MONA

1980, Chiredzi, Zimbabwe – Tafadzwa Nododa was born in 1980 in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. After arriving in Nebraska, Nododa studied art at Bellevue University, near Omaha. He also spent time in 2005 as an artist-in-residence in the Barker Art Program at the Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha. Primarily a self-taught artist, Ndoda creates photorealistic drawings Read More

1970, Omaha, Nebraska – 2013, Omaha, Nebraska Wanda Ewing was born in 1970 in Omaha, Nebraska. She used printmaking, painting, collage, latch hook, and other media to create pieces that she wrote “explore the subjects of race, beauty standards, sexuality, and identity.” Her bold and colorful artistic style was heavily influenced by pop and hip-hop Read More

1951, Omaha, Nebraska – Born in 1951 in Omaha, Nebraska, Deborah Teamer Bunting has spent much of her life dedicated to the arts in her home state. She grew up in a family of creative people where the arts were always present. Her mother was a classically trained pianist and her grandmother was a needlework Read More

(b. 1945) Born in 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rudy Smith grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. After hearing Martin Luther King, Jr. speak at a convention in Denver when he was but 13, Smith became involved with the Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), advancing to president of a Read More

1908, Nebraska – 1977, Los Angeles, California Nebraska-born with exact place unknown, Helen Allred lived in the state until 1933 when she was age 25, and then moved to California for the remainder of her life. She was a divorcee who listed herself as an artist on census records, but took other jobs including that Read More

1891, Nebraska – 1966, Hayward, California (Temperance Elizabeth Allison) Art educator and theater participant in California, Tempe Allison was born in Nebraska, but lived most of her childhood in Cimarron, Oklahoma with parents, John and Elisabeth Hill Allison and five younger siblings. Her formal name was Temperance Allison, but in biographical references and her publications, Read More

1875, Beatrice, Nebraska – 1943, San Bernadino, California (Nelly Griggs) Daughter and wife of two highly prominent Nebraska men, Nelly Alexander was a youngster in a period of drought, grasshoppers, and financial panic in her native state, but apparently did not personally suffer deprivation. She became an accomplished painter, batik textile artist, musician, and writer. Read More

1879, Lincoln, Nebraska – 1953, Lincoln, Nebraska View Artwork John Johnson, born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1879, dedicated his artistic career to recording the city’s African American community through photography. His images are important because they portrayed African Americans with respect and pride during the early 1900s and are some of the only ones in Read More

1868, Burlington, Iowa – 1945, Lincoln, Nebraska Anna Jones Burckhardt was born in Burlington, Iowa in 1868. She married the Reverend Oliver J. Burckhardt in 1898 and joined him in Lincoln, Nebraska where he had moved from Missouri in 1890. Together, they provided secular and spiritual leadership to both the African American and the broader Read More

b. 1969, Henderson, Texas Lenard Brown was born in 1969 in Henderson, Texas. After receiving an A.A. degree from Lon Morris College, Jacksonville, Texas in 1990, he earned his B.F.A. degree in Printmaking, Painting, and Drawing from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 1993. He continued his studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, completing Read More