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Ifé Franklin
158 School Street #2
Roxbury, MA 02119
(617) 291-6213
artist.franklin05@gmail.com
In progress, The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae: An Experimental Performance Piece & Short Film, play adaptation by Letta Neely based on the novel by Ifé Franklin.
2018 The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae; Edited by Letta Neely; Wildheart Press, 2018; ISBN 0966309715, 9780966309713; 45 pages.
3/2021 Deep Blue: The Indigo Exhibition; featuring 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; East Gallery at Public Works Art Center in Summerville, SC.
6/2019 "What Color… the Rainbow? In Celebration of Pride" Group Exhibition; Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, MA.
9/2017 The 4th Ancestor Slave Cabin. A public event featured the unveiling of the cabin/altar as well as community Ring Shout and picnic, was held in Franklin Park, Boston MA. This project was funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Creative City grant program. Creative City is funded by the Barr Foundation, with support from the Boston Foundation.
4-6/2016 10th Annual African American Fiber Arts Exhibition: A Piece of Peace; Group exhibition; Adire tapestry displayed at North Charleston City Hall as part of the North Charleston Arts Fest, North Charleston, South Carolina
4/2016 3rd Ancestor Slave Cabin, North Charleston Arts Fest, North Charleston, South Carolina.
8/2015 2nd Ancestor Slave Cabin was part of the 2015 Franklin Park Art Grove, funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts and presented by the Franklin Park Coalition, Boston, MA.
11/2014 Global Africa @ Fitchburg Art Museum Fitchburg, MA. The 1st “Slave Cabin” purchased by the Fitchburg Art Museum as part of a year-long exhibition and as part of their permanent collection.
2/2014 Ifé Franklin’s Indigo Project, Solo exhibition/instillation Fiber/Mixed Media/Sculpture/Slave Cabin. Harbor Gallery, UMass Boston.
9/2013 Ifé Franklin’s Indigo Project, Solo exhibition/instillation Fiber/Mixed Media/Sculpture/Slave Cabin. Spoke Gallery, Medicine Wheel Productions, South Boston
6/2013 Ifé Franklin’s Indigo Project, Solo exhibition Fiber/Mixed Media, Uforge Gallery Jamaica Plain MA (The revolver wall)
5/2009 Uhuru Afrika Solo Exhibition, All Asia Bar: Cambridge, MA
11/2008 “icons + altars”, Group Exhibition, annual holiday benefit, New Art Center in Newtonville, MA
9/2008 “Juried Group Exhibition”, Jamaica Plain Open Studios, Jamaica Plain, MA
5/2008 “Figure It Out”, Group Exhibition, G.A.S.P Gallery Brookline MA, curated by Lizi Brown
1/2008 “Walking With Spirits”, Solo Exhibition exploring the relationship between spirituality, culture and improvisation, Center for Latino Arts, Boston, MA
6/2007 “Boston Black Pride”, designed official Black Pride tee shirt and logo. Boston, MA
11/2007 “icons + altars”, Group Exhibition, annual holiday benefit, New Art Center in Newtonville, MA
12/2006 “The December Sale”, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, featuring Ifeart Wearable Art
11/2006 “icons + altars”, Group Exhibition, annual holiday benefit, New Art Center in Newtonville, MA
4/2006 “Mixing Speak”, Group Exhibition, curated by Ceci Mendez, New Art Center, Newtonville, MA
1/2006 “African Winter Artists”, Group Exhibition, The Scollay Square Gallery, Boston City Hall, Boston, MA
12/2005 “The December Sale”, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
8/2005 Group Exhibition at Keith’s Place, Roxbury, MA
1/2005 “Visions for a New World” Annual Report 2004/Calendar 2005, Haymarket People’s Fund
12/2004 “The December Sale”, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
12/2004 Group Exhibition at The Rhys Gallery, Boston, MA
6/2003 “Working Spirit” Artwork from the textiles workshop of the New Freed Woman Project, Suffolk County Women’s Resource Center, as shown at the Lillian Immig Gallery, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA
4/2003 “Evolution” Annual Ethos Fashion Show, featuring Ifeart wearable art, Wellesley College, Boston, MA
10/2002 “Tradition and Desire” Group Exhibition, Lillian Immig Gallery, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA
6/2002 “Spirits Calling” Group Exhibition Drawings , Artists Foundation Gallery, South Boston, MA, curated by Kathleen Betetti.
