About The Show
"Inner Compass" is a collective exploration of life’s journeys, told through the vibrant and diverse perspectives of six local Black artists: Duarte Brown, April Sunami, Wendy Kendrick, Tiffany Lawson, John Koldstitch, and Ebony Smith. This exhibition reflects on the intuitive forces that guide us through life's journey—whether literal, emotional, or spiritual.
The artists delve into themes of travel, identity, journey, and community, inviting viewers to consider the personal and shared paths we walk. Through a variety of mediums and narratives, "Inner Compass" illuminates how inner guidance shapes our understanding of self and place in the world.
Join us in celebrating the power of intuition and the rich, multidimensional stories of these creators, as they guide us to connect with our own sense of direction and belonging.
Curator
Imani Willis
Participating Artists
Duarte Brown
April Sunami
Wendy Kendrick
Tiffany Lawson
John Koldstitch
Ebony Smith
Duarte Brown
Richard “Duarte” Brown is a master artist with the TRANSIT ARTS Youth Program and the Ohio Alliance for the Arts Education's Art in the house program. For more than 20 years, Brown has dedicated his talent to helping young people in Columbus through countless programs including CAPACITY (CAPA’s Youth Art Program), the Short Stop Youth Center, the King Arts Complex, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education’s (and formerly GCAC’s) Artists-in-Schools program, GCAC’s Children of the Future, Ebony Boys, Art Safe and VSA Ohio. Brown has also worked as a high school art instructor at the Arts and College Preparatory Academy in Columbus. His murals can be seen throughout the city bringing comfort and inspiration to countless viewers. For more information on Duarte, visit: https://www.duartescollectivegroup.com/about-duartes-collective-group and ArtWithDuarte on Instagram. SHOW STATEMENT “This body of work organically flows from interaction with my communities of art making in high schools art residencies and learning communities with youth and teens. My inner compass comes with my intentional innate desire to document and tell the future of our experiences in time now. My hope is these works will live beyond my span of temporal life. I have come to understand no one ever tells the story the way we wanna tell it so it’s important to paint our own story as it unfolds as we age!”
Duarte Brown
Richard “Duarte” Brown is a master artist with the TRANSIT ARTS Youth Program and the Ohio Alliance for the Arts Education's Art in the house program. For more than 20 years, Brown has dedicated his talent to helping young people in Columbus through countless programs including CAPACITY (CAPA’s Youth Art Program), the Short Stop Youth Center, the King Arts Complex, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education’s (and formerly GCAC’s) Artists-in-Schools program, GCAC’s Children of the Future, Ebony Boys, Art Safe and VSA Ohio. Brown has also worked as a high school art instructor at the Arts and College Preparatory Academy in Columbus. His murals can be seen throughout the city bringing comfort and inspiration to countless viewers. For more information on Duarte, visit: https://www.duartescollectivegroup.com/about-duartes-collective-group and ArtWithDuarte on Instagram. SHOW STATEMENT “This body of work organically flows from interaction with my communities of art making in high schools art residencies and learning communities with youth and teens. My inner compass comes with my intentional innate desire to document and tell the future of our experiences in time now. My hope is these works will live beyond my span of temporal life. I have come to understand no one ever tells the story the way we wanna tell it so it’s important to paint our own story as it unfolds as we age!”
April Sunami
April Sunami is an award-winning multi-media painter, installation artist, muralist and arts educator. Her paintings are in the permanent collections of the National African American Museum and Cultural Center, the Southern Ohio Museum, the Columbus Convention Center, and have additionally been featured at the Columbus Museum of Art and the Akron Art Museum. Sunami’s work has been exhibited internationally, including the 2019 Cuba Biennial exhibition and the National Theatre in Accra, Ghana. Her work as a muralist is on permanent display at locations throughout Columbus and Cincinnati, and includes collaborations with various organizations and community groups including ArtWorks Cincinnati, Urban Blooms, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Designing Local, Maroon Arts Group and ArtsWay Mural Camp. Her work was selected for the cover of the Winter 2022 magazine of the Akron Art Museum, and she was commissioned by the Columbus Art Museum to create a work inspired by the work of George Bellows, to be presented to the museum’s most honored patron of 2021. Her other honors and awards include the 2020 Future History Maker Award presented by Urban One Media, a 2020 Exemplary Distinction by the Ohio Senate, inclusion on 2019’s Top 10 local artists list by Columbus Underground, and the 2018 Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Professional Artist Award at the Ohio State Fair. Sunami is married to writer and philosopher Christopher Sunami. They both live in Columbus, OH and co-parent two bright and imaginative kids. For more information on April, visit: https://aprilsunami.com/ and ajsunami on Instagram.
