Gilda Snowden facts for kids

Gilda Snowden (July 29, 1954 – September 9, 2014) was an amazing African-American artist. She was also a dedicated teacher and mentor from Detroit, Michigan. Gilda was well-known for her colorful abstract paintings. She inspired many young artists throughout her life.

Early Life and Education

Gilda Snowden was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 29, 1954. She grew up in the northwest part of the city. Her father was a dentist. Her parents and grandparents moved to Detroit from Alabama and Texas. This was part of a big movement of African Americans from the South to cities in the North.

Gilda went to Cass Technical High School. There, she focused on fashion design. Later, she studied at Wayne State University. She earned her first degree in Advertising Design and Painting in 1977. She got her master's degree in Painting in 1979. During college, she decided to focus on fine art. She was greatly influenced by the Cass Corridor art movement. She also studied with artist John Egner.

Gilda was married to William "Bill" Boswell. He was an actor and director at the Detroit Repertory Theatre.

Teaching and Mentoring

In 1985, Gilda Snowden became a professor. She taught in the Fine Arts Department at the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit. She taught at CCS for 31 years. During her time there, she led both the fine arts and painting departments. She also helped organize and judge art shows at the college. Gilda was known for being a wonderful mentor to many young artists.

Gilda Snowden's Artworks

Gilda Snowden's art was mostly abstract. This means her paintings did not show things exactly as they look in real life. Instead, they used shapes, colors, and lines to express feelings or ideas. She often used very bright and lively colors.

The city of Detroit inspired many of her art series.

• Her Flora Urbana series showed abstract flower shapes. She made these using a special painting method called encaustic. These artworks were inspired by the gardens that people in Detroit grew. These gardens were often on empty plots where buildings used to be.
• City Album: Department of Railways 1929 is an example from another series. For these, she made charcoal rubbings of manhole covers. She found these covers while riding her bicycle around the city.

Gilda said all her works were like a diary about her own life. This included a large series called Self-Portrait. This series had over one hundred self-portraits. But they were unusual because they showed the back of her head and shoulders. She said her experiences with race, gender, and childhood fears inspired this series. She started the series again in the 2000s. She used computer projections to help create these new pieces.

Her artwork Monument (from 1988) is at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Gilda described it as "a chronicle of my family on their travels from Alabama to Detroit. We are all looking for something, all traveling from here to there."

Gilda was also a member of the Michigan chapter of the National Conference of Artists. This group helped her show her artwork around the world. She also advised several art organizations. These included the DIA Friends of Modern Art Board and the Scarab Club.

Awards and Recognitions

Gilda Snowden earned many honors for her amazing work:

• 2009 – She received a Kresge Arts Fellowship from The Kresge Foundation.
• 1982, 1985, 1990 – She won Individual Artists Grants for Painting.
• 1988 – She won an Individual Artists Grant for Sculpture. These grants were from the Michigan Council For the Arts.
• 1977–1979 – She received a Graduate Professional Scholarship from Wayne State University.
• 1990 – She was given the Tannahill Faculty Grant from the Center for Creative Studies.
• 1990 – She earned an Arts Midwest NEA Regional Fellowship.

Art Exhibitions

Gilda Snowden's artwork was shown in many galleries and museums. Here is a list of some of her exhibitions:

Solo Shows

• 2013 – Gilda Snowden, Album: A Retrospective 1977-2010, at Oakland University Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, United States.
• 2006 – Abstractions of Life Paintings, at Sherry Washington Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, United States.
• 2002 – Gilda Snowden, New Work, at Sherry Washington Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, United States.
• 1986 – At Paint Creek Center, Rochester, Michigan, United States.

Group Shows

• 2014 – Another Look at Detroit (Part I and II), at Marianne Boesky Gallery, Chelsea, New York City, New York, United States.
• 1993 – TransFORMING IDEAS, at Michigan Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
• 1992 – Women of Color, at Dahl Arts Center, Rapid City, South Dakota, United States.
• 1991 – At Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit (DIA), Michigan, United States.
• 1990 – Signature Images, (with artist Michael Luchs), at Detroit Institute of Art (DIA), Detroit, Michigan, United States.

Death and Lasting Impact

Gilda Snowden passed away on September 9, 2014, when she was 60 years old.

Her artwork is kept in important museum collections. These include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, the Oakland University Art Gallery, and the Wayne State University Art Collection.

To honor Gilda Snowden's work and her dedication to helping new artists, the Gilda Snowden Emerging Artist Awards were created. These awards have been given out since 2015 by The Kresge Foundation. They continue her legacy of supporting young artists in the Detroit area.