Printmaking as Activism: A Two Day Event on Building Community Through Art.

Eight black women, some sitting on chairs while others stand, overlaid with colorful geometric patterns.

April 5 & April 7

Join us for a two-day event beginning with a lecture by Delita Martin, artist and printmaker based in Huffman, Texas. Martin’s practice celebrates community and affirms social justice.In addition to running her studio, Black Box Press, Martin is founder and president of the Black Box Press Foundation.

This event is offered in conjunction with the event seriesArt, Activism and the Engaged Humanitiesorganized by The WRITE Lab/Program for Writing and Rhetoric, the College of Arts and Sciences and the A & S Office for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion;and several other generous entities at CU Boulder.

April 5

Artist talk and reception with Delita Martin

Reception (for students): 4:30–5:30, CU Art Museum

Artist talk (all welcome): 6:00–7:00 pm, Eaton Humanities room 150 (HUMN 150)

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) and the CU Art Museum (CUAM).

April 7

Artist Spotlight & Collage Making

A hands-on workshop and artist spotlight at the CU Art Museum. Interested in an afternoon of free snacks, drinks, and collage making? Then this event is perfect for you! The Artist Spotlight Event provides an opportunity to learn about artwork by Delita Martin.

Free and open to all students! All skill levels welcome and supplies for art making will be provided! This program is run by our museum attendants Aleea and Julianne.

Workshop max: 25 participants. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.

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About the speaker:

Delita Martin. She is a black woman and has dark, curly hair and patterned cateye glasses.
Delita Martin is an artist currently based in Huffman, Texas. She received a BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University and a MFA in printmaking from Purdue University. Formally a member of the fine arts faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Martin is currently working as a full-time artist in her studio, Black Box Press.

Primarily working from oral traditions, along with vintage and family photographs as a source of inspiration; Martin’s work explores the power of the narrative impulse.

Her finished works combine collaging, drawing, painting, printmaking, and sewing techniques, placing her figures amid patterns to visually represent what it looks like when we become the spiritual other: when we pray or meditate ... we enter the veilscape.” Martin’s layering of technique and material, as well as her use of pattern and color, signifies a liminal space–the space between the waking life and the spirit life. By fusing this visual language with oral storytelling in this different space she offers other identities and other narratives for women of color.

Martin’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Most recently Martin’s work was shown at the 2022 Venice Biennale, National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, DC and welcomed into the Library of Congress. She served has as 2021 Keynote speaker for the Mid America Print Council. More information about the artist can be found .

Images courtesy of Delita Martin.