“Through the familiar and the absurd, Erika NJ Allen’s empathic work incisively explores the intersection of immigration, consumption, and exploitation, ultimately reminding us of our fraught yet shared humanity and the responsibility we have toward one another.”– juror Jessica Hong, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Toledo Museum of Art.

Allen is the 2024 21c Cincinnati Artadia Award recipient.

Allen (b.1969 Guatemala City, Guatemala) is an artist born in Guatemala and a first-generation college graduate, obtained a BFA in photography from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and later pursued an MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

In May 2019, during her senior year of her BFA, Erika underwent a hysterectomy, a deeply personal experience that profoundly transformed her relationship with her body and nourishment. To aid her recovery, she reimagined her diet, focusing on fruits and vegetables, which guided her path to regaining strength through her work with clay. Her art began to reflect this journey, incorporating imprints of the produce she consumed. Each piece blurs the line between authenticity and artifice, symbolizing her body’s dual nature—one aspect in decay, the other steadfast and unchanging, much like her medical implants.

A wrist fracture during her graduate studies shifted her focus from personal pain to broader issues. As her pain subsided, Erika chose to explore the banana, a fruit with deep connections to her home country. Her work began to delve into how the banana industry, dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, sought to “civilize the banana” and integrate it into American households. Through this exploration, Erika aims to illuminate the historical and political dimensions of the banana industry, which has influenced immigration patterns. She hopes to foster empathy by engaging viewers with narratives of survival and resilience related to immigration.