1/2002 “Uprooting Racism – Celebrating Culture”, Haymarket People’s Fund Annual Report 2001/Calendar 2002.
11/1999 “Cantar da Costa: Brasile Delle Mie Brame; donne di danza e di teatro”; Set Design (“Face of Obatala”, batik art; “Orixa Series”, slides) for solo dance performance by Isaura Oliviera, at the Modena Theater, Genoa, Italy and at Smith College, Northampton, MA.
11/1999 “Jamaica Plain Open Studios”, participated in annual community exhibit, featuring sculpture, textiles/wearable art, drawing, photography and collage.
12/1997 "Vision Spirit", One Woman Exhibition; drawings, works on fabric, transformation of found objects, AAMARP Gallery, Jamaica Plain, MA. Retrospective 19980-1996 curated by Dr Ed Strictland.
2/1997 "Passage", Group Exhibition; referencing the legacy of the Middle Passage (the physical and spiritual abduction of Africans stolen from their homeland and brought to the new world). The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA
5/1996 "Works on Fabric", Group Show,by Hess Gallery, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA. Exhibition curated by Dr. Ed Strickland.
5/1996 "Can't We All Just Get Along?" Homophobia in the African American Community, I Scream Truck, Revolving Museum Traveling Exhibition.
5/1996 “Out on Main Restaurant, Inc.”, Columbus, OH, commissioned art work featuring mixed media collage celebrating African Amercian Gay and Lesbian pride.
5/1995 Designed book cover and graphics for “Rhythm Visions Never Do Be Finished”, a book of original poetry by Renita Martin, Red Sun Press, Boston, MA
6/1995 “Eyes on Africa” group exhibition, AAMARP Gallery, Jamaica Plain, MA
6/1995 “Eyes on Africa” group exhibition, Cinque Gallery, New York, New York
6/1995 “Inner Visions”, one woman exhibition, Bella Luna Restaurant, Jamaica Plain, MA
6/1995 “Sea of Possibilities”, group exhibition, Art Market, Jamaica Plain, MA.
6/1995 “Nubian Night”, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. Body painting for the African Warriors.
10/1994 “Image From My Soul”, one woman exhibition, Jamaica Plain Arts Center, Boston, MA
12/1994 “Common Threads”, group exhibition at Northeastern University’s Black Student Center, Boston, MA, curated by Bette Wilson
3/1994 “Dorchester Women’s Day Exhibition”, curated by the Dorchester Women’s Committee
11/1993 One Woman Exhibition, Dillaway Thomas House, Boston, MA, curated by Renita Martin.
2/1993 “Art Jam Two”, group exhibition, Lawrence Pierce Studio, Boston, MA, curated by Lawrence Pierce and Bette Wilson.
5/1993 “Society Says”, group exhibition at the Harbor Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, curated by Kathleen Bitetti.
8/1991 “Corn Rows, Tamales, Tomahawks, Fortune Cookies and White Bread”, a celebration of diversity, The World Gallery, Ashville, North Carolina.
5/1990 “One Woman Exhibition”, The Dark Room, Cambridge, MA, curated by Sharron Strange.
5/1990 “New England Women”, group exhibition, Northampton Center for the Arts, curated by Olivia Wilson.
7/1990 “Three Views”, group exhibition, Harriet Tubman House, Boston, MA, curated by Guadalesa.
9/1990 “Artists for Hope”, group exhibition, The Space Gallery, Boston, MA, curated by Alvin Ouellet.
10/1989 “Also Art, a Group Exhibition of Works on Fabric”, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, curated by Stanley Pinckney.
