Torkwase Dyson facts for kids

Torkwase Dyson (born in 1973 in Chicago, Illinois) is a creative artist. She uses many different art forms in her work. Torkwase lives in Beacon, New York, in the United States.

Dyson's art often explores big ideas. These include how buildings are made and how they connect to our world. She also looks at how people treat the environment. Her art is shaped by her own idea called "Black Compositional Thought." This idea looks at how spaces like paths, rivers, and buildings are used by Black people. It helps her explore new ways for Black people to find freedom.

Education and Early Life

Torkwase Dyson was born in Chicago, Illinois. She studied at Tougaloo College. There, she earned degrees in sociology and social work.

In 1999, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. This was from Virginia Commonwealth University. Later, in 2003, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree. She studied painting and printmaking at Yale School of Art.

Exciting Art Projects

Studio South Zero: A Mobile Art Studio

Studio South Zero (SSZ) was Torkwase Dyson's special art studio. It was a mobile studio, meaning it could move around! It also ran on solar power, which is energy from the sun.

In 2016, Dyson worked with Danielle Purifoy. Danielle is a scientist who studies how people and the environment interact. They traveled in Studio South Zero to communities in North Carolina and Alabama. They worked with people there. They collected stories, objects, and pictures. This helped them understand how Black communities used their land. They learned about their traditions and how they shaped their environment.

In 2017, this collection was shown in an exhibit. It was called In Conditions of Fresh Water: An Artistic Exploration of Environmental Racism. This exhibit was at Duke University.

The Wynter-Wells Drawing School for Environmental Justice

From February to March 2018, Dyson led a special school. It was a two-week series of classes and experiments. This school was held at Drawing Center in New York.

The school was named after two important women. They were Jamaican writer Sylvia Wynter and American civil rights leader Ida B. Wells. The school used art and design ideas. It explored how geography and buildings affect our world. It also discussed how human actions cause climate change.

Later in 2018, The Graham Foundation showed Dyson's work. This exhibit was called Winter Term. It included new drawings made just for that space. Dyson also held workshops and lectures. She even worked on her art in front of the public. This showed how she uses teaching in her art.

Art Shows Around the World

Torkwase Dyson's art has been shown in many places. Her sculptures, paintings, and drawings have been in solo shows. These include places like Pace Gallery, Serpentine Galleries, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Her work has also been part of group shows. These include the Parrish Art Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Her art has even been shown in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2019, Dyson created a special performance. It was for Performa 19. The piece was called I Can Drink the Distance: Plantationocene in 2 Acts. It was a two-part show with sculptures.

In 2023, Torkwase Dyson's art was shown in São Paulo, Brazil. Her piece "Liquid a Place" was also shown at Tate Liverpool. This was part of the 2023 Liverpool Biennial.

Where Her Art Lives

Torkwase Dyson's art is part of many important collections. You can find her work at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is also in the Hall Art Foundation.

Other places that own her art include the Mead Art Museum. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture also has her pieces. Her art is also at Studio Museum in Harlem.

Awards and Recognition

Torkwase Dyson has received many awards. In 2016, she joined the board of the Architectural League of New York. She became the Vice President of Visual Arts.

In 2019, she won the Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize. She also received the Anonymous Was A Woman Award for her painting. She has also been given many other grants and fellowships. These include the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant. She also received the Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists.

Sharing Her Ideas

Torkwase Dyson often shares her knowledge. In 2017, she taught at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has also been a visiting critic at Yale School of Art.

She gives lectures and joins panel discussions. She works with environmentalists, artists, and poets. She talks about her art and ideas with many different people.

Recent Talks

• Pace Gallery, New York, NY, 2022: Torkwase Dyson talked about her art and its connection to buildings.
• Pace Gallery, London, UK, 2021: She discussed her work "Liquid A Place."
• Graham Foundation, Chicago, IL, 2018: She had a conversation with Christina Sharpe.
• Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, 2018: She spoke about art, space, and abstraction in the American South.
• Drawing Center, New York, NY, 2018: She joined a panel for the Wynter-Wells Drawing School.
• Duke University, Durham, NC, 2017: She talked about "In Conditions of Fresh Water."
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2017: She spoke about "Three Conditions of Space."
• Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, 2016: She shared her artist's voice.
• Eyebeam, New York, NY, 2016: She discussed "Black Spatial Matters."
• Drawing Center, New York, NY, 2015: She talked about "Cartography of Ghosts."