Wendy Kendrick
Kendrick is a visual artist whose work is deeply rooted in the traditions of collage and mixed media, inspired early in her career by the iconic Romare Bearden. Her artistic journey has evolved into creating quilted artworks that merge her mastery of these techniques with storytelling and cultural expression. In 2010, Kendrick was honored to represent the U.S. as a delegate for a women’s artist exchange in Tanzania, sponsored by the Arts Council Lake Erie West. During this transformative experience, she also delivered a lecture on her artistic journey to college students at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam. A graduate of Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Visual Studies, Kendrick has pursued further artistic development through coursework at the Dayton Art Institute, Columbus College of Art and Design, and the Quilt Surface Design Symposium (QSDS). Her work has been exhibited nationally in venues such as the King Arts Complex, the Burnell R. Roberts Triangle Gallery at Sinclair Community College (Dayton, Ohio), Star Arts Gallery, the Ohio Craft Museum, the Rhodes Office Tower, Joyce Gordon Gallery (Oakland, California), The Shot Tower Gallery, the Richard M. Ross Art Museum (Delaware, Ohio), The James Museum of Western Art and Wildlife (St. Petersburg, Florida), and the Columbus Museum of Art. Her art is also featured in prominent publications, including The Columbus Book Project and works by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, such as Yours for Race and Country: Reflections on the Life of Colonel Charles Young and Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium. Since 2016, Kendrick has been an Artist-in-Residence with the Ohio Arts Council’s TeachArtsOhio Program, inspiring students across the state. In 2021, she was awarded the prestigious Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Columbus Museum of Art. For more information on Wendy, visit: https://www.artbywepa.net/ and artbywepa4u on Instagram.
Tiffany Lawson
Tiffany Lawson is a professional multidisciplinary artist, born and raised on the South side of Columbus, Ohio. From early beginnings of masterpieces scribbled behind the couch, to community arts programs and summer camps, art has always been her nature. Literature, art and music were anchors in her household, formulating ideas and an undeniable affinity for creativity. As a teenager, she began to realize her purpose as an artist after being exposed to local influences such as Aminah B.L. Robinson, Grandpa Smokey Brown and family as well as Richard Duarte Brown through programs her mother managed at the church across the street from their home. The programs broadened her access to and understanding of the arts. She was also mentored by Gilda Edwards. Through the use of the arts community and programs in Central Ohio, she honed her skills and developed a creative voice; shown locally and nationally. She obtained a B.A. in Mass Communications and Social Issues from The Ohio State University in 2005. Upon graduating, Tiffany accepted a position as a judicial assistant in the Franklin County Municipal Court where she is currently employed, although her passion continues to lie in expressing her creativity. In 2014, she became a resident artist at Millworks Studios, where she began to show her work professionally. 2017 brought a renewed commitment to her art after acquiring “the island”; her home studio, where she currently resides on the of Eastside of Columbus. A Master Urban Farmer since 2019, she also holds a certificate as an Art Therapy Life Coach. 2021 brought the inaugural residency at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, as she was selected as the first recipient for the position. For more information on Tiffany, visit: https://www.100martstudio.com/ and 100m_art_studio on Instagram. SHOW STATEMENT This piece was inspired by "Uncle Alvin says...2000 A.D." from Songs of the New Millennium by Aminah Robinson and the Art of Mt. Fuji by several Japanese artists. Merging the two singular inspirations, water being the focus. Water has changed the world in so many ways for large groups of people in myriad ways. For Black people in particular; ‘WE still know the cadence of the waves, how to measure days without light. No Plymouth, we got mounds. We remember in rhythms. Still knowing the saltiness lives on autumn leaves.’
John Koldstitch
John Koldstitch, a Columbus local, experiments with many different mediums in his practice, and chooses not to categorize himself with any title. He sketches, raps, paints, and dreams his ideas into fruition. For more information on John, visit: koldstitch on Instagram. SHOW STATEMENT “I felt I lost my identity and had to search internally to find a new foundation. I was acquiring knowledge but lacked the ability to put that new found knowledge into action. I felt lost, confused, frustrated, with a combination of many other emotions. My dedication to progressing out of this maze has left me exhausted, confused and at times hopeless, however I knew if I stopped I would never find what I was truly in search of. Peace, Happiness, wholeness, and healing. And as I continued to fight for just one more day I realized my “Inner Compass” never left and has been guiding me through my mental maze the entire time. That doesn’t mean that it’ll be easy or feel good all of the time but I was/ am in fact on the right path for the healing I yearned for.”
Ebony Smith
ABOUT THE ART Delhi Marquette Art specializes in geometric and mandala designs. Every piece of art is uniquely designed and carefully crafted by hand. Each mandala is a medication and mindful experience that allows one to calm the mind and connect with his or her higher self. FROM THE ARTIST As a child I always imagined that I would be an artist. Somewhere along the way, I decided it was more beneficial to follow the suggestions of others instead of following my own gut. I do not regret the path I have taken and am grateful for the life I have created for myself. However, it is time for me to share my art, my passion with the world. I am inspired by the sun, the moon, stars, history, ancient art, flowers, geometry, and colors. When you own a piece of my art, you have in your hand a part of my heart and soul. For more information on Ebony, visit: https://shop.castiron.me/delhi-marquette and delhimarquette on Instagram. SHOW STATEMENT “All of my pieces include sacred geometry and mandalas. Sacred geometry is humanity's lost tool for inner guidance and internal healing. Mandalas and sacred geometry are used for meditation and mindfulness--The repetitive shapes and circular designs guide each viewer to deeply reflect.”