2/1989 “Spectrum”, group exhibition, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, curated by Leila Amlfitano
4/1989 “Student Works at Mobius”, Boston, MA, curated by Marilyn Arsome.
4/1989 “Visual Aids – A Day Without Art”, group exhibition, The Windell Street Gallery, Cambridge, MA, curated by Constance Brown.
5/1988 “Art Cast”, group exhibition, Brookline Center for the Arts, Brookline, MA, curated by Shelly Wellings-Benjamin and Sherry Richman.
2020 The Boston Foundation Live Arts Boston Grant
2020 New England Foundation for the Arts Creative City Grant
2017 New England Foundation for the Arts Creative City Grant
1996 Pat Parker Award for Art Achievement, congratulatory letter from Attorney General Scott Harshbarger
1996 The Flip Foundation Award for Artistic Inspiration, affiliation of “Out On Main Restaurant, Inc.”, Columbus, Ohio.
1990 Fifth Year Competition Participant, School of Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
1989 Catherine Weems Scholarship Recipient, School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
1989 Award of Excellence (juried by Howardena Pendall), textiles, New England Women, Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA
6/2021 Meet The Artist: Interview with Rhythm Visions Production Company, Inc., team members Jarrell 'Tha Griot' Pittman and Avery 'De LaGhetto' Collins.
4/2021 Art, Activism, & Movement For Black Lives (M4BL) in the Age of COVID-19, Panel discussion, Boston College African and African Diaspora Studies.
3/2021 Sistahs in Indigo: A Conversation featuring Arianne King Comer and Ifé Franklin, 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.
11/2020 Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS Fall Lecture Series: The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae, Cambridge, MA.
8/2020 Rhymez and Rhythmz, guest visual artists on virtual open mic produced by Rhythm Visions Production Company, Inc.
8/2020 Rhymez and Rhythmz, Readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae on virtual open mic produced by Rhythm Visions Production Company, Inc.
8/2020 Chat with the Chief, virtual interview with High Chief Nathaniel B. Styles Jr..
7/2020 Voices in ACTION - Concert for Racial Justice, readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae. Virtual event and fundraiser for the NAACP Legal Fund.
7/2020 Chasing Beads, virtual interview with Elizabeth Addison.
7/2020 Therapy Thursdays, virtual interview with Mawakana Onifade.
7/2020 Now+There virtual panel discussion: What Do Black Artists Need Now?
2/2020 Black History Month Panel Discussion, Berklee College of Music.
1/2020 Artitude, interview with Michael Gordon Penn and Rachel Goldberg, Boston Neighborhood Network TV.
8/2019 New England Authors with Kameel Nasr, Cambridge Community TV
6/2019 Readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae, Malden, MA Juneteenth Celebration.
11/2018 Ife Afro (Playroom Boston Afrodrumz Mix EP) by Leo Alarcon & Ife Franklin.
11/2018 Readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae and Mini-Cabin Workshop, Royall House & Slave Quarters, Medford, MA.
11/2018 Readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae, Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, Jamaica Plain, MA.
6/2018 Readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae, Egleston Square Branch of the Boston Public Library, Boston, MA.
4/2018 Public reading and book release of The Slave Narratives of Willie Mae. Held at Black Market Nubian Square, Boston, MA, in conjunction with Hoopla Productions.
7/2017 Panelist: Textiles as Art Objects and Cultural Artifacts; Hosted by Friends of Fort Point Channel, Boston, MA.
4/2016 Readings from The Slave Narrative of Willie Mae, North Charleston Arts Fest, North Charleston, South Carolina.
5/2014-present Youth Specialist, HarborCOV, Chelsea, MA
Provides direct case management, referrals, resources and specialized services to families and youth with complex challenges in shelter, our housing and low-income multicultural communities; coordinates onsite children/teen support activities and supervises part-time support staff; co-facilitates age-appropriate groups and workshops; provides on-call coverage; and supports client progress using data management software.
