Sana Musasama facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sana Musasama
|
|
|---|---|
Musasama and Janet Olivia Henry
|
|
| Born | |
| Education | BA The City College of New York (1974), MFA Alfred State College of Ceramics (1987) |
| Known for | Ceramic, sculpture |
| Awards | Anonymous Was a Woman Award (2002) |
Sana Musasama is an amazing African-American artist. She creates art using ceramics (like pottery) and many other materials. She lives in New York City. Besides being an artist, she is also a teacher. She cares deeply about human rights, especially for women. She teaches at Hunter College.
Contents
Sana Musasama's Early Life and Education
Sana Musasama was born in Saint Albans, New York.
She studied art and education at the City College. She earned her first degree there in 1974. Later, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Alfred State College of Ceramics in 1987.
She continued to learn about ceramics in many places. She studied at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Montana. She also learned at the Gakium Designer College in Tokyo, Japan. Other places include the Tuscarora International School of Ceramics in Nevada. She even studied at Mende Pottery in Sierra Leone, Africa.
Sana Musasama's Art Career
Sana Musasama's art and teaching are shaped by her travels. She has visited many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These include Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Japan. She travels to learn about different cultures. She focuses on how women live and the challenges they face.
For over 20 years, Musasama has studied these topics. She then creates artwork that shares what she has learned.
The Maple Tree Art Series
From 1992 to 1994, Sana Musasama created her Maple Tree series. This series includes about thirty tall ceramic sculptures. They are inspired by the Maple Tree Movement. This group of people in the 1790s wanted to end slavery. They hoped that maple syrup could replace sugar cane. This would stop the need for enslaved people on sugar plantations.
The sculptures look like trees with natural, body-like shapes. They are made from different types of clay. They are also made with materials like stone, beads, and moss. The sculptures are tall, from 3.5 to over 5 feet. This makes them similar in size to a human body. Some sculptures are named after the places where Musasama made them.
Two sculptures from this series, Stop (1994) and Sugar vs Sap (1992), were shown in an art show in 2018.
Where to See Sana Musasama's Art
Sana Musasama's artwork is part of many important art collections. You can find her pieces in museums like the Studio Museum in Harlem. Her art is also at the Hood Museum of Art and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.
Other places include the Mint Museum of Craft and Design. Her work is also in the European Ceramic Center in the Netherlands. You can also see it at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Montana. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York also has her art.
Art Exhibitions
Sana Musasama's art has been shown in many exhibitions. These shows help people see and appreciate her work.
Solo Exhibitions
These are shows where only Sana Musasama's art was displayed:
- 2024: Returning to Ourselves, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
- 2022: I Never Played with Dolls, Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York
- 2010: Unknown/Unnamed, June Kelly Gallery, New York
- 2010: The Hand, Meta House Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- 2009: Women, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2007: A Season of Abundance: The Maple Tree Series of Sana Musasana, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
- 2006: ETHOS, Social Consciousness and Craft, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC
- 2005: Shhh…Secrets, Status, Society, June Kelly Gallery, New York
- 2001: Outer Beauty, Inner Anguish, June Kelly Gallery, New York
- 1998: Maple Tree Series, Fine Arts Gallery, Southampton College of Long Island University, Southampton, New York
- 1984: From the Studio: The Studio Museum in Harlem Artist-in-Residence, 1984, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
Group Exhibitions
These are shows where Sana Musasama's art was shown alongside other artists' work:
- 2016: 50 Women-A Celebration of Women's Contribution to Ceramics, American Jazz Museum, Kansas City, MO
- 2013: Body & Soul, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
- 2013: History, Haunting and Palimpsests, Anya & Shiva Gallery, John Jay College, NY
- 2009: Modern and Contemporary Art at Dartmouth, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, New Hampshire
- 2006: Edges of Grace, Fuller Craft Museum, Boston, MA
- 2002: New Works, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
- 1999: Cultural Influences in Craft, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
Awards and Recognition
Sana Musasama has received many awards for her art. In 2002, she won an Anonymous Was a Woman Award. She also received a Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2013. From 1983 to 1984, she was an Artist-in-Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
