Bio|CV
Nailah I. Akinyémi-Sankofa (b. Chicago) is a prolific visual-cultural artisan, fashion and furniture designer, published writer/poet, dancer and choreographer living and working in Austin, Texas. As an interdisciplinary artist, Nailah’s primary approach to her artwork, design, studies and activism is rooted in her Yoruba, Akan, Edo and Kongo cultural traditions as expressions of identity, creative aesthetics and Diaspora material culture. Nailah majored in interior design and studio art at Columbia College in Chicago. She continued her academic pursuits at Central Texas College and then the University of Texas at Austin’s design and studio art programs. Along with her many other creative-business endeavors and community artistic and cultural projects, she has organized and curated many art exhibits. Nailah is also a cultural activist and historian, completing three books and maintaining her dedication to her ancestral spiritual and cultural traditions as a ritual specialist in her Yoruba and other West Afrikan traditions.
EDUCATION
2003 & 2012 University of Texas at Austin. BA Fine Arts-Studio Arts Major
1998 Central Texas College), Killeen TX. Interior Design and Fine Arts
1980 Columbia College, Chicago, IL. Interior Design and Studio Art
Additional Studies:
2012 University of Texas at Austin. Textile and Apparel Program
2004 Austin Community College. Austin TX. Engineering Design Graphics
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Alaasé: Messages Within the Conjure”, African American Museum Dallas, Dallas, TX. — September 2027
Ghost Notes I: Awakening of the Medicine Spirits - Drawings and Paintings, East Austin Creative Collaborative Gallery, Austin, TX. — October 2026
Alaasé: Messages Within the Conjure”, George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin, TX. — August 2019-January 2020
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS [†curated, co-curated and/or juried these exhibits]
2026 Portable Souls: Karavans of Diaspora Afrikan Art • Design • Style + Culture for Tiny Spaces,
2024 African American Strip Quilts and Their Afrikan Textile Roots, Ghana, New Orleans and Oakland
2019 Toma Mi Corazon — La Pena Art Gallery, Austin TX
2018 100% Art Exhibit — George W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin TX
2010 Fresh Black Paint: Tightrope Realities† - New East Art Gallery, Austin TX
2008 100% Art Exhibit — George W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin TX
2007 Approaching Equinox† — Studio Exhibit, Design Works!studios, Austin TX
2006 Legacies of Dust† — George W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin TX
2005 Mosaic/Rhythm† — Group Artist Studio Show, East Village Studio, Austin TX
2005 East Village Artists’ Studio Tour — For E.A.S.T. ’05, East Village Studio, Austin TX
2002 Yoruba Day Celebration and Exhibit — Center for African and African American Studies, University of Texas, Austin TX
2002 Ujimaa/Ujamaa — Group Studio Exhibit, Design Works!studios, Austin TX
2002 Open House — Center for African and African American Studies, University of Texas, Austin TX
2002 The Debt¿ † — Sponsored by the University of Texas’ Annual Heman Sweatt Symposium on Civil Rights, The Old School Gallery, Austin TX
GRANTS + AWARDS
2025 Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (AACME) — NEXUS Creative Grant
2022-24 Harris-Gregor Community Initiatives Artist In Residence Grant
2020 United States of Artists - Unrestricted Artist Relief Grant Six Square and Austin Community Foundation - Black Creatives Support Grant BIG Medium Artist Relief Fund Grant
2019 Six Square - African American Cultural District Community Program Support
2017-18 City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division Capacity Building Fund
2006 Wachovia Bank Community Initiative Fund Grant
2005 Art In Public Places Project Commission-Austin (commission from 2005 - 2011)
1996 Project Funding, Austin Cultural Arts Division (also 1994, 1995 and 1991)
1993 Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts, Pro Arts Collective
SELECTED PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Deborah Roberts, Austin TX
Rudy Green, Austin TX
Cathy Runnels, Austin TX
Bamidele Agbasegbe, Oakland CA
Rosaia Shepard, Austin TX
Connie Johnson, Atlanta GA
Sharon Mooney, Austin TX
Robert Anderson, Austin TX
Tammy Javey, Cincinnati OH
Dr. Joni “Omi” Jones, Los Angeles, CA
COMMISSIONS [Public, Private, Corporate]
2020 “Cultural Oasis” for Impact Anchor’s Africa House 2020 SXSW Interactive Events, Austin TX
2015 “NTUMA’PA Paper Dolls Search for Map Treasures”, Capital Metro Transportation Authority, Austin TX
2007 “Iconic Clothe” and “Adinkra: More Than Fetish”, Dell Children’s Hospital, Austin TX
2005 “Efe ati Ijo” - First Night Austin, Austin TX
2005 College of Fine Arts, University of Texas, Austin TX
2002 Custom Mosaic Murals, Living Architecture, Austin TX
RESIDENCIES
2020-2023 B. Harris - Park Plaza Artist in Residence Inaugural Live-Work Program.
2019-2020 Harris - Park Plaza Artist in Residence Inaugural Live-Work Program.
2019-2020 George W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center: Inaugural Visual Artist in Residence - Studio.
2018-2020 Box Bazaar Project,City of Austin Container Studio/Business Incubator Space Recipient, Austin TX.
2016-2017 ARA Arts-Fashion Business Incubator-Residency and Fund, Austin TX.
SELECTED ARTICLES | PUBLICATIONS | INTERVIEWS | PANELS
2022 Black Religions and Spirituality Day, John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies
University of Texas, Austin TX
2022 Create + Heal Sessions, G.W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin, TX (and 2021)
2020 Alaase: Messages from the Conjurer, The Seen Magazine by Hiba Ali
2019 KOMO-AKOFO Fireside Chat, G.W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin TX
Apéjo: A Circle of Elders Panel Discussion, G.W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Austin TX
2018 Austin Fashion Designer Invited to Debut at New York Fashion Week, The Villager Newspaper by Jinda Dorsey
2018 African American Fashion Designer Black History Month Feature, KVUE News 24 by Quita Culpepper
2017 Tradition Flows Through Designer’s Garments-Studio, Spectrum News 8 Austin by Dawn Okoro
2015 Cap Metro Austin Collective Rider Profile, Sherry Mathews’ Marketing by Beef + Pie Productions (video)
2013 Fashion: Runway Underground Promotes Diversity in Austin’s Fashion Scene, Austin American Statesman by Nancy Flores
2012 Spotlighting African Design, Impact News by Christi Covington
2009 Art for Days, The Austin Chronicle by Robert Faires
2006 Legacies of Dust, The Austin Chronicle by Nikki Moore
2005 Interior Dialogue: Austin Artist's Grand Design, Austin American Statesman by Melanie Spenser