Engaging children with artists who look like them, have similar experiences, and come from similar backgrounds is a great source of inspiration and empowerment. By reflecting their own identities, experiences and motivations (mirrors) and also providing insight into the identities, experiences and motivations of others (windows) can move students toward more nuanced perceptions of the world around them (sliding glass doors).* Discover new BIPOC artists to add to your curriculum.
*Source: By Rudine Sims Bishop, The Ohio State University. "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors"
Digital / Design
Artists have many layered identities and art educators need to present them as such.
Representing diverse artists in your curriculum is only part of an Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist curriculum. It needs to be more than a symbolic effort and art educators need to take into account intersectionality when introducing these artists to students. How do aspects of an artists’ social and political identities (ex. gender, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, ability, physical appearance, etc.) intersect within their work?
In addition, we recognize that race is socially constructed and it is impossible to put humans in clearly defined categories by race. Racial identity is deeply personal, and artists within any given subgroup define themselves differently. Race, ethnicity, and nationality are all factors artist's individually consider as their personal identity. However, as mentioned previously that is not all that there is to their identity. We know that artists have many layered identities and art educators need to do the research to present them as such.
For the purpose of accessibility, we have attempted to organize artists into 8 subgroups: Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, Multiracial/Multiethnic, Pacific Islander/SE Asian, and South Asian. Our goal is to use present artists based on how each artist defines themselves in relation to their work. These groupings are not perfect, as humans are not meant to be divided into boxes. We hope this resource can help art educators identify who is missing from their curriculum in order to create a curriculum more representative of the incredible diversity among students and artists today.
A
Aaron Douglas
American (Black)
Amir Khadar
Sierra Leonean-American (Black)
Andrea Pippins
Swedish (Black)
Antonio Maldonado
Puerto Rican (Latinx)
Antonio Martorell
Puerto Rican (Latinx)
Archan Nair
Indian
Aurélia Durand
American (Black)
Ayqa Khan
Pakistani-American (Middle Eastern)
B
Bee Harris
American (Black)
C
Chen Xi
Chinese (Asian)
Chiho Aoshima
Japanese (Asian)
Christo Musinguzi
Ugandan (Black)
D
David Alabo
Ghanaian-Moroccan (Black)
Darryn George
New Zealander, Ngāpuhi descent (Indigenous)
Demian Dinéyazhi'
Nádleehí Diné (Indigenous)
Dissirama
Ghanaian (Black)
E
Eliana Rodgers
American (Black)
Emory Douglas
American (Black)
Eric J. Garcia
Chicano (Latinx)
Ernesto Yerena Montejano
Chicano (Latinx/ Indigenous)
Ester Hernandez
Chicana (Latinx)
F-G-H-I
Favianna Rodriguez
American (Latinx)
Hieu Nguyen AKA kelogsloops
Australian (Asian)
Hippy Potter
American (Black)
J
Jacolby Satterwhite
American (Black)
Jade Purple Brown
American (Black)
Jeffrey Veregge Port Gamble S’Klallam (Indigenous)
Jesus Barraza
Xicanx (Latinx)
Jonelle James
Guyanese & Jamaican (Black)
Julio Salgado
Mexican (Latinx)
Jessi Raulet
American (Black)
K
Kenojuak Ashevak, CC ONu Inuit (Indigenous)
Kulsum Tasnif
Pakistani-American (South East Asian)
L
Laci Jordan
American (Black)
Lakwena Maciver
British (Black)
Leeya Rose Jackson
American (Black)
Lexx
Xicana (Latinx)
M
Matthew Tapia
Hawaiian (Pacific Islander)
Malaya Lalog
American (Black)
Maria Qamar
Bangladesh, Indian, Canadian (South Asian)
Melanie Cervantes
Xicana (Latinx)
Mer Young Hidalgo Otomi Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache (Indigenous)
Mia Saine
American (Black)
Mimi Moffie
Dutch (Black)
Morehshin Allahyari
Iranian (Middle Eastern)
N
Natasha Cunningham
Jamaican (Black)
Natasha Nayo
Ghanaian (Black)
Nicholle Kobi
French (Black)
O-P-Q
Queenbe Moneyi
American (Black)
R
Renee Cox
Jamaican-American (Black)
Robert Zhao Renhui
Singaporean (Southeast Asia)
S
Sara Barriera
Mexican & Puerto Rican (Latinx)
Sharee Miller
American (Black)
Shanée Benjamin
American (Black)
Shelly Wan
Chinese (Asian)
Sanaz Mazinani
Iranian-Canadian
T
Taylor McManus
American (Black)
Temi Coker
Nigerian (Black)
Titus Kaphar
American (Black)
U-V-W
Virgil Ortiz
Cochiti Pueblo (Indigenous)
Wooden Wave (Team)
Hawaiian (Pacific Islander)
X-Y-Z
Yoshio Itagaki
Japanese (Asian)
Yung Jake
American (Black)
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Asian: a native or inhabitant of Asia, or a person of Asian descent.
BIPOC: Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
Black: of or relating to any of various population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin or ancestry originating in Africa.
Ethnicity: a group of people who identify with one another with similarities such as history, culture, language, ancestry, etc.
Indigenous: ethnic groups who are the original or earliest known inhabitants of an area, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently.
LatinX: a person of Latin origin or descent.
Middle Eastern: a person of Middle Eastern origin or descent.
Multiethnic: of two or more ethnicities.
Multiracial: of two or more races.
Nationality: the status of belonging to a particular nation.
North African: Peoples with origins based in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara belonging to a particular nation.
Pacific Islander, or Pasifika, are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. It is a geographic and ethnic/racial term to describe the inhabitants and diaspora of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania. It is not used to describe non-indigenous inhabitants of the Pacific islands.
Person of color: a person who is not white or of European parentage.
Race: a group of people who share cultural elements such as language, history, etc.
South Asian: a person of origin or descent from Southern Asia.
South East Asian: a person of origin or descent from the South Eastern part of Asia