“The artists selected as finalists for the Artadia awards represented a strong group of artists working across a range of media. Selecting the winners was a difficult decision but each of the awardees has a practice that engages their subject and medium in truly unique and engaging ways. I was also excited that the group is made up of intergenerational artists each bringing their point of view and vision to their work and community.” – Wassan Al-Khudhairi

Dana King is a classical figurative sculptor who creates public monuments of Black Bodies in Bronze. King prefers sculptures because they inhabit space and space is power. She believes sculpture provides an opportunity to shape culturally significant memories that determine how African descendants are publicly held and remembered.

King creates Black Bodies in Bronze. Her work explores a subversive concept in a traditional form. She rescues everyday Black American heroines/heroes from unjust obscurity and then ennobles their tenacity and courage through figurative sculpture. Across countless generations elders have communicated culture, history, and wisdom through storytelling. She continues that tradition in bronze, resurrecting our ancestors’ love and truth from America’s buried past. Intense research shapes these memories. It empowers her to create art that invites people to understand themselves and their lives in a connected and compelling way. Equity and justice are integral to her art practice.