Residency Unlimited

RU Workshop: Exploring Self-Portraiture through Collage

Nia Imani Winslow, "We Real Cool", 2024, Mixed media paper collage on birch wood panel - made with several pieces of vintage paper from magazines circa 1940 - 1960

Sunday July 20, 2025 | 2:00 – 3:30pm

Location: RU House at Colonels Row, Building #404B on Governors Island (map)
Ferry information | Video directions

Free Workshop
Limited to 15 participants. RSVP required.

In this workshop led by Nia Imani Winslow (2024 NYCBAR/RU alum), participants will explore self-representation via the collage medium by creating a self-portrait using paper, magazine clippings, photographs and other materials. This workshop will challenge participants to think about creative ways in which to portray themselves abstractly.

Nia’s artistic journey began with photography, collage and self-portraiture. Prior to portraying different figures in her pieces, she created works that served as artistic interpretations of photographs that were taken of her. This process required her to examine every single detail of her physical appearance, including features she loved about herself and those she was insecure about. In many ways, these self portraits served as love letters to herself and made her appreciate the different ways she was able to capture and highlight her appearance through abstraction.

About

Nia Imani Winslow, originally from Washington, DC, is a self-taught mixed media collage artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Nia draws inspiration from artists including Romare Bearden, Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, and Jacob Lawrence to illustrate the colorful essences of Black figures in each of her compositions. Using paper as her preferred material, Nia combines the complexities of different textures, cuttings and clippings to illuminate figures, moods and stories. Through her artistry, Nia fuses her passion for style and her chosen medium to create works that highlight separate, but sometimes similar Black existences.

 

RU is grateful for the partnership with Governors Island Arts.

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