Russell Lecture with MCASD: Njideka Akunyili Crosby
MCASD and the University of California, San Diego presents Nigerian-born, LA-based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby, who is known for her mixed media paintings that include photo transfers and textiles of her home country. Crosby’s tender, domestic scenes are painted at almost human-scale. Drawing from her experience as a Nigerian woman living in the United States, Crosby places black and brown people at the center of her work to show the syncretism of both cultures. She was a participant in La Biennale di Venezia, 58th International Art Exhibition, May You Live in Interesting Times, curated by Ralph Rugoff (2019). Recent solo exhibitions include Njideka Akunyili Crosby: "The Beautyful Ones," The National Portrait Gallery, London (2018-19), and Counterparts, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX (2018-19), Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (2017-18). She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Art from Swarthmore College in 2019, a 2017 MacArthur Fellowship, and was awarded Financial Times' Women of the Year in 2016.