Delita Martin facts for kids

Delita Martin (born 1972) is an amazing American artist. She creates art using many different techniques. She lives and works in Huffman, Texas.

About Delita Martin's Life

Early Life and School

Delita Martin was born in 1972 in Conroe, Texas. She loved art from a very young age. She says she knew she wanted to be an artist when she was just five years old! Her dad was a carpenter and painter, and he helped her discover art.

She went to Texas Southern University in Houston. There, she earned a special degree in drawing in 2002. Later, she studied at Purdue University and got another degree in printmaking in 2009. After finishing school, she even taught art at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Her Art Career

Delita Martin is known as a multidisciplinary artist. This means she uses many different ways to make her art. She combines printmaking, painting, and even stitching. Her art often mixes old traditions with new ideas.

Delita's main goal is to tell stories. She wants to give a voice to Black women, who have often been overlooked. She uses special symbols in her artwork:

• Moons often stand for women.
• Birds represent the human spirit.
• She also includes West African masks. These masks show the connection between the real world and the spirit world.

Delita gets ideas from other artists, like Elizabeth Catlett. She also finds inspiration in the rich history and beauty of Black culture.

Starting Her Own Studio

Delita Martin had her first art show at the Community Artists' Collective. She even worked there helping with art education. In 2008, she started her very own art studio called Black Box Press.

She taught art at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for several years. Her art has been shown in big art events like the Havana Biennial and Art Basel Miami.

Art Groups She Belongs To

Delita is a founder of Black Women of Print. This is a special group for Black women who make prints. It started in 2018. She is also part of another artist group called ROUX. Other artists in this group include Ann Johnson, Rabéa Ballin, and Lovie Olivia.

Her work has been featured in magazines like Marie Claire. She has also helped judge art competitions, like "The Contemporary Print: 5x5" at PrintAustin.

Where You Can See Her Art

Delita Martin's art is so important that it is kept in many famous museums and collections. Some of these include:

• The National Museum of Women in the Arts
• The Minneapolis Institute of Art
• The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
• The Studio Museum in Harlem
• The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum

Her art is even displayed in the US Embassy in Mauritania!

Awards Delita Martin Has Won

Delita Martin has received several awards for her amazing artwork:

• Bruce J. and Sharon Goodman Merit Award (2006)
• Telly Award (2010)
• Barbara Deming Emerging Voices Award (2011)

Exhibitions

Delita Martin's art has been shown in many exhibitions across the United States. Here are a few examples of her shows:

• 2017 They Cried I Am, Gallery 221, Tampa, FL
• 2017 Two Skins, Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR
• 2017 I Come from Women Who Could Fly, Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art, Biloxi, MS
• 2018 The Dinner Table, Art Gallery, Houston TX
• 2018 Between Sisters and Spirits, Nicole Longnecker Gallery, Houston, TX
• 2019 Mapping Black Identities, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
• 2020 Calling Down the Spirits, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
• 2021 Conjure, Art Museum of Southeast Texas