Aja Dandridge
Issue No. 21 • Spring 2020
My black and white drawings promote strong visuals of African American women as they are seen in the real world, rather than the media. One of my original pieces from the Black & White collection, "Afro-Hip" emphasizes the cultural shift in Black America to return to our "natural roots", through our close ties with hair and the hip-hop music genre. The contrasting colors of black and white, with the use of a stencil, create an authentic aesthetic in my subjects. "Afro-Hip" represents a black woman embracing her heritage.
Aja Dandridge is an artist who stays true to herself. She’s been a reluctant Clevelander all her life, but her imagination extends far beyond the city’s borders. Sometimes urban and other times out of the box, her artistry has a beat of its own. Her work often focuses on self-portraits of people, marveling in the drama of human emotion. Aja’s portraits are either brought to life by color or in dramatic shades of black and white. Her pieces tell stories as seen through the eyes of her subjects.
Despite the educational courses Aja has taken to grow as an artist, she was born with raw talent. Her uncle was a late painter himself and thus the gift has passed onto Aja. Her artwork has been featured in online literary magazines such as Zaum18, Phree Write and Literary Tones. Just this past year, Aja’s pieces were displayed at the Cleveland Heights Holiday Store Art Exhibition and at the Greenway Arts Festival held in Murfreesboro, TN.. Aja is an emerging Cleveland artist with much to offer in the coming year.