Artist's Statement
My work focuses on issues of identity, which is nurtured by
personal and collective references to my ancestral culture.
Working in various mediums such as painting, printmaking,
sculpture, and mixed media installations gives voice to
multiple layers of my identity. This binds me to my
Neolithic past, as well as, my Indigenous and African
Caribbean heritage. My work explores the different
manifestations of nature and the spirit of the African
ancestors; they give voice to some of their stories
activating both physical and spiritual spaces. In my
woodcuts, I use the Adinkra symbolism derived from
traditional Adinkra cloths that represents the Sankofa bird,
which is part of a complex vocabulary of symbols distinctive
of the Akan people from South Central Ghana, West Africa.
Conceptually, I am using the Sankofa-Adinkra symbol to bring
me back to my source and link me to my African lineage in
the Diaspora. The symbol affirms who I am and serves as a
symbol of empowerment.
Bio
Imna
Arroyo was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico. She studied at La
Escuela de Artes Plasticas del Instituto de Cultura in San
Juan, Puerto Rico and obtained her BFA from Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn, New York and her MFA from Yale University in
New Haven, Connecticut. She has also studied printmaking at
the Tamarind Institute, New York University Printmaking
Studio and at the University of Guanajuato, in Mexico. Her
work is in numerous collections including the Museum of
Modern Art Library/Franklin Furnace Artist Book Collection,
Yale Art Gallery and Schomberg Center for Research and Black
Culture. She is currently a Professor of Art at Eastern
Connecticut State University where she chaired the Visual
Arts Department. Imna Arroyo has been the recipient of
numerous awards and grants. She received the 2000 excellence
award in recognition of excellence in creative and
scholarship activity from Eastern. She also received the
2003 Steinkraus-Cohen Memorial Outstanding Women of
Connecticut Award, in recognition of achievements and
dedication to public service and in 2006, Distinguished
Professor, Eastern Connecticut State University.
Web Site:
www.imnaarroyo.com
