ARTIST STATEMENT
Though I design objects, I am a writer and researcher first. The objects I create play with information I find in academic texts and use materials utilized in the home to communicate complex information. Using the simplest design solutions possible, I design objects to help an audience materially connect with academic subject matter. I am inspired by the opportunity to rethink how to communicate ideas using the symbolic, logical-mathematical aspects of African American literature and language in my designs. Themes central to my work include concepts of play and translation. What I aim to create are material objects that communicate using African American ways of organizing, seeing, and understanding.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Schetauna Powell is the Daniel and Ada Rice Curatorial Fellow working in the Architecture and Design Department 2024 – 2027. Powell’s work translates complex information into material interactions and supports the pedagogy and performance of collaborative design. Powell began her academic career in English Literature & Black Studies, earning a BA & an MA in each subject respectively. Powell has worked previously at the Museum of Fine Art Houston as lead teaching artist over Glassell on the Go, 2016 to 2018. After her tenure at the MFAH, Powell organized conferences & curated art shows for the Black Speculative Art Movement at the Houston Museum of African American Culture from 2018 to 2020. Between 2022 -2024, Powell completed an MFA in Designed Objects at the School of Art Institute, graduating with honors. At the Art Institute of Chicago, Schetauna will work closely with Alison Fisher and Irene Sunwoo in research that will expand the museum’s ability to exhibit stories about African American Architecture and Design in Chicago.
© Schetauna Powell