Marilyn Nance facts for kids

Marilyn Nance, born on November 12, 1953, is an American artist. She is also known as Soulsista. Marilyn Nance creates art using many different types of media. Her work often explores human connections and African-American spirituality. She also uses technology to tell stories.

Marilyn Nance is a talented photojournalist. Her photos have appeared in famous magazines and newspapers. These include Life, The New York Times, and Essence. Her art is kept in important places. These include the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Library of Congress. She also created a book called Last Day in Lagos. It shows her photos from the FESTAC '77 festival.

Early Life and Schooling

Marilyn Nance was born in New York City. This was on November 12, 1953. She grew up in Brooklyn.

Marilyn Nance started taking pictures when she was a child. She went to the Bronx High School of Science. Later, she studied journalism at New York University. In 1976, she earned a degree in communications and graphic design. This was from Pratt Institute. She also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. This was from Maryland Institute College of Art in 1996.

Her Career as an Artist

While at Pratt, Marilyn Nance photographed her family. They lived in Pratt City, Alabama. She decided to become a photographer. She worked in the photo studio at Pratt Institute.

After the studio closed, she worked for The Village Voice. Her photos often showed African American spiritual culture. She took pictures of churches in Brooklyn and Harlem. She also photographed the first Black church in America.

FESTAC '77: A Big Festival

In 1977, Marilyn Nance was an official photographer. She worked for FESTAC '77. This was the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. It was a huge international festival. It took place in Lagos, Nigeria.

The festival lasted for about a month. Its main goal was to celebrate and protect Black and African cultures. Many famous people attended. These included Stevie Wonder and Faith Ringgold. This was Marilyn Nance's first trip outside the U.S. She took 1,500 photos. These pictures show a very complete record of this important event. She photographed both the people attending and the performers. She later described FESTAC as "the Olympics, plus a Biennial, plus Woodstock."

After FESTAC, Marilyn Nance kept photographing Black culture. She visited the Black Indians of New Orleans. She also photographed Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, South Carolina. She even captured carnivals in Rio de Janeiro.

Art Installations and Digital Art

From 1993 to 1994, Marilyn Nance was an artist-in-residence. This was at the Studio Museum in New York City. She created an art installation called Egungun Work. It was inspired by a Yoruba festival. She saw this festival in 1981. Her installation included banners and church fans. It also had her photo contact sheets. Viewers could use magnifying glasses to look closely at her work. The New York Times praised her installation.

In 1995, Marilyn Nance became a digital pioneer. She created her own website, soulsista.com. In 1997, she made a web application. It helped people learn about Ifá (Yoruba) divination. In 1999, she worked on a digital project. This was for the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She put over 500 images online. These were photos of African Americans from the 1800s. They went with writings by African American women.

Marilyn Nance later became a technology specialist. She worked in New York City public schools. She helped teachers and students use technology. This helped them learn throughout their lives.

In 2004, Marilyn Nance gave a lecture. She spoke about her work at the Library of Congress. In 2016, she made digital copies of all her FESTAC '77 photos. She also printed them.

Her book about FESTAC '77, Last Day in Lagos (2022), was highly praised. The New York Times called it an important cultural document. The New Yorker described it as "a stunning yearbook of the Black world." In 2023, Marilyn Nance gave a lecture. This was at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. She talked more about her book.

Group Exhibitions

• Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1991
• African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, Smithsonian, 2012, online

Awards and Recognition

Marilyn Nance has received many awards for her photography.

• 1987: New York State Council on the Arts Grant
• 1989: New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship for photography
• 1991: Finalist, W. Eugene Smith Award in Humanistic Photography
• 1993: Finalist, W. Eugene Smith Award in Humanistic Photography
• 2000: New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship for photography
• 2024: Honorary Fellowship, The Royal Photographic Society

Where Her Work Is Kept

Marilyn Nance's artwork is part of many important collections.

• Smithsonian Institution's Smithsonian American Art Museum
• The Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs Division
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• Museum of Fine Arts Houston
• Brooklyn Museum