows of professional black women artists in New York City.[6][7][2]
McCannon's interest in black arts and women's work met in her creation of
dashikis, which then led her to create wearables and quilts.[4]
In 2015, she was a presenter at the Art of Justice: Articulating an Ethos and Aesthetic of the Movement[8] conference at New York University presented by the
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in Collaboration with the Department of Art and Public Policy, New York University; Institute of African American Affairs, New York University; and Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University.
Revolutionary Sister, a mixed-media work created in 1971, was created in response to a lack of revolutionary women warriors. The work depicts a powerful and colorful sister, created in part with items from the hardware store. McCannon speaks about this piece as a Statue of Liberty figure.[7][12] It is in the permanent collection of the
Brooklyn Museum.[13]
Commissions
McCannon has also been commissioned to create various pieces of art.
1985: United Community, 50 ft by 6 stories, 25 Furman Ave, Brooklyn, NY, Dept of Cultural Affairs
2000: Amazing Life of Althea Gibson, 60 inches by 120 inches art story quilt, Disney Inc for ESPN Zone, 42nd Street and Brady, NYC
2001: Winning the Vote, Art Quilt on the Pioneers of Women's voting history America, Scholastic Magazine
Badass Women Who Inspire Me to Soar (2006), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[19]
Charlie Parker and Some of the Amazing Musicians He Influenced (1983/2010),
The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.[20]
A Week in the Life of a Black Woman Artist (2013), Brooklyn Museum, New York[21]
Awards
2023 – Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) - Individual Artist Grant
2005 – N. Y. F. A. Fellowship – Crafts
2007 – Urban Artists Initiative, Harlem Arts Alliance
2008 – Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance – Individual Artists Grant 2009 – Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance – Individual Artist Grant
Books
McCannon has written and illustrated two books. Peaches, published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard in 1974 and by Dell in 1977, tells the story of a young black girl growing up in Harlem, her life with her family, and her ambition to be an artist.
Wilhemina Jones, Future Star, published by
Delacorte in 1980, has a similar theme, with a young black girl growing up in Harlem in the mid-1960s who dreams of pursuing an art career and leaving the oppressive atmosphere of her home.
McCannon has also illustrated books for others: Omar at X-mas by
Edgar White (published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard), and Speak to the Winds, African Proverbs, written by K. O. Opuku (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1972).[22]
In 2018, McCannon published an illustrated cookbook called Celebrations. The opening reception was held at Art For the Soul Gallery in
Springfield, Massachusetts.[23]
Memberships
McCannon was a member of two artists' collectives,
Weusi and
Where We At (a black woman's collective from the 1970s).[24]