Clarissa Sligh facts for kids

Clarissa T. Sligh (born 1939) is an amazing African-American artist and photographer. She is known for creating unique "artist books" that combine pictures and words to tell stories. Clarissa lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

When she was just 15 years old, Clarissa played a very important role in a court case in Virginia. This case helped to end segregation in schools, which meant that Black and white students could go to school together. Later, in 1988, she helped start a group called Coast-to-Coast: A Women of Color National Artists' Project. This group helped show the artwork of many talented women of color.

Early Life and School

Clarissa Sligh was born in Washington, D.C.. She grew up in a big family. She went to schools that were separated by race in Virginia. This was called "segregation."

In 1955, when Clarissa was 15, she was the main person in a court case. This case was called Thompson v County School Board of Arlington County. It was about ending segregation in schools in Virginia.

Clarissa went to Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). She earned a degree in math in 1961. Later, she studied art at Howard University in 1972. She also got a business degree from the Wharton School in 1973. In 1999, she earned another art degree from Howard University.

Becoming an Artist

Before becoming a full-time artist, Clarissa Sligh worked at NASA. She helped with the space flight program where astronauts went into space.

In 1987, Clarissa decided to focus only on her art. Her artwork has been shown in many famous places. These include the Jewish Museum in New York City. Her art was also shown at the National African American Museum Project. This project later became the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Her art is also part of the collections at other major museums. These include The Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Art. You can also find her work at the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Her Art and Stories

Clarissa Sligh sees herself as a storyteller first. She uses her photographs and artist books to tell stories. Her art often explores ideas about politics, family life, and who we are. She also looks at history, fairness, and how things change.

In her art, Clarissa mixes photos with text. As she added more words, she started making "book works." These are like special handmade books that are also pieces of art.

Her work often makes us think about what we consider normal. It also makes us think about our roles in our families and in society. Clarissa found inspiration in the school books she read as a child. She used these ideas to explore her own life experiences.

For example, she created an essay called The Plaintiff Speaks (2004). She also made an artist book called It Wasn’t Little Rock (2004 and 2005). Both of these works are about her experience as the main person in the 1955 school desegregation case.

Clarissa has also made books about her own experiences reading as a Black child. Reading Dick & Jane with Me (1989) is a story about learning to read. My Mother, Walt Whitman and Me (2019) is about a book her mother found.

Coast-to-Coast Art Project

In 1988, Clarissa Sligh helped start the Coast-to-Coast National Women Artists of Color Project. She started it with two other artists, Faith Ringgold and Margaret Gallegos. From 1988 to 1996, this group showed the art of African American women all over the United States.

Clarissa also worked with other groups that showed art by African American women. These included the National Women's Caucus for Art and Printed Matter.

In 1990, Clarissa helped organize an art show called "Coast to Coast: A Women of Color National Artists' Book Project." It featured works by over 100 women artists of color. The show included art by famous artists like Emma Amos (painter), Elizabeth Catlett, Faith Ringgold, and Deborah Willis.

Awards and Recognition

Clarissa Sligh has received several awards for her amazing art:

• 1988: Artist in Residence, Book Arts, from Women's Studio Workshop
• 1998: Visual Arts grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
• 2004: Artist in Residence, Book Arts, from Women's Studio Workshop
• 2006: Art and Change Grant from the Leeway Foundation

Her Books and Publications

Here are some of the books Clarissa Sligh has created:

• What's Happening With Momma?, 1988
• Reading Dick and Jane with Me, 1989
• Voyage(r): A Tourist Map to Japan, 2000
• Wrongly Bodied Two, 2004
• It Wasn't Little Rock, 2005
• Transforming Hate: An Artist's Book, 2016