Posted 27 days ago in Guest Blog by School of the Art Institute of Chicago
3 MIN READ –When you stand in acclaimed conceptual artist Shonna Pryor’s studio, deconstructed dinner tables hang draped in fabrics screen printed with pages from 19th century census archives. One of her Afrofuturist works is tacked up on the wall displaying a jump rope, sketchbook, and gas-mask shrink wrapped among other objects of pleasure in one of her "Care Packages for an Afro Migration to Mars."
Pryor takes inspiration for her practice across genres. She says, “With Cubism, it’s sort of this simultaneity of view, so being able to see the dinner table from underneath as a child, and on top, as an adult, and beyond...it’s giving myself permission to create this speculative universe.”
When she is not leading students to experiment with volume and space on the canvas, Pryor is busy embarking on her summer residency at Homan Square. Her project The Lost and Found Family Reunion will lead the resident participants of Lawndale on a journey that deep-dives into ancestral roots to recover lost bloodline relatives and their legacies.
Her Afrofuturist Care Packages were on display in Felicific until April 25, 2024 at the Chicago Artists Coalition. Pryor is also a member of The Greystone Collective who are showcasing a four-part series called Indelible ORIGINS | Place + People running through November 2, 2024. Greystone focuses their lens on the architecture and environments of Bronzeville, “Chicago’s landmark Black Metropolis.”
Want to work with Shonna? The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is offering a Wednesday evening course From Drawing to Painting taught by her this summer! Register for From Drawing to Painting now!
