Crafted Kinship - by Malene Barnett (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Through gorgeous images and powerful interviews with 65 artists of Caribbean heritage, Crafted Kinship takes readers on an important journey through the world of Black Caribbean art. This is the first book where Caribbean makers are sharing the intimate stories of their artmaking process, and how their countries of origin, the "land," influences and informs how and what they create. Author Malene Barnett is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and textile designer of the Caribbean diaspora, with roots in Saint Vincent and Jamaica, and the founder of the Black Artists and Designers Guild, a global platform and community of independent Black artists, makers, and designers. Barnett's artistic practice is inseparable from her work as a community builder. She exhibits nationally, gives talks, and publishes work raising awareness around Caribbean makers and ceramic art traditions of the Black diaspora. There is no one more respected or trusted in the Caribbean art community who could curate this intimate and extraordinary collection of influential artists. Included are artists from over 20 Caribbean islands working across all genres, ceramics to wood, to interior design and filmmaking. Some live in the Black Diaspora, and some have moved back or live in their country of origins. Meet Basil Watson, a Jamaican figurative artist and sculptor whose famous for his stunning bronze figures that are exhibited outdoors all over the world; Shenequa Brooks, a multimedia artist who uses traditional craft of weaving, including with thread and hair to tell heritage stories through her artwork; and Lisandro Suriel, a photographer and filmmaker from Saint Martin, living there now too, whose work centers on the exploration of Black imagination. The artist profiles cover everything from the history of the artist's origin country, the artist's creative practice, why they use certain materials when making art, their origin stories, the Caribbean's influence on the world, how they honor their ancestors in the work they do, and more. Crafted Kinship is the book that's missing from the Caribbean art archives. It's for artists, Caribbean art enthusiasts, students, teachers, and for anyone who wants a true and real window into the meaning of where the art and artists originate from"--

Book Synopsis

A visual journey of Caribbean art profiling more than 60 contemporary Caribbean artists, curated by award winning multidisciplinary artist and textile surface designer, Malene Barnett​.

Through powerful interviews with more than 60 artists and designers of Caribbean heritage, accompanied by gorgeous photographs, Crafted Kinship takes readers on a unique journey through the world of Black Caribbean creativity. Each maker crafts a kinship with the land, the people, the culture of their country of origin. Their art explores and reflects deeply on themes like African origins, ancestors, Black womanhood/Black manhood, identity, joy, memory, and the complicated and painful history of migration and diaspora. An art that is more often than not multidisciplinary, created by makers who eschew traditional labels by reshaping the boundaries around art and design.

Curated by Malene Barnett, an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and textile surface designer of Jamaican and Vincentian descent, Crafted Kinship is the first book in which Caribbean makers share the intimate stories of their art-making process and how their countries of origin influence and inform how and what they create. Included are makers working across all mediums. Meet Anina Major, a Bahamian visual artist whose work attempts to reclaim the significance of straw basketry through her ceramics; Basil Watson, a Jamaican figurative artist and sculptor famous for his stunning bronze figures that are exhibited outdoors all over the world; Renee Cox, a Jamaican photographer whose work celebrates Black womanhood; La Vaughn Belle, a multidisciplinary artist from St. Croix who draws from archival sources to interrogate colonial legacies; Sonya Clark, a textile artist and educator of Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Bajan heritage who works with hair and other meaningful materials to explore issues of power, race, and gender; and Nyugen E. Smith, an interdisciplinary artist of Trinidadian and Haitian ancestry whose fluid stream of consciousness is expressed through objects, performance, music, and moving image.

Review Quotes

"Crafted Kinship is a beautifully designed and well-crafted vessel that houses and honors the ancestorial energy of the past. Barnett reminds us that we should never forget the creative ingenuity of the Caribbean diaspora. Despite fragmentation, dislocation, and colonialism, the archive is living and is transmitted through the hands and movement of bodies. The narratives presented are both forms of resistance and celebrations of everyday life."--Myron M. Beasley, Ph.D., Professor of American Studies & Curator, Bates College

"Malene Barnett has once again proven herself to be at the forefront of current efforts to showcase the works, heretofore invisible if not forgotten, of African peoples' contributions in design. Her book is timely and necessary in promoting creative voices of peoples who have existed since the foundation of creative making who have been, until very recently, lost to history, hidden in plain view."--Jack Travis, Architect

"Malene's groundbreaking book serves as a powerful testament to the extraordinary individuals who have shaped the Caribbean diaspora. Each artist's story within its vibrant and captivating pages resonates deeply. Now, with this newfound inspiration, I am more determined than ever to elevate these artists and their stories to the forefront."--Mashonda Tifrere, Founder, Art Genesis

"This collection of interviews serves as a crucial record of the Caribbean arts and design landscape today and foreshadows the global movements to come...it is essential reading for our time."--Karen Carter, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Black Artists' Networks in Dialogue

"Through a series of endearing and insightful interviews, Malene Barnett's Crafted Kinship celebrates, acknowledges and challenges the traditions of our foremothers and fathers from the African diaspora who created out of a different kind of necessity. This tome is a celebration of new and seasoned Black creatives from the Caribbean whose work speaks to their search for meaning and inspiration through their heritage."--Ivy N. Jones, Founder and Director, Welancora Gallery

"Visually stunning, Crafted Kinship by Malene Barnett offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of Black Caribbean artistry. Through compelling interviews and beautiful photographs, featured artists share their cultural background that influences their creative practice. This book serves as a celebration of the rich artistic landscape of the Caribbean."--Joy Simmons

"With an exceptional selection of artists who practice with painting, sculpture, video, installation, and beyond, this book presents a kaleidoscopic perspective of contemporary Caribbean art."--Maria Elena Ortiz, Curator, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

About the Author

Malene Barnett is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, textile surface designer, and community builder. She earned her MFA in ceramics from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and undergraduate degrees in fashion illustration and textile surface design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Malene received a Fulbright Award to travel to Jamaica in 2022-23 as the visiting artist at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston.

Malene's art reflects her African Caribbean heritage, building on her ancestral legacy of mark-making as a visual identity, and has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling in New York City, the African American Museum of Dallas, and Temple Contemporary in Philadelphia. Malene's art and design work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Galerie, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Departures, and Interior Design. In addition, Malene hosts lectures on advocating for African Caribbean ceramic traditions and has participated in residencies at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Greenwich House Pottery, Judson Studios, the Hambidge Center, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Malene is also the founder of the Black Artists + Designers Guild, which supports independent Black makers globally. When she's not traveling the world researching Black diasporic aesthetics, Malene resides in Brooklyn, New York.