Dindga McCannon

Dindga McCannon (born July 31, 1947) is an African-American artist born and raised in New York City. She has had a multifaceted career as a fiber artist, muralist, teacher, author, and illustrator. McCannon co‑founded Where We At, a collective of Black women artists, in 1971.

Early life and education Born in Roosevelt Island and raised in Harlem, McCannon was inspired to become an artist at the age of 10. She was an only child raised by her mother Lottie Kilgo Porter, grandmother Hattie Kilgo, and stepfather Albert Porter.

After graduation, McCannon volunteered with the American Red Cross, where she worked at Harlem schools not far from where she grew up and was living. The director, James White, noticed her art talent and asked her to teach art as part of her volunteering, and told her about an art show in the projects on 129th Street. In addition to her work as a quilter, author, and illustrator, Dindga considers herself a costume designer, muralist, and a print maker. Her work involves women's lives, portraits, and history.

In response to sexism and racism in the art world, artists in the 1960s and 1970s created collectives as a way to fight oppression. In the 1960s, McCannon was a member of Weusi Artist Collective. This is how McCannon became interested in the Black Arts Movement. The Weusi Collective was interested in creating art that evoked African themes and symbols, as well as highlighting contemporary black pride. This artist collective provided her with the basic foundational skills in order to create visual art. Not only was she a part of this artist collective, but in 1965 McCannon joined the Congress of Racial Equality and took part in their march in Washington in protest of the Vietnam War.

In 2015, she was a presenter at the Art of Justice: Articulating an Ethos and Aesthetic of the Movement conference at New York University presented by the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in Collaboration with the Department of Art and Public Policy, New York University; Institute of African American Affairs, New York University; and Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University.

Artworks McCannon has a quilt (titled "Yekk's Song") in the permanent collection of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In January 2020, McCannon's oil painting "The Last Farewell" was auctioned for $161,000 as part of Johnson Publishing Company's bankruptcy proceedings. This work was part of their private collection, which also included works by Henry Ossawa Tanner and Carrie Mae Weems.

Revolutionary Sister, a mixed-media work created in 1971, was created in response to a lack of revolutionary women warriors. The work depicts a powerful and colorful sister, created in part with items from the hardware store. McCannon speaks about this piece as a Statue of Liberty figure. It is in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum.

Bessie's Song is a mixed-media piece created in 2003. It was made using appliqué and machine quilted cottons, gold lame, vintage beaded trim, embroidered patches, glass beads, and metallic threads.

Books McCannon has written and illustrated two books. Peaches, published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard in 1974 and by Dell in 1977, tells the story of a young black girl growing up in Harlem, her life with her family, and her ambition to be an artist.

Wilhemina Jones, Future Star, published by Delacorte in 1980, has a similar theme, with a young black girl growing up in Harlem in the mid-1960s who dreams of pursuing an art career and leaving the oppressive atmosphere of her home.

McCannon has also illustrated books for others: Omar at X-mas by Edgar White (published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard), and Speak to the Winds, African Proverbs, written by K. O. Opuku (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1972).

In 2018, McCannon published an illustrated cookbook called Celebrations. The opening reception was held at Art For the Soul Gallery in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Commissions McCannon has also been commissioned to create various pieces of art.

1985: United Community, 50 ft by 6 stories, 25 Furman Ave, Brooklyn, NY, Dept of Cultural Affairs 2000: Amazing Life of Althea Gibson, 60 inches by 120 inches art story quilt, Disney Inc for ESPN Zone, 42nd Street and Brady, NYC 2001: Winning the Vote, Art Quilt on the Pioneers of Women's voting history America, Scholastic Magazine 2008: Zora Neale Hurston, B.O.S.S. (Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters), Columbia University, NY

Notable works in public collections

Mercedes (1971), Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Revolutionary Sister (1971), Brooklyn Museum, New York Empress Akweke (1975), Brooklyn Museum, New York West Indian Day Parade (1976), Brooklyn Museum, New York Woman #1 (1975-1977), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Badass Women Who Inspire Me to Soar (2006), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Charlie Parker and Some of the Amazing Musicians He Influenced (1983/2010), The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. A Week in the Life of a Black Woman Artist (2013), Brooklyn Museum, New York

Awards 2023 – Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) - Individual Artist Grant 2005 – N. Y. F. A. Fellowship – Crafts 2007 – Urban Artists Initiative, Harlem Arts Alliance 2008 – Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance – Individual Artists Grant 2009 – Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance – Individual Artist Grant