Empire State University graduate recognized at Best of SUNY Art Exhibition

(NEW YORK, NY – MAY 15, 2024) Darlene White was recognized as an honorary mention in the “Best of SUNY Art Exhibition” for her work titled “Jazzy Belle.” White is a historian and multidisciplinary artist — she earned her bachelor’s degree in historical studies at Empire State University and will walk in the university’s Manhattan Commencement ceremony on May 17, 2024.

“Jazzy Belle” is one of five pieces in a series titled “Black Girl Becoming”, which portrays a likeness of her friend and stylist.

“Within this particular series, I aimed to focus on Black women who were coming into womanhood on their own terms,” White said. “Women who exuded strength, joy, intelligence, and vulnerability.”

While not involved in the art programs at Empire State University, White said she was approached by the art department to submit her work while she was working toward her historical studies degree.

White is a self-taught artist, and her creative process goes deeper into the characters of her inspiration. She conducts interviews and observes people and then uses that information to create a likeness and share their story through art.

“I take staged photos of my subjects, and then use that as a reference for an image that I surround with various symbols, colors, and textures which I feel correlate with the information I gathered about them,” White said.

White is currently a resident artist at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts with a new exhibition and installation set to debut June 13, 2024. White also has work on display in Harlem, New York, and Ridgewood, Queens. In July, White will teach a workshop at the Bridgehampton Museum that encourages auto-ethnography.