Dindga McCannon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dindga McCannon
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Dindga McCannon
July 31, 1947 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Art, murals, printmaking, teaching, illustration, fiber art, writing |
Dindga McCannon (born July 31, 1947) is an amazing African-American artist. She is known for her fiber art, murals, and teaching. She also writes and illustrates books! In 1971, she helped start an important group called Where We At, Black Women Artists.
Contents
Becoming an Artist
Dindga McCannon grew up in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City. She knew she wanted to be an artist when she was only 10 years old. She learned art on her own, following her feelings and ideas.
Dindga calls herself a "mixed-media" artist. This means she uses many different materials in her art. She combines her art training with traditional needlework. Her mother, Lottie K. Porter, and grandmother, Hattie Kilgo, taught her how to sew, bead, embroider, and quilt. She uses these skills to create what are now called "ArtQuilts."
Her Art Career
Dindga McCannon has been creating art for over 55 years! Besides making quilts, writing, and illustrating, she also designs costumes and paints murals. She is also a printmaker. Her art often shows the lives of women, their portraits, and important moments in history.
Fighting for Artists
In the 1960s and 1970s, many artists faced unfair treatment because of their race or gender. To fight this, artists formed groups called collectives. Dindga McCannon was part of the Weusi Artist Collective. This group wanted to create art that showed African themes and celebrated Black pride.
In 1971, Dindga wanted to make sure Black women artists had a voice. She was also a single mother, and she wanted to share her experiences. So, she hosted the first meeting of the Where We At group in her apartment. She started this group with other artists like Kay Brown and Faith Ringgold. This group grew and supported each other. They taught workshops and had one of the first art shows for Black women artists in New York City.
Dindga's interest in Black art and women's traditional work came together when she started making dashikis. These are colorful garments from West Africa. This led her to create wearable art and beautiful quilts.
Important Recognition
In 2015, Dindga was a speaker at a special art conference at New York University. It was called Art of Justice.
Her picture is also on a famous poster from 1972. It's called Some Living American Women Artists by Mary Beth Edelson.
Famous Artworks
Dindga McCannon's art is in many important collections.
- Her quilt called "Yekk's Song" is kept at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
- In 2020, her oil painting "The Last Farewell" sold for a lot of money at an auction. This painting was part of a special collection that also included works by famous artists like Henry Ossawa Tanner.
Revolutionary Sister
One of her most famous artworks is Revolutionary Sister. She made this mixed-media piece in 1971. Dindga created it because she felt there weren't enough artworks showing strong, revolutionary women. The artwork shows a powerful and colorful woman. Dindga even used items from a hardware store to create it! She says this piece is like a Statue of Liberty figure. You can see Revolutionary Sister at the Brooklyn Museum.
Art Projects and Commissions
Dindga McCannon has been asked to create many special art pieces for different places.
- 1985: She created a huge mural called United Community. It was 50 feet wide and six stories tall in Brooklyn, New York.
- 2000: She made an art story quilt called Amazing Life of Althea Gibson. It was for Disney Inc. and ESPN Zone in New York City.
- 2001: She created an Art Quilt called Winning the Vote. This quilt showed the pioneers who fought for women's right to vote in America. It was for Scholastic Magazine.
- 2008: She made a piece about Zora Neale Hurston for Columbia University in New York.
Art in Public Collections
Many museums and galleries proudly display Dindga McCannon's work. Here are some of them:
- Mercedes (1971), Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
- Revolutionary Sister (1971), Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Empress Akweke (1975), Brooklyn Museum, New York
- West Indian Day Parade (1976), Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Woman #1 (1975-1977), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- Charlie Parker and Some of the Amazing Musicians He Influenced (1983/2010), The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
- A Week in the Life of a Black Woman Artist (2013), Brooklyn Museum, New York
Awards and Honors
Dindga McCannon has received many awards for her amazing art:
- 2023 – Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) - Individual Artist Grant
- 2005 – N. Y. F. A. Fellowship – Crafts
- 2007 – Urban Artists Initiative, Harlem Arts Alliance
- 2008 – Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance – Individual Artists Grant
- 2009 – Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance – Individual Artist Grant
Books by Dindga McCannon
Dindga McCannon has written and illustrated two books for young readers.
- Peaches was published in 1974. It tells the story of a young Black girl growing up in Harlem. It shares her life with her family and her dream of becoming an artist.
- Wilhemina Jones, Future Star was published in 1980. This book has a similar theme. It's about a young Black girl in Harlem in the mid-1960s who dreams of an art career.
She has also illustrated books for other authors:
- Omar at X-mas by Edgar White
- Speak to the Winds, African Proverbs, written by K. O. Opuku
In 2018, Dindga McCannon published a cookbook with her own illustrations called Celebrations.
Groups She Joined
Dindga McCannon was a member of two important artist groups:
- The Weusi
- Where We At (a group of Black women artists from the 1970s)
Images for kids
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Dindga McCannon
See also
In Spanish: Dindga McCannon para niños
