April Sunami facts for kids

Quick facts for kids April Sunami
Detail of "Lady of Chaos" by April Sunami
Born	April Joyce Sturkey 1980 (age 44–45) Cincinnati, Ohio
Nationality	American
Occupation	Artist
Spouse(s)	Christopher Sunami
Children	River Sunami and Ella Sunami

April Sunami is an amazing artist who creates art using many different materials, like paint, paper, and other objects. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. Her artworks have been shown in museums and galleries all over the United States. Her art has even traveled to Ghana and Cuba!

You can find her art in the permanent collections of the Southern Ohio Museum and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. This means her art is kept there forever for people to see. A director from the Columbus Museum of Art once said April Sunami is like a new version of another famous artist, Aminah Robinson.

April Sunami has also helped lead many art groups, like Creative Arts of Women. She was even the first president of All People Arts Incorporated. Today, she is featured in a special campaign called "Columbus Makes Art." This campaign shows her as one of the main faces of art in Columbus. She studied art history at Ohio State University and Ohio University. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the Blockfort arts building, which means she has a special studio there. Some of her art mentors include Talle Bamazi, Stephanie Rond, Queen Brooks, and Bettye Stull.

Where Her Art Has Been Shown

April Sunami's art has been displayed in many cool places. Here are some of her exhibitions:

• Art of Soul (2019) and Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms (2016) at the National Afro-American Museum.
• Waiting for Transcendence: Work by April Sunami (2017) at the Southern Ohio Museum.
• Art 360: Art Hatching Across Ohio was a special exhibition shown at several museums, including the Columbus Museum of Art and the Massillon Museum.

Awards and Special Recognitions

April Sunami has received many awards and honors for her incredible art.

• In 2020, Urban One radio called her a Black History Month "Future History Maker."
• In 2019, her art was chosen to represent Columbus in Accra, Ghana, which is Columbus's sister city.
• She also traveled to Cuba in 2019 for the 13th Annual Havana Biennial, an important art event.
• That same year, Columbus Underground picked her as one of the Top 10 Local Artists.
• In 2018, she took part in Columbus's celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance, a famous time for Black artists and culture.
• She won the 2017 GCAC Award at the Ohio State Fair.
• In 2016, the Greater Columbus Arts Council bought one of her artworks for their collection.
• She also won an award in 2012 from the Greater Columbus Arts Council for her art.

Her Artistic Family

Art runs in April Sunami's family!

• Her father-in-law, John Sunami, has many public art pieces around Columbus. He was also one of the first artists to create digital art.
• John's father, Soichi Sunami, was a famous photographer. He was known for working with the modern dancer Martha Graham for a long time.
• In 2018, April, John, and Soichi all had their art shown together in a family exhibition at the Cultural Arts Center. This show also included art from her sister-in-law Jennifer Sunami and her son River Sunami. Her husband, Christopher Sunami, even composed music for the exhibition!
• April's cousin, Yusef Afoxè, was also a professional artist.

What is Psycheñwelic Art?

April Sunami is most famous for creating a unique art style she calls "psycheñwelic" art. This word comes from two parts:

• Psyche is a Greek word that means "mind" or "soul."
• Nywele is a Swahili word that means "hair."

This art style is a mix of abstract art (art that doesn't show things exactly as they look) and realist art (art that looks very real). In psycheñwelic art, April often paints a realistic face, usually of an African or African-American woman. Then, she combines it with abstract hair or clothing. This helps to show the person's inner thoughts or feelings.

April has been working in this style since 2006. Lately, she has added mixed-media collages to the abstract parts of her art. This connects her work to other female African-American artists from Columbus, like Aminah Robinson, who also used mixed media. Many other local artists have also tried creating art in this special style.

Working with Other Artists

April Sunami loves to work with other artists.

• She has contributed to group projects with Creative Arts of Women and Mother Artists at Work.
• She has also worked one-on-one with visual artists like Stephanie Rond, Queen Brooks, and Lisa McLymont.
• She has collaborated with poets such as Naki Akrobettoe, Caroline Bennett, and Barbara Fant, among others.

April Sunami in the Media

April Sunami's art has been featured in different media.

• Her work was the main topic of an episode of WOSU-TV's show Broad & High, which is about the local art scene.
• She was also featured on Good Day, Columbus on WTTE.
• Her art appeared in a video for the "Columbus Makes Art" campaign.
• She was also part of a documentary called Columbus in Cuba, which showed Columbus artists traveling to Cuba.