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Black Carolina Initiative
Black Carolina is a two-pronged initiative aimed at strengthening the ecosystem of Black artists in the Carolinas for transformative collaboration and resounding community impact. It consists of the Black Carolina Collective and the Black Carolina Artist Residency. This initiative is made possible by the generous support of the Wallace Foundation, a national philanthropy that supports organizations around the country to advance well-being in the arts for communities of color.
The Black Carolina Collective
Established in July 2023, the Black Carolina Collective (BCC) is a membership for Black artists in North and South Carolina, designed to support excellent and sustainable arts-based initiatives in our region that are community-centered and artist-led. The collective was founded to give greater power to spaces in which artists intentionally learn, create, and grow together.
Benefits of participating in the Black Carolina Collective:
- Members are invited to exclusive networking and conference-style events that encourage collaboration, discourse, and expansion. Past event keynote speakers include Derrick Adams, Kimberly Drew, and others.
- Members network and exchange inspiration with like-minded creatives and art leaders, which yield progenitive connections and sharing of resources between members of the collective.
- Members receive professional, financial, and creative development opportunities throughout the year.
- Members have exclusive access to apply to the Black Carolina Artist Residency.
We would like to include as many Black artists in the region as possible in the BCC. To send us information about yourself or an artist to be included in the collective, complete the form below.
The Black Carolina Artist Residency
Launched in 2024, the second element of the initiative is the Black Carolina Artist Residency (BCAR), part of our strategy to strengthen and sustain the well-being of our organization and community through the growth, dreams, and contributions of artists as community leaders.
From a pool of applicants, a selection committee chooses a yearly cohort of five diversely talented Black artists to be developed during the 6-month residency (January-July). During the residency, the cohort of artists learn and create through an equity and social justice lens, and implement in-community projects informed by their work and passions.
The BCAR is an opportunity exclusively available to artists in the BCC. To be included in the collective and receive application details for the 2026 BCAR, complete the form below.
2025 Black Carolina Artist Residency Cohort
Marcus Kiser
A Charlotte native, Marcus is an acclaimed artist and graphic designer who works with a broad range of media, branding, product design, and three-dimensional printing. His work pulls from mass media and collective urban-based conscience, heavily influenced by current social and political issues.
Milagros Ugueto
Milagros is a dynamic cultural convenor whose work consistently highlights the beauty of historically underrepresented community members with authenticity, care, and innovation. She leads community and cultural experiences focused on Afro-Latino and African diaspora art & culture.
Nadia Meadows
Nadia is a large-scale sculptor, producer of community events, and visual storyteller. Since graduating in 2020 from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, her work has been showcased in many galleries and exhibitions, receiving rave reviews and sparking conversations that promote communal growth and change.
Tamara Williams
Tamara is a professor, dancer, choreographer, and leader with a rich performance background including work with renowned dance companies. In 2011, she founded Moving Spirits, Inc., an organization focused on promoting and preserving the arts of the African Diaspora through performance, research, and education.
William Jenkins (Sir Will)
Sir Will is a multimedia artist, photographer, and creative director — he co-owns the Black art gallery and event space, BLKMRKTCLT. He produces major art & cultural events in Charlotte, NC.
2024 Black Carolina Artist Residency Cohort
Cookie Washington
Torreah "Cookie" Washington is a fourth-generation needle worker. Cookie is the first in this long line of needle workers to take up art quilting. Yet she feels her connection very deeply to her foremothers, whenever a needle and bit of cloth is in her hands. She says "I want to make art that challenges people to feel, art that makes you soar and annoys, art that challenges them to learn more about the subject and their own feelings about it."
Dr. de'Angelo DIA
Theopoet and mystic, de'Angelo DIA, examines culture and moral imagination through poetry, performance art, and photography. His work is grounded in the aesthetic of neo-Appalachian art, the charismatic nature of the Black church, mythology, and a multitude of theologies that inspire mysticism.
Georgie Nakima
"My journey in creative arts intertwined with biological sciences the day that I entered Winston-Salem State University as a Biology major and Chemistry minor. If anything, learning the gateways of nature and geometrical patterns was enlightening; my studies really nurtured my sense of wonder and research. Today, I am empowered to plant seeds of art and science together in hopes to carry conversations of well-being, nature preservation, and humanity."
Monique Luck
Monique Luck models the features of figures and natural forms using fragments of found paper. Luck is an award-winning visual artist and muralist with a focus on community & public art. "The emotion in my work comes directly from the emotions I experience in life. As I assemble a collage, I often wish I could rearrange pieces of my life as I do pieces of colored paper. Each day I am reminded that life choices are not as easily moved."
Dammit Wesley
Dammit Wesley as a multi-disciplinary artist utilizes fine art, digital art, and live events to immerse audiences into the heightened reality of the Black experience.
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