
Recipient of the Visual Task Force Award from the National Association of Black Journalists and featured in the Smithsonian's Ralph Rinzler Collection and Archives, Akea Brionne is a photographer, writer, curator, and researcher. Her personal work investigates the implications of historical racial and social structures in relation to the development of contemporary black life and identity within America. With a particular focus on the ways in which history influences the contemporary cultural milieu of the American black middle class, she explores current political and social themes, as they relate to historical forms of oppression, discrimination, and segregation in American history.
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Exhibitions
2020
New Constellations: Contemporary Neon Art
Memorial Episcopal Church, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionHome As Situation
Bolivar Art Gallery, University of Kentucky, Selected Group ExhibitionJambalaya
Eubie Black Cultural Center, Baltimore, MD, Solo ExhibitionClose Read
Connect + Collect Gallery, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionA Brown Millennial
Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington, DC, Solo ExhibitionOur World
Eubie Blake Cultural Center, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group Exhibition2019
New. Now.
Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington, DC, Group ExhibitionWhere Have We Been
Center for the Arts Gallery, Towson University, Towson, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionThe Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize 2019 Finalist Exhibition
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, Juried Group ShowCommunity & Creation
Center Stage Theater, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionYour silence will not protect you
School 33, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group Exhibition2018
NextGen 5.0
VisArts, Rockville, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionTop 40
Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA, Juried Group ExhibitionFamiliar/Familial
Photo-Emphasis, Juried Group ExhibitionKnow South
No South, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA, Group ExhibitionBlack Picket Fences
Maryland Institute College of Art, Solo Thesis ExhibitionUncertain Times
Hamilton Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Juried Group Exhibition2017
Miami is Nice
Spacecamp Gallery, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionApropaganda
Fox Gallery, Baltimore, MD, Selected Group ExhibitionBehind the Veil
Oak Hill Center for Arts and Education, Selected Group Exhibition -
Education
2018
The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
BFA cum laude in Photography & Humanities
Minor in Sustainability & Social Practice -
Awards
2020
Women Photograph Mentor Fellowship
2019
Janet & Walter Sondheim Fellowship Awardee
Hamiltonian Fellow 2019-2021
Magenta Foundation Top 5 Book Award
Maryland Arts Summit Artist Scholarship
M&T Bank Award, Finalist
Nomination for PDN’s 30: New and Emerging Photographers to Watch
2018
Award for Documentarian of Color, Duke University Archive of Documentary Arts Collection
Next Generation, Emerging Artists Award, Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts
2017
Town Creek Foundation Grant
The North Avenue Knowledge Exchange Grant (In Partnership with the NEA)
Leonard L. Grief, Jr. Scholarship in Photography
Achievement Award, MICA
Departmental Humanistic Studies Recognition Award, MICA
Robert E. Nussbaum ’65 Scholarship in Photography