Black Baroque Visiting Artist Interviews: Harmonia Rosales

Influenced by her multicultural Afro-Cuban background, Harmonia Rosaless (B. 1984, Chicago, IL) primary artistic concern focuses on Black female empowerment through a diasporic lens. Her work seamlessly entwines the oral narratives and deities of West African Yorùbá religion, Greco-Roman mythology, and Christianity with the artistic techniques of the Renaissance
masters. For Rosales, reimagining hegemonic narratives preserves the memory of her ancestral lineage and functions to champion resilience and question Eurocentric notions of beauty. While her subjects serve as conduits for the internal struggles of a disempowered society, Rosales encourages her onlookers to possess more sympathy, empathy, and empowerment. She is here in conversation with Dr. Sophia Q McCabe, who contributed to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative exhibition catalogue.
Artist's work: www.harmoniaro...
Event originally held on Tuesday May 1, 2023.
Interview facilitated by Dr. Sophia Q. McCabe and Dr. Noémie Ndiaye (UChicago). Program management and video editing by Rachel Willis (UChicago).
Sponsored by the following University of Chicago entities:
Division of the Humanities
Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture