Weekly Artist Feature: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons

We are back with our first-ever weekly LinkedIn article which will feature artists of the African Diaspora.

Today, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, an acclaimed Cuban artist known for her multidisciplinary work exploring themes of religion, gender, migration, memory, and the African diaspora.

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, Campos-Pons is a descendant of Hispanic and Chinese immigrants to Cuba and Nigerians brought to the island and enslaved in the 19th century.

She primarily uses photography, performance, video, and installation to express her personal experiences and broader cultural narratives, especially those relating to Afro-Cuban history and the legacy of slavery.

Campos-Pons frequently explores the emotional and psychological impacts of migration, drawing from her own experiences of leaving Cuba and living in the United States.

She uses her art to bridge cultural divides and connect personal histories with larger social and political contexts.

Highlights:

• In October 2023, Campos-Pons was named a MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellowship is awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and who have the potential to make significant contributions to their fields.
• She is the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair and Professor of Fine Arts at Vanderbilt University, where she founded the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice Program.
• Her work has been presented at venues including the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University; Peabody Essex Museum; National Portrait Gallery; Museum of Modern Art; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; List Visual Arts Center, MIT; Pérez Art Museum; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Johannesburg Biennial; Gwangju Biennale; Documenta; Venice Biennale; and the Brooklyn Museum.
• She launched Intermittent Rivers, a multi-artist initiative in Matanzas, Cuba, as part of the 2019 Havana Biennial.

Artworks:

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