Najee Dorsey (born 1973) is a

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

American

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

known for using

mixed-media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art inc ...

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

, paint and photographic works that depict Southern

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

experience and culture.

Biography

Najee Dorsey (born January 26, 1973) is an American artist and entrepreneur from

Blytheville, Arkansas Blytheville is one of two county seat, county seats of and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis, Arkansas, West Memphis. The population was 13,40 ...

. He began creating art at a young age and is largely self-taught. Dorsey's work is included in various art institutions and private collections across the United States. In 2010, Dorsey founded Black Art in America (BAIA), a media platform that provides exposure to black art and artists, fostering connections between artists, collectors and art enthusiasts. Retrieved 7 August 2024.

Career

Dorsey's art reflects his experiences growing up in the South, particularly his childhood in

Mississippi County, Arkansas Mississippi County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,685. There are two county seats, Blytheville and Osceola. The county is named for the Mississippi River which borders th ...

. His work encompasses a range of media, including painting, photography, digital art and mixed media collages. Dorsey's collages frequently highlight themes related to Southern

culture, including the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, African American history and socioeconomic conditions of the South. His 2021 series, ''The Poor People's Campaign'', is titled in tribute to Martin Luther King's program for economic justice. One piece from the series, ''Ice Cream Melting'', was displayed as a billboard in the Boxtown neighborhood of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Boxtown, a historic neighborhood founded by formerly enslaved people, was central to a legal dispute over the construction of an oil pipeline from 2019 to 2021. The series addresses themes of

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture ...

and

environmental racism Environmental racism, ecological racism, or ecological apartheid is a form of racism leading to negative environmental outcomes such as landfills, Incineration, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal disproportionately impacting Community ...

in poor communities in the South. Dorsey commented on the work, stating, “If you live in an

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

environment, you’re pretty close to a factory, maybe a

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

, perhaps a

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

. This work speaks to how we live in plain sight of a lot of these

corporate A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...

wastelands.”

Projects and initiatives

In 2022, Dorsey and his wife, Seteria Dorsey, also a visual artist and his business partner, opened the Black Art in America Gallery and Sculpture Garden in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The gallery, located on the site of a former church, features works by notable artists such as

Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold (born Faith Willi Jones; October 8, 1930 – April 13, 2024) was an American painter, author, Sculpture, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, and Intersectionality, intersectional activist, perhaps best known for her Narrativ ...

Kerry James Marshall Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1955) is an American artist and professor, known for his paintings of Black figures. He previously taught painting at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2017, Marshall ...

, Alfred Conteh,

Delita Martin Delita Martin (born 1972) is an American multimedia artist based in Huffman, Texas. Early life and education Delita Martin was born in 1972 in Conroe, Texas. She attended Texas Southern University in Houston, receiving a BFA in drawing in 2002 ...

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an American and Mexican sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience i ...

, Samella Lewis,

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (, ) (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York C ...

, and

Louis Delsarte Louis Jessup Delsarte III (September 1, 1944 – May 2, 2020) was an African-American artist known for what has sometimes been called his "illusionistic" style. He was a Painting, painter, muralist, printmaker, and illustrator. When Delsarte was ...

. The BAIA Foundation, established by Dorsey, is dedicated to "documenting, preserving, and promoting the contributions of the African American arts community." The foundation has supported projects that archive the work of local artists and has facilitated connections between African American artists and students at primary schools and

historically Black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

(HBCUs).

Exhibitions

Dorsey has exhibited his work at many galleries and institutions, including: * Museum of Art-DeLand, DeLand, Florida (2022)
Anika Dawkins Gallery
Atlanta, Georgia (2021) * Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi, Mississippi (2021)
Griots Gallery
Miami, Florida (2020)
PRIZM Art Fair
Miami Art Week (2019)
Columbus Liberty Theatre
Columbus, Georgia (2019) * Mildred L. Terry Library,

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

(2019) * Stonecrest Library,

Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia ( , AAVE: ) is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The city's population was 2,662 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lithonia is in the Atlanta metropolita ...

, ''The Art of Najee Dorsey: Environmental Injustice, Visions of a Futuristic Black South'' (2019) *

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, R.D.’s Backroom
University of Arkansas Library

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, ''Remixed: Something Ole, Sum Nu Roux'' (2016); * The American Jazz Museum,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, ''Jazz Then and Now'' (2015) *

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Community Folk Art Center
''Resistance'' (2015)
The Houston Museum of African American Culture
Houston, Texas'', Leaving Mississippi: Reflections on Heroes and Folklore'' (2015) * The Columbus Museum,

, ''Leaving Mississippi: Reflections on Heroes and Folklore'' (2014) * The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History,

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, ''Visions of the 44th Collection'' (2012)

Selected works

*This My Baldwin (2020) *Return to Eden #1 (2019) *Shine the Light (2020) *''B-4-Rosa-Here I Stand'' (2014) *''Baby Boy'' (2019) *''Bethlehem Steele'' (2015) *''Captive Audience'' (2019) *''Harriet’s Daughter'' (2018)

References

External links

Black Art in America
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorsey, Najee 1973 births Living people 21st-century male artists African-American artists People from Blytheville, Arkansas 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American artists