11/2017 Miniature Ancestor Slave Cabin Workshop, Boston College, Boston, MA.
2/2017–6/2017 Adire West African Textile Workshops, UU Urban Ministry, Roxbury, MA and Medicine Wheel Productions, Boston, MA. Funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Creative City grant program. Creative City is funded by the Barr Foundation, with support from the Boston Foundation.
1/2017 Miniature Ancestor Slave Cabin Workshop, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA.
5/7/2015 & 2/2014 Guest Artist Polly Thayer Starr Artist Series @ the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Studio Workshop ”Create a Slave Cabin”. Guests worked with a different materials to create structures that honor African/African Americans who produced cotton and indigo during enslavement in the American South. The cabins created are “wishes” or “gifts” to the spirits of these ancestors, who never had a home of beauty or a home of their own.
5/2000-5/2014 Arts Educator – Kids Day After school/Summer program – M.S.P.C.C. Jamaica Plain, MA. Teaching multicultural arts workshops (including The Art of Adire, a West African resist dye technique), life skills, homework assistance, parent partner.
6/2013 Adire West African Textile Workshop, The Eliot School for Applied Arts, Jamaica Plain, MA, teaching The Art of Adire, a resist and dying technique to adult students
4/2012 Creative Drawing workshop, The Eliot School for Applied Arts, Jamaica Plain, MA, teaching Creative Drawing, exploring doodling, lines, texture, color and form.
10/2010 Adire West African Textile Workshop, The Eliot School for Applied Arts, Jamaica Plain, MA, teaching The Art of Adire, a resist and dying technique to adult students.
6/2009 Adire West African Textiles Instructor, Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Boston, MA, teaching The Art of Adire, a resist and dying technique to adult students.
1/2007-3/2007 Adire West African Textiles Instructor, New Art Center, Newton, MA. Teaching The Art of Adire a resist and dying technique to adult students.
6/2004-6/2005 Designer, Choreographer and Producer, Arts Slam/Fashion Show, Unity Pride, Boston. Choreographed a public performance of dance featuring 15 models/dancers wearing Ifeart Wearable Art pieces.
5/2003-7/2003 Banner Artist and Textile Workshop Instructor- The Mattapan Community Development Corporation and the Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund Banner Project, Mattapan Square, MA. Designed and produced 26 different banners featuring Adire African textile designs which were featured on Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan Square. Planned and implemented a six week Adire textile workshop and exhibit with the local youth of Mattapan Square.
4/02-6/02 Adire West African Textiles Instructor – The New Freed Woman Project, The Women’s Resource Center, Suffolk County House of Corrections, Jamaica Plain,
MA. Teaching Adire West African Textiles and entrepreneurial skills to adult women in a pre-release corrections program.
10/2099-4/2000 Adire West African Textiles Instructor – The Revolving Museum, House of Prints, The Garfield School, Brighton, MA. Taught techniques Adire West African Textiles to youth, ages 9-11.
7/1995-8/2000 Adire West African Textiles Instructor – Arts in Progress, Media Arts Camp, The Lewis School, Roxbury, MA. Taught Adire West African resist dye techniques to youth, ages 10-13.
3/1997-5/1997 Visual Artist – The Baby Book Project, Sargent House, Boston, MA, Facilitated the healing and recovery process for adult women in a pre-release program through written work and visual arts projects.
9/1995-5/2000 Arts Instructor – Arts in Progress, All-In-One-Boat Program, Boston, MA, Facilitated visual arts projects with students to explore the cultures of Ireland, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, West Africa (Ghana), Puerto Rico, Vietnam and China.
9/1995-9/1996 Instructor in African American History – Another Course to College, Boston, MA. Taught a course which explored African American history through the arts using visual projects, video, poetry and discussions. Participants were able to get a better perspective of themselves and African American history and culture.
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Diploma 1989. Studio work primarily in textiles and photography.
California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1981-1983. Studio work primarily in photography.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
1978-1980. Studio work primarily in photography.