#sydneygjames

Work by Sydney James for the 2016 edition of Detroit's Murals In The Market.

Known as nwentom in the Akan lands of Ghana, kente cloth was originally a royal and sacred cloth and while use over time has become more widespread it remains an important symbol—so much so that kente academic stoles are widely used today as a symbol of pride by African American university graduates. Invited in 2018 to participate in Pow!Wow! Long Beach, Detroit artist Sydney James says her contribution on Raymond Ave at E 7th St was inspired by Ghana, and offers just a brief glimpse into the rich diversity of its textile designs. James' murals often portray powerful women of color, but always strive to evoke emotion and inspire positive change.  @sydneygjames/  @powwowlongbeach/

The Women are always The Brave. To bring forth new life, they offer their own, laying at the sacred alter of childbirth, balancing on the edge of life and death, finding sure footing on each contraction, faith in the perils of labor. The solemn sounds of pain do, from time to time, spill from their mouths as they toil to bear The Fruit. Theirs is a holy sweat anointing the ground it falls upon. Because of it, diamonds might grow. They pray a primordial hope, so sacred a language that only Creation has heard it before. The Blood and Water they let defies disbelief to make faithful the cynic, make visionary of the blind and soldiers from the cowardly. And when, after this daunting task has completed, you hold the baby for the first time, you will never know their walk along the edge, for they will never tell you. Instead, they will simply let you hold the baby.

@sydneygjames and @askewone have been primarily working at night so I decided to shoot their in progress wall with a tripod and a long exposure. This piece is dedicated to #OurIssue, a campaign founded by @detroitlionsnfl's @dre_levy and his wife which addresses the issue of the male role in today's rape culture. Please visit all of the artist's and founder's pages to get more information. #SydneyJames #Askew #SydneyGJames #AskewOne #GirlRaisedInDetroit #Askew1 @muralsinthemarket #muralsinthemarket #muralsinthemarket2017 #mitm2017 #detroitstreetart #streetart #streetartspringbreak #streetartdetroit #artnerd #artington @1xrun #1xRun #1xFam #1xFamily #sonya7ii #sonyimages #sonyalpha (at Detroit, Michigan)

Collab by Sydney James and Askew One for the 2017 edition of Detroit's Murals In The Market, addressing the issue of sexual assault.

“A phenomenal dope black female artist” says @MichiganChronicle , Sydney G. James “is mentioned with the new voices of our time.” Her work is featured in galleries across the country but her heart remains in her hometown where she runs the #GRinD (Girls Raised In Detroit) brand and has become an established part of @MuralsInTheMarket. In 2016, painting her second work in @EasternMarket at Division and Orleans Streets, in the midst of ongoing concern over violence against African Americans, James was inspired by the words of @ScheherazadeWParrish and used her powerful voice to share widespread anger over injustice and at the same time inspire a new generation.  @sydneygjames

After moving to Los Angeles in 2004 to pursue new opportunities Sydney James returned home to Detroit in 2011 and has since had several important exhibits of her work, including at @TheWrightMuseum of African American History. Increasingly called on to also create outdoor work, both at home and on the road, in early 2018 she created this work just off of Cooke St in Kaka’ako for Pow!Wow! Hawaii. A play on @OutKast “Stankonia” album cover, James says this mural highlights the pressure on black women to “code switch”—constantly adapting hair, speech, and actions in order to make people around them comfortable.  @sydneygjames​  @powwowworldwide  

Work by Sydney G James for the 2018 edition of Pow Wow! Worcester.