Derrick Adams

**Derrick Adams** (born 1970) be American visual den performance artist den curator. Much of Adams ein work dey center around ein Black identity, frequently dey reference patterns, images, den themes of Black culture insyd America. Adams additionally work as a fine art professor, wey dey serve as a faculty member at Maryland Institute College of Art.

## Early life den education
Dem born Derrick Adams insyd 1970 insyd Baltimore, Maryland. After he briefly teach elementary school, Adams attend de Pratt Institute. Dey follow ein 1996 graduation, Adams earn ein Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University, wey he plete ein degree insyd 2003.
## Career
Insyd 2016, Adams create an installation (dem title *Derrick Adams: THE HOLDOUT — A Social Sculpture with Curated Music Program)* give de Aljira Center for Contemporary Art insyd Newark, NJ, wey feature a large pyramid wey dey enclose a broadcasting radio station. According to Adams, de pyramids insyd ein work reference de long presence of Black culture den de cultural capital dem build by black people over history. 

Adams ein 2016 show at Pioneer Works explore Black characters insyd popular culture. Dem title *Derrick Adams: ON*, de exhibition include collages, sculptures, den lampshades wey evoke characters from popular movies den TV shows like *In Living Color* den *The Matrix*.

De Studio Museum insyd Harlem mount Adams ein 2017 exhibition *Derrick Adams: Patrick Kelley, The Journey*, in wich de artist dem create mood boards for a proposed autobiography of de fashion designer Patrick Kelley, wey ein techniques plus formal composition dem resonate plus Adams for terms of de construction of identity.

Insyd 2017, Adams use de archival collections of de Stony Island Arts Bank (along plus material from oda collections), make e create a solo show der, *Future People*. An installation environment wey dey feature a looping video dat project images ein quotes from Black authors den speakers. A series of collages insyd de exhibition, *Orbiting Us #1-#10*, depict items wey dey design by Charles Harrison, de first Black executive at Sears, Roebuck and Company. Adams use de exhibition to highlight de productive power of Black people make he imagine den innovate thru difficult circumstances.

At de Museum of Arts and Design insyd 2018, Adams show work wey dey inspire by *The Negro Motorist Green Book*. E Title *Sanctuary*, Adams ein show feature an installation environment wey dey structure by a miniaturize highway dat run thru de galleries, wey fey pass collages dat evoke locations wey dey list insyd de guidebook. *Sanctuary* celebrate de leisure time den success of African Americans even during de Jim Crow era, partly illuminate by small houses wey dey resemble milk cartons.

Insyd 2018, de Museum of Contemporary Art Denver present a survey of Adams ein work wey dey span 2014-2017, wey dey include sculptures, installations, den works for paper top. E Title, *Derrick Adams: Transmission*, de exhibition dey showcase three bodies of work: "Future People" (2017), "Fabrication Station" (2016), den a series of "Boxhead" sculptures (2014), wey dey explore "Derrick Adams's ongoing study of racial identity as it is both filter through popular culture ein san reimagine for de future." 

Dem award Derrick a 2018 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship, den participate insyd a two-person exhibition, *American Family: Derrick Adams den Deana Lawson*, at de Foundation as part of de award. Adams say about de exhibition, "Parks' influence…goes beyond de visual, into de meaning den purpose of why I feel ebe so important to show de many facets of black American life insyd ways dat shed light onto de complexity den richness of our past, present den future."

Insyd 2019, dem feature Adams ein work insyd de Fox TV hit *Empire*. De art work insyd de series depicts de main characters, Cookie den Lucious Lyon wey dey play by Taraji P. Henson den Terrence Howard), wey be part of a real-life limited-edition collection of objects, "Empire x Derrick Adams collection", wich dey support Turnaround Arts, an arts-based school program at de Kennedy Center. Dis no be de first time dem showcase ein work for a hit American TV show. Insyd 2017, Issa Rae dey include ein work insyd her HBO comedy *Insecure*. 

Insyd 2019 na dem commission Adams by de MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) make he create laminated glass artwork for de Nostrand Avenue Station. De laminated glass artwork dey consist of 85-panels wey dey span de length of de newly rehabilitated platforms den extend onto de four new pedestrian bridges wey dey connect de station to de neighborhoods of Crown Heights den Bedford-Stuyvesant wey be represented within de artwork. Dey use areal photos, maps, den personal history. Adams dey employ ein collage style make he dey emphasize de symbiotic relationship between neighborhood residents den dema built environment.

Insyd 2020 Adams create a mural for Harlem Hospital.

Insyd 2023, na Adams be one of six artists dem commission make dem create a temporary installation for de National Mall insyd conjunction plus *Beyond Granite: Pulling Together*, de first art exhibition dem curate insyd de Mall ein history. Dem commission by de Trust for de National Mall, National Capital Planning Commission, den National Park Service, Adams design a fully functional, interactive playground wey serve as a memorial to de desegregation of public schools insyd Washington, D.C. Na dem divide de playground insyd half wey dey use a large panel wey feature pictures of kids wey dey play for a playground top insyd Washington, immediately after de court decision wey desegregate schools; na dem paint one half of de playground insyd exclusively shades of gray, while de na dem render de other half insyd bright hues, plus an archway insyd de center wey dey connect de two sides.

## References