About

My craft is designed to stand out and be distinct from the walls of your house. While some artists aim to blend in with your lifestyle or seek agreement, I take a different approach. I do not engage in “art washing,” and my work is intentionally unrefined. I want the observer to remember what has been erased or excluded so that we continue to question our circumstances and origins rather than focusing solely on escaping the material reality that causes mental illness, emotional distress, and physical harm. My work aims to center people and promote a balanced perspective for an improved way of life. Indeed, my craft is meant to delve into the depths of reality.

Nommo Kofi Diop

A hawk is often regarded as a symbol of strength, grace, power, and freedom. As a young child, I founded the Hawk Club, which I was the sole member of because joining required running down city streets while squawking like a bird. No one else participated, and they laughed at me when I looked back to find myself alone at the bottom of the hill. “Cool Breeze” is a term that aptly describes me, as I believed I could be like the wind. I wanted to see myself outside of the conventional system.

Nommo’s art resonates with themes of struggle, culture, and people. Nommo’s paintbrush tells a compelling story. My painting crafts a narrative of African kinship and conceptual experiences, creating disruptive visual imagery that challenges viewers’ perceptions of reality. This work is deeply connected to an understanding of oneself.

My craft remains attuned to the complexities of African identity through vibrant colors, motifs, designs, and ideology. My work is an integration of mind and hands with the elements of earth and fire, which is why I seek the presence of a Cool Breeze – an admirable, esteemed, and popular person – to inspire my creative expression. Nommo uses acrylics swiftly, not confined by lines but transforming thoughts into new beginnings and endings, blurring the distinction between perceived reality and material conditions.

As a craftsperson with over 40 years of experience in both digital and traditional painting, Nommo seeks alternatives that allow for authentic expression. Nommo strives to be a voice and manifestation for the unseen, unheard, and unspoken. Our ancestors’ legacies have been forgotten, stolen, and replicated without acknowledgment of our original contributions. Much of Diop’s work resonates deeply, addressing social justice themes and connecting profoundly with viewers. His art provides a meaningful space to explore significant questions about identity and existence, from preliminary sketches to impactful, colorful compositions.

“If you are free, you are not predictable and you are not controllable.“ –

~June Jordan

Craftperson

Greetings! I am Nommo Kofi Diop, a dedicated craftsperson. Reflecting on my journey, I realize that it was my beloved and honorable mother, Willie Jean Barnes, who inspired me to pursue this path. She was not only beautiful but also persistent and awe-inspiring. Through my craft, I narrate stories using images to represent the heritage of African people. Nommo’s perspective acknowledges no kinship, possibilities, or future for our community within an anti-African framework.

The art of storytelling through crafts is demanding, challenging, and rewarding. Social justice crafting requires deep contemplation to articulate significant concepts and explorations. This involves extensive hours of reading, working, and studying with family and peers. We delve into why we have evolved or created our present state. Africa on the Move.com narrates the story of self-expression through exposure via craft.

The creation of life itself is a story and a form of craft. Industrial Maintaining.org explores this epistemology, painted, drawn, and envisioned through the experiences and perspectives of mothers and individuals from grassroots levels.

BIO

Nommo Kofi Diop a social crafter and collective healer

“I make politics central to the aesthetics of my craftworks if you are not viewing my works through politics then what is seen is never seen”

I am an artist named Nommo Kofi Diop. Reflecting on my journey to becoming a crafter, I attribute my inspiration to my beloved and honorable mother, Willie Jean Barnes, who was beautiful, persistent, and awe-inspiring. Through my craft, I tell stories using pictures as words to convey the heritage of African people. Nommo’s worldview envisions no kinship or future for our people in a world that is perceived as anti-African.

The art of storytelling through craft fosters community awareness and social justice. To effectively communicate important concepts and explore these themes through my craft, I dedicate hours to reading, working, and collaborating with kinfolk. This process helps me understand why we have evolved to our current state. “Africa on the Move.com” showcases the story of African craft as a form of self-expression.

Life’s creation is narrated through African concepts and forms, akin to how craft relates to art. “Industrial Maintaining.org” illustrates an epistemology painted, drawn, and envisioned from the perspectives of mothers and people striving upwards.

At 65 years old, juxtaposed with my early years, my experiences now reflect the wisdom of my childhood, guiding me forward. Embracing new life with decades of memories, I navigate new encounters that shape my images, feelings, and sensations. If one image defines this journey, it is not the breeze, hawk, terrorist, petty thief, or part-time lover, but the falcon perched on the shoulders of Mother Africa.