“I’d like my art to induce people to stop raping, torturing, and shooting each other. I don’t have the ability to end violence, racism, and sexism.
But my art can help them look and think.”
—Joyce J. Scott
MacArthur Fellow, Dr. Joyce J. Scott (b. 1948, Baltimore, MD) is best known for her figurative sculpture and jewelry using bead weaving techniques, as well as blown glass and found objects.
She earned her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, MFA from the Instituto Allende in Mexico, and was conferred honorary doctorates from The Maryland Institute College of Art and California College of the Arts. As an African-American, feminist artist, Scott unapologetically confronts difficult themes as diverse as her subjects which include race, misogyny, sexuality, stereotypes, gender inequality, economic disparity, politics, rape, and discrimination.
Scott’s work is included in many important private and public museum collections worldwide from the encyclopedic collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY and The Smithsonian Collection in DC, to museum collections of varying sizes across the globe. Scott has been the recipient of countless commissions, grants, awards, and prestigious honors from institutions including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, Anonymous Was a Woman, American Craft Council, National Living Treasure, Women’s Caucus for the Arts, Baker Award, MacArthur Foundation Award, New York University Fellowship Award, and the Smithsonian Visionary Artist Award.
Scott explores challenging subjects, powerfully revealing the equality between materials and practices often associated with “craft” and “fine art.” She currently lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland, and is represented by Goya Contemporary Gallery.
Arranged by: The Craft Programme, HDK-Valand, Academy of Art and Design
