[Self-Study] Sankofa: A Vision of Black Healing and Liberation Through Afrofuturistic Art

Lindsey Vance, ATR-BC, LPC, is a board certified art therapist, licensed professional counselor, art administrator, fine artist, educator, supervisor, and consultant. She holds a BA in Psychology and Studio Art from the University of Maryland and a MA in Art Therapy, with an emphasis in Trauma and Counseling from The George Washington University. Lindsey’s professional expertise is trauma-informed care, specifically with community based populations in education and those experiencing housing insecurities. She currently works as the Manager of Arts for DC Public Schools; Grief Psychotherapist and Art Therapist for The Wendt Center for Loss and Healing; and as an Adjunct Professor for The George Washington University and Bowie State University. She is the Founder of arTestimony and Co-Founder of Artistic Alchemy Oasis

Dr. Lauren Cross, PhD, is the Gail-Oxford Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts, where she works from The Huntington’s outstanding collection strengths in American folk art, Arts and Crafts, Greene and Greene, and Colonial-era material to grow previously underrepresented areas of the collection. Lauren received her Ph.D. in multicultural women’s and gender studies from Texas Woman’s University and M.F.A. in visual arts from Lesley University where her research focused on the works of women artists of color, decorative arts & material culture, and African American fiber traditions. She directed and produced the documentary The Skin Quilt Project in 2010, which explored the intersections of skin color politics in African American quilting traditions and curated the traveling exhibition The Skin Quilt Project: Uplifting Our Culture, Celebrating Tradition. Lauren taught for several years at the University of North Texas, while also curating and co-curating several culturally significant exhibitions at museums and cultural institutions across the country, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Center for Fine Art Photography, Artpace San Antonio, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

Dr. Kathy J. Brown, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Art Education at the University of North Texas. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Houston, she was an elementary and middle school art teacher for many years. Her critical, art-based, ethnographic research interests include social justice art education, anti-Blackness in education, art teacher narratives, cultural histories, and Afrofuturism as antiracist pedagogy. Current projects include a collaborative, three-part, rhizomatic self-study exploring the use of the 5E lesson-planning model in art teacher education, duoethographic research about Black hair as CRP, an Afrofuturist/Gullah Geechee inspired fibers project, and co-leading an ongoing panel series, the 2044 Series: Anti-racist Praxis as Futurist Art and Design Pedagogy.

Meghan Lally-Keaton, M.A., National Gallery of Art, Manager, Art Around the Corner

Emily Medonca, M.A., is a Museum Educator working primarily in school partnership programs. I have a background in public programs, interpretation, and visitor services.

Jessica Cherry, M.F.A., is a Experienced Art Instructor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Microsoft Word, Management, Adobe Photoshop, and Leadership. Strong education professional graduated from The Maryland Institute College of Art.