From Hair to There

Artist’s Talk with Sonya Clark

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) is pleased to present From Hair to There, an artist’s talk with Sonya Clark on hair as one of the oldest art forms. The event will be held Friday, March 27, 2015, at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Sonya Clark is the 2014 Art Prize Recipient and Chair of the Department of Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Born in Washington D.C. of Caribbean descent, Clark is a mixed-media textile artist who incorporates human hair, hairdressing tools, and hair-braiding techniques into her sculptural objects in order to raise questions about race, culture, class, and history.

Clark’s talk will begin with the premise that hairdressing is the first textile art. Her work aims to bring out the stories held within everyday objects such as combs, cloth, and hair, ultimately creating connections between hair salons and art galleries as sites of beauty, craft, skill, improvisation, and commerce.

“Hairdressers are my heroes. The poetry and politics of Black hair care specialists are central to my work as an artist and educator,” Clark asserts. “These artists have mastered a craft impossible for me to take for granted.”

Clark’s work is currently on view in the exhibition Loving After Lifetimes of All This, at CCCD’s Benchspace Gallery & Workshop through May 23, 2015. Including work by more than 15 artists, activists, and archives nationwide, the exhibition highlights craft practice as a form of cultural resistance within historically disadvantaged communities.

From Hair to There: Artist’s Talk With Sonya Clark
Friday, March 27, 2015 beginning at 6 p.m.
Location: Benchspace Gallery & Workshop at The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design,
67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC
Free and open to the public.