Tiona Nekkia McClodden facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tiona Nekkia McClodden
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McClodden in her studio
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| Born | July 2, 1981 Blytheville, Arkansas, U.S.
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| Education | Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College |
Tiona Nekkia McClodden (born July 2, 1981) is an artist, filmmaker, and curator from Blytheville, Arkansas. She lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She creates art that makes people think and learn. Her art often explores history and culture.
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Early Life and Education
Tiona Nekkia McClodden was born in Blytheville, Arkansas, in 1981. She went to Clark Atlanta University. There, she studied film and psychology. She also continued to learn about film at Spelman College.
Her Art and Work
Tiona Nekkia McClodden creates her art through her company, Harriet's Gun. She named her company after Harriet Tubman, a famous American hero.
McClodden often makes art about important African-American writers and musicians. These include people like Langston Hughes and Florence B. Price. She also highlights artists such as Essex Hemphill, Brad Johnson, and Julius Eastman. These artists created work during a time in the 1980s when many people in the U.S. were affected by a serious health crisis.
Her art was shown at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. This was part of an exhibit called Speech/Acts in 2017.
Awards and Recognition
McClodden has received many important awards for her work. She was given the Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism. This fellowship helps artists who use their art to support important causes.
In 2018, she received a grant from the Magnum Foundation. In 2017, McClodden won the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. She was also a Pew Fellow in 2016. She received another grant from Pew in 2018.
Recent Exhibitions
McClodden's art was featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial. This is a very important art show in New York City. Her exhibit was a three-hour film shown on six screens. It showed a religious journey she took to Nigeria. In 2020, it was announced that McClodden would be part of Prospect.5 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Conceptual Fade
McClodden started a special place called Conceptual Fade in Philadelphia, PA. It is both an art gallery and a library. She was inspired by places like the Pyramid Club and small jazz bars in Japan. The library at Conceptual Fade holds McClodden's own collection of books. It focuses on Black artists and is open to the public for research.
The Brad Johnson Tape
McClodden created a performance piece called The Brad Johnson Tape. It has 10 scenes and was recorded on VHS tape. She was inspired by a poem written by Brad Johnson. This poem was published in a book called Other Countries: Black Gay Voices.
A Recollection. + Predicated
McClodden curated an exhibition called A Recollection. + Predicated. It was part of a larger show about the composer Julius Eastman. This exhibition showed three years of research about Eastman. He was a very talented composer who died without a home. The show included art by Carolyn Lazard, Sondra Perry, Chloe Bass, and Texas Isaiah. It also featured musical performances of Eastman's work.
CLUB
In 2018, McClodden presented her piece called CLUB. It took place at Performance Space New York. This was the same place where Keith Haring first showed his art. CLUB explored how nightclubs can be special places. People might leave their everyday selves behind and experience new social interactions there.
Solo Exhibitions
Tiona Nekkia McClodden has had many solo art shows. Here are some of them:
- 2014: Be Alarmed: The Black Americana Epic, Movement I - The Visions, Esther Klein Art Gallery - Philadelphia, PA
- 2016: Dreaming of KIN - Be Alarmed: The Black Americana Epic, Movement I - The Visions, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, Brooklyn, NY
- 2017: KILO Iba Se 99 Exposition Gemeente Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 2018: CLUB, Performance Space, New York, NY
- 2019: Hold on, let me take the safety off, COMPANY Gallery, New York, NY
- 2021: Be Alarmed: The Black Americana Epic, Movement III - The Triple Deities, Globe Dye Works, Philadelphia, PA
- 2021: PLAY ME HOME, Prospect New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
- 2022: MASK | CONCEAL | CARRY, 52 Walker, New York, NY
- 2023: THE POETICS OF BEAUTY WILL INEVITABLY RESORT TO THE MOST BASE PLEADINGS AND OTHER WILES IN ORDER TO SECURE ITS RELEASE, KunsthalleBasel, Basel, Switzerland
