Press

  • Barr Foundation

    A conversation on the legacy and impacts of racism and the role of the criminal justice system in our region.

    Featured image of Ifé Franklin by Maddie Meyer via Getty Images

  • Boston Magazine

    Ifé Franklin raises her first during a protest in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood on June 04, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts.

    Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

  • AOL: Daily News

    Ifé Franklin raises her first during a protest in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood on June 04, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts.

    Images of Ifé Franklin by Maddie Meyer via Getty Images

  • Pixpa

    Want to learn about the creative variations of mixed media art? Here is a complete guide to the visual art form with, 15 Inspiring Mixed Media Art Portfolios That You Must See!

  • Boston Spirit

    Let Us Introduce You

    Franklin uses art as activism — and as a way to honor ancestors who forged a path for her to follow.

  • Wonderland

    “We’re here to celebrate the souls … and the gifts of our enslaved ancestors, the Africans who became African-Americans, who built this country. Who gave so much to us so we could be free.”

  • The Bay State Banner

    Ife Franklin is a powerhouse artist. For more than 25 years she has toiled as a creator and activist, focusing primarily on West African adire dyeing techniques. “Ife Franklin’s Indigo Project #4: Slave Cabin, Praise House and Ring Shout” debuted at Franklin Park.

  • Color Magazine

    The New England Foundation for the Arts’ Creative City program announces Ife Franklin’s Indigo Project #4: Slave Cabin, Praise House, and Ring Shout, a public art installation honoring the lives and traditions of African Americans and their ancestors.

  • Post & Courier

    The North Charleston Arts Festival has only grown in size and stature since its inception and 2016 is no different.

    A pre-festival event, contemporary artist Ife Franklin highlights the importance of slave dwellings with a life-size replica of a slave cabin.

  • Oddball Magazine

    Ifé Franklin is the Raw Truth. End of the story; yet, the beginning of HerStory as well.

    It is one she has been telling and living for 25 years as a professional artist and community activist.

  • Mass Media

    “It's been a long, long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come,” sang Sam Cooke. Ife Franklin, a local artist, came to the University of Massachusetts Boston on Feb. 27 to talk about her recent exhibit, "The Indigo Project,"

  • ArtSake

    Ifé Franklin is an artist of great talent and immense integrity.

    Her art examines the life of the enslaved and the artistic production of Adire textile. Her current work, the Indigo Project, involves the creation of a slave cabin.

Media

  • AMC

    Black leaders and movements are celebrating and enriching a story that is still being written and added to every day.

    Image of Ifé Franklin by Maddie Meyer via Getty at 0:08/0:35.

  • Sistahs in Indigo

    A special conversation between Gibbes Visiting Artist Arianne King Comer and artist and activist Ifé Franklin exploring the power of indigo and each artists' dynamic work.

    This event was presented by the College of Charleston African American Studies Program and Avery Research Center For African American History and Culture in Collaboration with the Gibbes Museum of Art.

  • Public Works Art Center

    Deep Blue: An Indigo Exhibition" features ten indigo artists from across the Lowcountry and beyond, including Kibibi Ajanku, Kristy Bishop, Arianne King Comer, Kelly Fort, Dale Fort, Ifé Franklin, Caroline Harper, Heather Powers, Marion Scott Readett, and Mary Young.

    Each artist individually explores their connections to the historically significant plant, sharing works of art that summon stories and encourage introspection.

  • The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae (Promo)

    The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae (TSNWM) is a work of historical fiction by multidisciplinary artist Ifé Franklin which tells the story of Willie Mae Lenox, a 20-year old Black woman enslaved in Virginia in the mid 1800s, who sets upon her journey to freedom.

    During the time of enslavement, Willie Mae and her contemporaries were rendered invisible in public life and spaces.

  • Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS Fall Lecture Series

    The National Park Service and Friends of the Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters are pleased to announce the 2020 Fall Lecture Series, which will take place virtually. This year’s eight-part series examines histories of social change through the lens of activism, politics, and the arts. Featured speakers include historians, artists, and poets whose work resonates with the unique history of the site.

  • Willie Mae "spraying" the graves of Cicely and Jane at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.

    Cicely and Jane were enslaved in Boston/buried in the Old Burial Grounds in Harvard Square during the 1700's. They were both young when the died. Jane 15 years old at death, Cicely 22 years old. The spraying is done with gin to cleanse, appease, and heal their souls.

  • Juneteenth 2019: Book Reading

    Ifé Franklin reads from her book "The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae" at the Juneteenth Celebration at the Malden Senior Center. June 19th, 2019.

  • Ifé Franklin's Indigo Project - Community Ring Shout

    Ifé Franklin's Indigo Project entered a new phase with funding from The New England Foundation for The Arts and The Barr Foundation in 2017 to bring to life the 4th ancestor slave cabin and a community ring shout, held in Franklin Park, Boston, Ma.

    This version of "Run Mary Run" a ring shout song performed by Jubilee Curator/artist/singer Rashida Bumbray.

  • Artist Ifé Franklin - Community Ring Shout/Ancestor Slave Cabin

    Ifé Franklin's Indigo Project entered a new phase with funding from The New England Foundation for The Arts and The Barr Foundation in 2017 to bring to life the 4th ancestor slave cabin and a community ring shout, held in Franklin Park, Boston, Ma.

    This is a version of "Run Mary Run" a ring shout song performed by Jubilee Curator/artist/singer Rashida Bumbray .

  • New England Authors

    Beautifully written story about the author's great grandmother who was enslaved in Virginia and eventually, with the help of a white accomplice, found freedom through the Underground Railroad. The book, told in 37 vignettes written in dialect, is moving and captivating. The author talks about her artistic life, the African-American experience, and the need for healing.

  • Ife Franklin's Slave Cabin Ring Shout

    Ife Franklin's Slave Cabin Ring Shout | Video by Michael Gordon Penn | Sept. 2017 - created at http://animoto.com

  • The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae

    Join contemporary interdisciplinary artist Ifé Franklin for an afternoon of education, reflection, and community art interaction. In the most recent manifestation of her ongoing indigo/slave cabin project, Ifé presents a life size replica of a slave cabin painted indigo and marked with symbols.