Jamilla Okubo and Lou Dawson
Dreaming While Woke: Speak of the Future in the Now
September 6 – 29, 2019
Sharing a common thread of exploration, mixed media artist Jamilla Okubo and fashion designer and visual artist Lou Dawson, both native to Washington, DC, come together to present Dreaming While Woke: Speak of the Future in the Now. Inspired by Afrofuturist pioneers such as Octavia Butler and Sun Ra, this exhibition consists of works that are a conversation between the two artists on their experiences growing up in Washington, DC, while reimagining nostalgic cultural places as safe spaces for the black community.
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Jamilla Okubo is a mixed-media artist living and working in Washington, DC. Her work has consistent themes that explore the intricacy of belonging to an American, Kenyan, and Trinidadian identity. She aims to use her interdisciplinary concentration as a medium to address topics within her culture. Rotating between collage, painting, fashion design, and screen printing her work is heavily inspired by the art of storytelling. Okubo’s most recent accomplishments include collaborating with Christian Dior and Gorman, as well as creating live art installations for Culture Corp x Hudson Yards and the Line Hotel DC. Her work has been exhibited at The Torpedo Factory, Milk Gallery, Calabar Gallery, Weeksville Heritage Center, and the Dray Walk Gallery.
Lou Dawson is a self-taught, mixed media and textile artist, born and raised in Northeast Washington, DC. Dawson uses her experiences growing up in black communities to inform her latest collection, Huemanz, a clever play on the outdated phrase “Colored people.” Her biggest piece to date, Polaroid, is a unique approach to color blocking outlined in black and white. Dawson’s fashion pieces can be seen on several fashion and art influencers and she has shown collections in New York Fashion Week.
