Folayemi (Fo) Wilson is an object and image maker whose work celebrates Black femme representation and the Black imagination as a technology of resistance and self-determination. Her work explores the Black Atlantic experience through sculptural and multimedia installations presenting speculative fictions that reference history integrating inspiration from American vernacular architecture, literature, and science fiction, using original sculpture, found objects, archival media, sound, and video. Her process utilizes her training in art history and critical theory employing the archive and other research methods to mine history for use as material in her creative practice. Wilson earned a MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design with a concentration in Art History, Theory & Criticism. She has been a grant recipient of the Graham Foundation for Advance Studies in the Fine Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Propeller Fund. Her writing and reviews have appeared in NKA, Journal of Contemporary African Art, the International Review of African American Art
(IRAAA), among other publications. Wilson has been awarded residencies or fellowships at ACRE, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Djerassi, Kohler Arts/Industry program, Haystack, MacDowell, and Purchase College/SUNY Purchase New York. Wilson is an Associate professor at Columbia College Chicago in the department of Art & Art History. Her design work is included in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt National Museum of Design. She is on the board of the American Craft Council and was honored as a 3Arts awardee in 2015.
Portrait by Kevin J. Miyazaki
