Adetola Abatan
As an artist, drummer, engineer, and emerging arts leader in Seattle, Abatan creates and curates visual art that centers and elevates stories from the margins. Her artwork was featured in the 2021 Seattle Deconstructed Art Fair at Wa Na Wari; the 2022 “After the Quiet: On Black Figures and Folds” exhibit at Mini Mart City Park; and a solo exhibit titled “Solace and Solitude” at the University Unitarian Church near the University of Washington. She most recently curated the "Blue is Our Color" exhibit at the Hedreen Gallery in which blue (and, by extension, ideas of Blackness and African-ness) was shown to hold much more than stagnant history and simplistic ideas of identity.
“The current political climate often hinders dialogue and art can provide a language that cuts across the noise and chatter. I recently heard the brilliant Marin Alexis Burnett advocate for her work this way: “Come for the beauty, stay for the medicine.” Being creative allows me to work out the thoughts and questions I am wrestling with. There is healing in that process. My hope is that bringing my work to the public can offer the beautiful medicine that we all need to confront racism, sexism, and/or populist nationalism.”
“Early in the pandemic, when we were all forced to pause and slow down, I took up collaging in earnest. It was a genuine shock to see what I could create when I had time to play and experiment; what apparently had been there for a while, but I had not given myself permission to explore. Where could the pursuit of this passion lead? In 2020, I decided to step away from a 14-year technical career and focus on my artistic path. I’ve since completed an MFA at Seattle University, an artist residency at Wa Na Wari, exhibited in several shows, and grown immeasurably as an artist and curator with the generous support of friends, colleagues, and family. The surprise was not that I am creative but rather realizing that creativity is like a plant: it must be nurtured and exposed to the right conditions to grow. I’m really excited to see what the future holds.”
“As a Black female artist with deep roots in Nigeria and the United States, I reflect the experiences of Afropolitan folks like myself. I want my work to generate questions about race, gender, identity, and faith. Society collectively wrestles with these things, and that wrestling is an entry into conversations with folks who are quite different from how I show up in the world. Yet, in those conversations, we discover common aspects of our humanity. None of us fits neatly into a box.”
Imagination (2021); hints at the idea of taking ownership of one’s space in the world that is, while envisioning and creating a more just, peaceful, and free future; mixed media paper collage on canvas panel; 16” x 20”.
Yeye (2021); she could be your mother or your mother’s mother — soft and comforting, strict and taxing, she guides and cares, protects and prepares — she has lived a whole life before motherhood, yet it is how we know and love her; mixed media paper collage on cradle board; 16” x 20”.
Contemplation (2021); wrestles with the paradox that while faith has often been used to subjugate people (especially women), those same beliefs provide resilience, fortitude, and even joy; mixed media paper collage on cradle board; 20” x 20”.
Embers and Night; part of the ‘Covering’ series. My Black shimmers with color, glows with glory, like fireplace embers on a cold Seattle night; mixed media on wood panel; 16” x 20”.
Cloaked Fields; part of the ‘Covering’ series. My Black is cloaked in caution and protection, for me, from you; mixed media on wood panel; 16” x 20”.
Cowrie Shells and a Bowler Hat (2021); the woman in this piece reminds me of someone taking her time, absorbed in her business without reacting to (or caring about) us, the audience; mixed media paper collage coupled with slow drawing; 12” x 14”.