Malene Barnett draws on African Caribbean heritage to create beauty | People to Watch

Malene Barnett said her art, which has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the U.S., draws on her African Caribbean heritage, exploring cultural identity through ceramics, textiles and mixed media, often using traditional techniques to bridge past and present. “I am also excited to begin work on a public art project — a site-specific ceramic mural for a new community center in Greensboro, N.C.,” she said. “This mural will celebrate the local community while reflecting Black diasporic experiences, creating a space for recognition and connection.” Barnett earned an MFA in ceramics from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and undergraduate degrees in fashion illustration and textile surface design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She also received a Fulbright Award to travel to Jamaica in 2022–23 as the visiting artist at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston. In addition, Barnett founded the Black Artists + Designers Guild in 2018 to create a platform for Black artists and designers globally to connect, collaborate, and thrive. Drawing on her African Caribbean heritage, her work explores cultural identity and often uses mark-making and traditional techniques to bridge the past and present. Barnett has also been traveling the country to share her debut book, Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practice of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers.