Artists Without Borders with Artist Akirash

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe – the mind can achieve!” – African Proverb

In the world today, many countries are divided with invisible borders, making it difficult for citizens to move and travel. Ethnic groups living in the same country, descend from different tribes and speak different languages, making understanding difficult.

Believing that awareness of the present is incomplete without knowledge of the past, Artists without Borders travels on a ship of inspiration to past and present Africa. Communicating with few words, African elders use proverbs, symbols, signs and motifs to get their messages across. Our journey moves through Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, South Africa and Cameroon, combining their traditions, heritages, cultures and ways of life to create a new perspective and perception of Africa!

Mixed media works are about coincidences and fortune! Precise plans and searching for something particular is ineffective – in Africa items and objects will find their way to you and you are obliged to bring out their beauty, giving them a new sense and meaning! From a collection of American waste, as well as traditional art-making materials, we have embodied these African principles.

Student Artist
Zach Stuckmann, Cary
School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Caroline Culbertson, Crystal Lake
Nichole Gallagher, McHenry
Sydney Hellgeth, Huntley
Kailey Kornhauser, Cary
Selena Lester, Crystal Lake
Melissa Marciniec, Lake in the Hills
Chris Moore, Cary
Sarah Oswalt, Cary
Lauren Plebanski, McHenry
Jessica Stowe, Harvard
Melissa Youngblood, McHenry