Resurgence: Craft Reimagined Exhibition Features Five Artists Exploring Heritage and Identity

The exhibition Resurgence: Craft Reimagined is currently on view at The Gallery at Hackney Downs Studios in London, running from March 13 to April 2. The showcase presents works by five contemporary artists who reinterpret traditional craft through diverse cultural lenses. Shayla Marshall, a multidisciplinary artist based in Miami and London, creates immersive worlds exploring Black identity and history, citing Ghetto Futurism, time, and writer Zora Neale Hurston as current inspirations. Favour Jonathan, from Benin City, Nigeria, produces sculptural works honoring Black African and British historical figures, emphasizing the importance of self-care for artistic practice. British-Nigerian artist Sola Olulode employs textile techniques like Adire cloth dyeing in figurative paintings that depict scenes of tenderness and joy. Tyreis Holder, an interdisciplinary artist from South London with Jamaican and Vincentian heritage, works across installation, textiles, and performance to examine diasporic identity and ancestral healing. Ajahee Sekkm-Miles, a Brooklyn-born curator and artist, organized the exhibition with a focus on amplifying Afro-diasporic narratives through archival research and contemporary expression. Each artist provided insights on reimagining craft, highlighting themes of cultural heritage, historical continuity, and personal evolution within their creative processes.