Sana Musasama is an African-American

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelai ...

and mixed-media artist based in New York City. Her artistic practice parallels her work as an educator and commitment to human rights causes especially the human trafficking of women. Musasama is an associate adjunct professor at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also adm ...

Early life and education

Musasama was born in

Saint Albans, New York St. Albans is a residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Jamaica to the northwest, Hollis to the north, Queens Village to the northeast, Cambria Heights to the east, Laurelton t ...

. She holds a BA in Ceramics and Education from

City College City college may refer to: In the United States * Community college, a type of educational institution sometimes called a ''junior college'' or a ''city college'' in the United States * City College of New York ** 137th Street – City College (IR ...

(1974) and an MFA from

Alfred State College Alfred State College (ASC, SUNY Alfred, SUNY Alfred State) is a public college in Alfred, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The college, formerly the Technical College at Alfred, offers a wide variety o ...

of Ceramics (1987). She continued her ceramic studies at the

Archie Bray Foundation The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts (also known as "The Bray") is a public, nonprofit, educational institution located 3 miles from downtown Helena, Montana, United States. It was founded on the site of the former Western Clay Manufac ...

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would b ...

; the Gakium Designer College in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan; the Tuscarora International School of Ceramics in

Tuscarora, Nevada Tuscarora ( Shoshoni language: Tosa Konoki) is an unincorporated community in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The community lies on the east side of the Tuscarora Mountains approximately 40 miles north of Carlin. Tuscarora is part of the ...

; and at Mende Pottery in Mendeland, Sierra Leone.

Career

Musasama's artistic practice and work as an educator is informed by her extensive travels to Africa, Asia, and Latin America including countries such as Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Japan to learn about non-Western cultures, specifically as relates to womanhood and socio-political issues impacting women. In the 1970s she traveled to West Africa where she lived and worked in Mendeland, Sierra Leone, it was there she first witnessed the effects of female circumcision of young girls. This experience informed her interest in other women's issues including:

foot binding Foot binding, or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change their shape and size. Feet altered by footbinding were known as lotus feet, and the shoes made for these feet were kno ...

, dowry burning, rape and prostitution. For over 20 years Musasama has researched these issues and created artwork in response.

''Maple Tree'' series (1992–1994)

Five of Musasama's ''Maple Tree'' series sculptures were exhibited at the Fine Arts Gallery at

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LI ...

Southampton, NY Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the str ...

in April 1998. The ''Maple Tree'' series is a group of about thirty totemic ceramic sculptures based on the Maple Tree Movement, who were a group of abolitionists from the 1790s that advocated ending the sugar cane industry and thus ending slavery on West Indian sugar plantations. They hoped maple syrup would replace sugar cane eliminating the need for slave labor. The sculptures in the series were made using various clay bodies and resemble trees with organic and bodily extensions. They are scaled to the human body, ranging from 3.5 to over 5 feet, and in addition to ceramic are made from materials such as stone, beads, and moss. Some of the sculptures from the series were created at artist residencies, and are named after the place where they were made. ''Stop'' (1994) and ''Sugar vs Sap'' (1992), two sculptures from the ''Maple Tree s''eries, were exhibited in the

No Longer Empty No Longer Empty is a New York City-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to orchestrating site-specific public art exhibitions in empty storefronts. No Longer Empty was conceived as an artistic response to the worsening economic ...

: Southeast Queens Biennial in 2018.

Volunteer work and teaching

In addition to working as a professor in higher education and teaching ceramics workshops nationally and internationally, Musasama has volunteered at organizations in New York City such as GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) that works with survivors of human trafficking and exploitation; and CASES (Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment). She has also worked with AFESIP Cambodia and Together1Heart, organizations dedicated to supporting and rescuing girls and young women that are victims of human trafficking.

Public collections

Musasama's work is held in the collections of the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

Hood Museum of Art The Hood Museum of Art is owned and operated by Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. The first reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth dates to 1772, making the collection among the ol ...

Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, the European Ceramic Center in Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands; the

in Helena, Montana, and the

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) b ...

in New York.

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2024: ''Returning to Ourselves,''

Everson Museum of Art Everson may refer to: People with the surname * Ben Everson (born 1987), English footballer * Bill Everson (1906–1966), Welsh international rugby union player * Cliff Everson, a New Zealand car designer and manufacturer * Corinna Everson (born 1 ...

, Syracuse, New York * 2010: ''Unknown/Unnamed'', June Kelly Gallery, New York * 2010: ''The Hand'', Meta House Gallery,

Phnom Penh, Cambodia Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indust ...

* 2009: ''Women'',

Chatham University Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as a women's college, it began enrolling men in undergraduate programs in 2015. It enrolls about 2,110 students, including 1,002 undergraduate students an ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

* 2007: ''A Season of Abundance: The Maple Tree Series of Sana Musasana'', curated by chief curator, David Revere McFadden, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; catalogue * 2006: ''ETHOS, Social Consciousness and Craft'', Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC * 2005: ''Shhh…Secrets, Status, Society'', June Kelly Gallery, New York * 2001: ''Outer Beauty, Inner Anguish,'' June Kelly Gallery, New York * 1998: ''Maple Tree Series'', Fine Arts Gallery,

Southampton College of Long Island University Stony Brook Southampton is a campus location of Stony Brook University, located in Southampton, New York between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island. History Southampton College, ...

, Southampton, New York * 1984: ''From the Studio: The Studio Museum in Harlem Artist-in-Residence, 1984'', curated by Schroeder Cherry, The Studio Museum in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harle ...

Selected group exhibitions

* 2016: ''50 Women-A Celebration of Women’s Contribution to Ceramics'',

American Jazz Museum The American Jazz Museum is a jazz museum in the historic 18th and Vine district of Kansas City, Missouri. The museum preserves the history of American jazz music, with exhibits on Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald ...

Kansas City, MO Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

* 2013: ''Body & Soul'',

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

, New York, NY * 2013: ''History, Haunting and Palimpsests'', Anya & Shiva Gallery,

John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts co ...

, NY * 2009: ''Modern and Contemporary Art at Dartmouth'',

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

, New Hampshire * 2006: ''Edges of Grace'',

Fuller Craft Museum Fuller Craft Museum is an arts and crafts museum in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts, 25 miles south of Boston. It receives 20,000 visitors a year. It contains contemporary craft-based art of many different genres and origins. It is the only ...

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

* 2002: New Works,

Crocker Art Museum The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States, located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum holds one of the premier collections of Californian art. The collection includes American works dating f ...

Sacramento, CA ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

* 1999: ''Cultural Influences in Craft'',

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

Durham, NC Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th-mo ...

Recognition

Musasama's work has been recognized with numerous awards including an

Anonymous Was a Woman Award The Anonymous Was A Woman Award is a grant program for women artists who are over 40 years of age, in part to counter sexism in the art world. It began in 1996 in direct response to the National Endowment for the Arts' decision to stop funding in ...

in 2002, Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2013, and was a

Artist-in-Residence in 1983–84.

References

External links

Official Website

Oral History Project, Bomb Magazine Interview

50 Women: An Interview with Sana Musasama
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musasama, Sana Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Hunter College faculty Artists from Queens, New York Alfred State College alumni City College of New York alumni American women ceramists African-American women artists African-American sculptors African-American contemporary artists American contemporary artists 20th-century American ceramists 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American ceramists 21st-century American artists 21st-century American women artists 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists African-American ceramists