Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Black Caribbean Makers with Malene Barnette

Location: In Person & Virtual

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The Center for Black Visual Culture welcomes author and artist Malene Barnett to discuss her new publication Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers.

Crafted Kinship is a vibrant celebration of over 60 contemporary Black Caribbean makers reshaping the boundaries of art and design. Through powerful interviews and stunning photography, this book immerses you in a rich tapestry of multidisciplinary creativity—from bold ceramics to intricate textiles. Barnett will take us deeply into stories of identity, Black womanhood and manhood, and the complex legacies of migration and diaspora as each artist connects heritage with innovation in ways that captivate and inspire us.

This program is both in person and online.

Malene Barnett

Malene Djenaba Barnett is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and textile surface designer, and the founder of the Black Artists + Designers Guild, a global platform and community of independent Black makers In 2024, Malene released her first book “Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers” which includes interviews with over 60 artists of Caribbean heritage, taking readers on an important journey through the world of Black Caribbean creativity. Malene’s art reflects her African Caribbean heritage, building on her ancestral legacy of mark-making as a visual identity, and has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the United States. Her art and design work has also been featured in major publications such as the New York Times, Architectural Digest, and Galerie Magazine. Malene is a Fulbrighter, gives talks nationally, and publishes work raising awareness of Caribbean makers and ceramic art traditions of the Black diaspora. When she’s not traveling the world researching Black diasporic aesthetics, Malene resides in Brooklyn, New York.