OlaRonke Akinmowo and The Free Black Women's Library
Artist in Residence, 2023–2025
OlaRonke Akinmowo is an interdisciplinary artist and the creator of The Free Black Women’s Library, a social art project featuring over 5,000 books written by Black women and free public programming. As an artist, she specializes in collage, papermaking, printmaking, stop-motion animation, interactive installation, and creative community praxis. Since 2015, Akinmowo has installed The Free Black Women’s Library in various public spaces such as museums, art galleries, community gardens, and schools, and created free public programming that engages communities by connecting to targeted issues, ideas, or literary concepts. In 2022, she opened The Reading Room, a creative coworking space that also hosts community workshops and conversations. Through her projects, Akinmowo has provided access to thousands of books for various communities across New York City.
Photo by OlaRonke Akinmowo
The Civic Practice Project is made possible by The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.