The Madison College Black Women’s Affinity Group (BWAG) is hosting the third Annual Dzigbodi Akyea Art Exhibit, titled “Restoring the Black Women” in honor of Black History Month.
The exhibit opened on Feb. 1 with an event that spotlighted nine local community artists whose artwork featured black women, celebrated cultural heritage and explored the intersections of identity through creative expression.
The artist lineup included Bolanle O. Awosika, Althea René Miller-Sims, Adwoa Asentu (Britney Woods), Dr. Crystasany R. Turner, Monica Mims, Martina Seignarack, Paulina Ivanova, Kevin Lempp, and DarRen Morris, whose artwork was selected as the promotional image.
According to Morris, the piece “Natural Women” explores “his African-Jamaican roots, spiritual beliefs, and the reality of being imprisoned for life.”
For Mims, her artwork served as an exploration and expression of her identity, synthesizing elements of both past and present using acrylic paints. Mims spent four months in The Gambia, where she built connections to a cultural heritage that inspired her work, shaping the final products presented at the gallery.

Her artwork creatively engages traditional acrylic on canvas. Mims highlighted her first piece as a mixed media collage, her second piece presented a larger frame encapsulating an array of smaller canvases.
With her collage “Happening,” Mims layered gold spray paint over a wooden board, then painted the purple silhouette of the African continent. Her use of purple and gold was meant to symbolize royalty. She also featured traditional African masks and symbology to evoke a sense of ancestral ownership.
Her second piece, “Piece in Peace,” features a more traditional framing of acrylic on canvas organized in a 7×6 array of paintings. This artwork takes a more modern approach, featuring the contemporary messages “No Justice, No Peace” and “Black and Proud” affirming positive values like “Beauty” and “Profound.”
Focusing on the diversity of identity in her portraits, Mims explores the uniqueness of black beauty. One intentional decision she made was to illustrate black hairstyles via yarn material, utilizing 3-D visual principles to make those select canvases pop above the others. Her technique demonstrates layering as a method to elevate black hair in artistic conversation.
Mims emphasized that these pieces of art were not just for herself, but also for family members like her niece, who wants to be an artist like her. Though Mims said that her niece, and anyone really, doesn’t need to wait to be anything that they want to be.
“Whatever it is, you’re already that,” Mims said. “If you’re a mechanic, a business owner, the President of Madison College, whatever it is, you’re already that.”
In addition to the gallery opening, the BWAG organized a speaker lineup including a singing of the Black National anthem led by Zakiya Catlin, Spoken Word poetry by featured artist Adwoa Asentu, as well as remarks by Madison College President Dr. Jack Daniels III, Vice President of Culture and Climate Dr. Damira Grady and Workplace Culture Strategist Chevon Bowen.
The event also served as a fundraiser for a memorial scholarship in honor of longtime Madison College Advisor Dzigbodi Akyea. She worked with the Academic Advising Team for 17 years and was well loved within the campus community.