Exploring African & African-American Ritual from a Womanist Perspective

The work of artist-activist, Charmaine Minniefield preserves Black narratives as a radical act of social justice. Firmly rooted in womanist social theory and ancestral veneration, her work draws from indigenous traditions as seen throughout Africa and the Diaspora, to explore African and African-American history, memory and ritual as an intentional push back against erasure, displacement, and misrepresentation. Her creative practice is community-based as her research and resulting bodies of work draw from the physical archives of a community, place or institution as she excavates the stories of African-American women-led resistance, spirituality and power in response to contemporary social landscapes.

Her recent public works include projection mapping and site- specific installation which visually activate spaces of historical

significance to insight dialogue around race, class and power. Through interdisciplinary collaboration she incorporates other art forms including physical movement to reveal embodied memories as resistance and healing, and utilizes sound, film and digital imagery to virtually bridge the past to the present. With a degree in Fine Art from Agnes Scott College, Charmaine Minniefield has also served the Atlanta area as an arts administrator for nearly 20 years, holding positions with such arts organizations as the National Black Arts Festival, the High Museum of Art and the Fulton County Department of Art and Culture, producing projects around art and activism with such organizations as Alternate ROOTS, Points of Light and Flux Projects. She recently served as faculty for the Department of Art and Visual Cultural at Spelman College and currently serves as faculty for Freedom University, an underground university for undocumented students.