“AGAPE” by ASHA AMA, ArtsWave “Truth & Healing” Artist 

“Fashion is healing. Fashion can create an identity, it can tell me who you are, it can tell me who you hope to be.”

ASHA AMA

2023 ArtsWave Black and Brown Artists Program

Creativity Squared is proud to support and partner with ArtsWave and to bring you this special interview series featuring the phenomenal artists and grant recipients selected for this year’s ArtsWave Black and Brown Artists Program.

ASHA is a 2023 ArtsWave Black and Brown Artists Program Grant Recipient and “Truth & Healing” Artist.

The intention of these interviews is to give these talented and deserving artists another platform to share their art and truth expressed through it, as you never know what ripples will turn into waves. If you’re interested in working with, featuring, or supporting these artists, please don’t be shy about it.

ASHA’s work is in the ArtsWave “Truth & Healing Artist Showcase” exhibition at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH, through September 10, 2023. The next podcast episode in this series spotlights the filmmakers whose work will be featured in another run of the showcase’s film festival at the Freedom Center on July 30.

This year’s theme is “Truth & Healing” and Creativity Squared host Helen Todd had the great honor of interviewing the artists during the opening showcase to learn more about their work and what truth and healing means to them.

Meet ASHA AMA

ASHA AMA is a fashion designer and Project Runway All-Star. She has designed for Zendaya, Little Big Town and Lizzo’s “Special” tour. As a Black woman, she often is misunderstood, but is able to thrive in fashion because she was raised with a great Knowledge of Self that she tries to impart to others. In 2021, Cincinnati proclaimed Asha Ama Bias-Daniels Day and she was the Taft Museum’s Duncanson Artist in Residence. In 2022, she debuted her NEW MOON collection and exhibit to two sold out shows at the Contemporary Arts Center and later showed at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

“AGAPE”

“AGAPE” is a couture collection of men’s and womenswear, exploring gender fluidity and Black people’s intentional separation in relation to our unique ability to possess AGAPE love. The world has strategically broken down our connection to our own identity and each other. Yet, Black people still find ways to dream, find each other and love-it’s in our blood. We are the survivors of those that chose to survive and our entire existence is made from pure, selfless love. What happens when we fulfill the prophecy and fall in love with each other again?

ArtsWave 2023 Black and Brown Artists Program Cohort

This year’s Black and Brown Artists Program cohort reflects a vibrant collection of diverse art forms created by an equally diverse group of 18 artists. Their mediums include couture fashion, painting, and sculpture — along with film, musical composition, podcasts, theater, dance, and multidisciplinary works.

The projects not only represent the African American experience, but also the experiences of those with Mexican, Lebanese, Somali, Argentinian, Zimbabwean, Guatemalan, and Indigenous heritage.

Listen to the accompanying podcast episode which features ASHA:

Connect with ASHA

Visit ASHA’s website to learn more about her experience and check out her other collections, and follow her on Instagram (@ashaamaofficial) to see more of her incredible design work.

Learn more about ArtsWave and why we proudly support the organization in episode 9 “Art Bridges Cultural Divides” with Janice Liebenberg, VP of Equitable Arts Advancement at ArtsWave: https://bit.ly/Ep9JaniceLiebenberg.

Creativity Squared is a proud partner of ArtsWave and because it’s important to support artists like Michael, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates goes to ArtsWave and directly supports the Black and Brown Artists Program.

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