Artist Nene Aïssatou Diallo ’14 Featured in The New York Times

Nene Aïssatou Diallo ’14 was highlighted in The New York Times article “Newark Artists, Thriving Amid Crisis and Catharsis,” along with others who are finding innovative ways to create art and meaning during the pandemic.

The article detailed the resilience of artists in Newark, which has been particularly hard hit by COVID-19 and its economic fallout, including the suspension of cultural initiatives and institutions. Artists have responded by shining a light on the pandemic’s effects on the city as well as on the fight against structural racism. Newark’s peaceful protest after the death of George Floyd “gave me so much energy just seeing everyone there,” said Nene.

Nene is an arts administrator, multimedia artist, and co-founder of Land Collective, a community of local creatives. “As a Black woman, an immigrant [from Guinea], an American, my work deals with addressing the construction of these identities. With collage, photography, and video, I work through the tension and displacement that is inherent with immigration.” It is a difficult but opportune place and time to create such art.

See more of Nene Diallo’s work at her website nenediallo.com.