THEDA SANDIFORD
BORN: New York, New York
BASED: St. Croix USVI and Jersey City NJ
EDUCATION: Tufts University
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024, Free Your Mind: 2024 Discover, Delaware Contemporary; Wilmington, DE
2024, Ponytails and Door Knocker Earrings, Art in Buildings, Time Equities New York NY
2023, I Am My Hair, Louis L. Redding Gallery, Wilmington DE
2023, Triggered, Truth& Transformation @ The Lab, Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI
2023, Triggered, Truth& Transformation, WaNaWari, Seattle WA
2023, Triggered, Truth & Transformation, Schweinfurth Art Center; Auburn, NY
2022, Joyful Resistance, Ivy Brown Gallery, New York, NY
2022, Expo Chicago, The Navy Pier, Chicago IL
2022, Joyful Resistance, The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ
2021, Hiding in Plain Sight, Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA), Brooklyn NY
2020, Wonder Women, Bridge Art Gallery, Bayonne NJ
2019, Big Mouth, Art House Productions, Jersey City NJ
2019, “Big Mouth” Paradigm Entertainment, New York NY, Solo show
2018, Fragmented Identity Installation, A Condominium Jersey City NJ
2018, Stair-Gazing: Theda Sandiford, Curated by Mary Birmingham at Visual Arts Center of NJ, Summit NJ
PUBLIC ART
2024, Emotional Baggage Cart Parade, Art in Odd Places Festival, New York, NY
2024, Free Your Mind, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington PA
2024, Ponytails and Door Knocker Earrings, Art in Buildings, Time Equities New York NY
2023, Follow the Thread, Artemobidia/ Ivy Brown Gallery, Meatpacking District, NYC
2023, Boombox @ ArtCrawl Harlem, Governors Island, NY
2022, The Baggage We Carry Installation @ Satellite Art Fair, Miami FL
2022, Flux Factory Treasure Hunt, Governors Island, NY
2022, Inside & Out, Hillside Sculpture Garden, Montclair NJ
2022, Free Your Mind and Emotional Baggage Carts @ Butter2 Art Fair, Indianapolis IN
2022, Free Your Mind and Emotional Baggage Carts @ ArtCrawl Harlem, Governors Island, NY
2022/2023, Emotional Baggage Carts, Springfield Sculpture Walk, Springfield MO
2021/2022, Emotional Baggage Carts, Summit Public Art: The Baggage We Carry, Summit NJ
2021, Hiding in Plain Sight: Baggage Cart Installation, MoCADA House, Governors Island, NY
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024, Beyond: Tapestry Expanded, Peeler Art Center at DePauw University; Greencastle IN
2024, Uncontained: Reimagining Basketry, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ
2024, Metamorphosis: Recycled, Repurposed, Reimagined, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center; Solomons, MD
2023, World of Threads Festival, Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre; Oakville, ON, Canada
2023, Process and Delight: The New P&D, Equity Gallery, New York, NY
2023, Excellence in Fibers, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose. CA
2023, Despite the Spoils, Robeson Campus Center Gallery, Newark NJ
2023, Safekeeping, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa OK
2023, Afterlives, Surface Design Online Exhibition
2023, Connections, Ceres Gallery New York NY
2023, Each One Teach One, Morris Museum, Morristown NJ
2023, Tenuous Threads, Atlantic Gallery, New York NY
2023, Dark Matter; Kates- Ferri Projects, New York NY
2022, (EM)power (EM)brace (EM)body, Surface Design Online Exhibition
2022, The REBEL Exhibition, The Untitled Space, New York, NY. Curated by Indira Cesarine
2022, Sensing Woman, C24 Gallery, New York NY
2022, Wonderland, Trolley Barn Gallery; Poughkeepsie, NY curated by Allison Glenn
2022, Tell Me More About Yourself (Self- Portraits and Other Autobiographical Endeavors), Gallery Aferro, Newark NJ
2022, Craft Nouveau, Blue Line Arts, Roseville CA, curated by Ariel Zaccheo, curator at the Museum of Craft and Design in SF
2022, Visions & Voices, The Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE
2021, Untitled Art Fair, Udr Nw Mgt Booth #C26, Miami, FL
2021, 14C Juried Show, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City NJ
2021, Threads That Bind: When The Fabric of Social Culture Unravels, BWAC, Brooklyn NY
2021, Recycle 2021; National Juried Show, BWAC, Brooklyn NY
2021, Future Is Female 2021, sk.Artspace, Brooklyn NY
2021, NJ Arts Annual: Revision & Respond, Newark Museum of Art, Newark NJ Catalog
2021, “The Social Fabric: Black Artistry in Fiber Arts, An Exhibition in Homage to Viki Craig at the Morris Museum, Morristown NJ
2021, ViewPoints 2021, Studio Montclair, Montclair NJ
2021, The Empowering, Art 150, Jersey City NJ curated by Danielle Smith
2021, Color, Cuts and Contour Delineations, 5 Points Art Gallery Milwaukee, MI
]2021, International Juried Exhibition, The Center for Contemporary Art, Juried by Victor Davson
2020, American Contemporary Craft: National Juried Exhibition, LHUCA Lubbock, Texas
2020, New Directions 2020: 36th Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Barrett Arts Center, Poughkeepsie, NY. Juried by Nic Brierre Aziz
2020, CraftHiltonHead2020, 7th National Juried Fine Art Craft Guild Exhibition, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Hilton Head Island, SC
2020, Material Identity, Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, Loveland Colorado. Juried by Jiseon Lee Isbara
2020, BWAC Wide Open 11, BWAC Brooklyn NY, Juried by Paulina Pobocha, Museum of Modern Art
2020, FIBER 2020, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT. Curated by Beth C. McLaughlin, Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA.
2020, SPRING/BREAK ART SHOW, Imlay Gallery New York, NY
2020, 14C Juried Exhibition, Jersey City, NJ
2020, 41st Annual Juried Exhibition, Monmouth Museum, Linwood NJ
2020, Finding Your Voice in America Today, Kelwood Contemporary Art, Baton Rouge LA 2019, Everyday Objects, Studio Montclair, Montclair NJ
2019, Spread Spectrum – A Modulation of Women Artists Speak, Newark Arts Festival, Newark NJ
2019, GRAVITY [TIONAL], Newark Arts Festival, Newark NJ
2019, Combined Talents 2019 Juried Competition, Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts; Tallahassee, Florida
2019, Repurposed: 4th Annual Juried Exhibition, Arthaus Projects Williamsport, PA
2019, Let Me Tell You A Story, Drawing Rooms, Jersey City NJ. Curated by Anne Trauben
2019, Treaded: A Fine Art Fiber Collective, Envision Arts, Online Exhibition
2019, Open Orange 2019, Valley Arts, Orange NJ
2019, “Give Me Body: Devine Femme”, The Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA), Brooklyn NY, curated by Amy Andrieux
2018, International Juried Exhibition, curated by Dr. Midori Yoshimoto at The Center for Contemporary Art Bedminster, NJ
2018, Body Glitch, Window Gallery at Paul Robeson Galleries, The Hahnes Building, Newark
2018, Jerry Saltz: An Introspective, Curated by Adrian Wilson at Lazy Susan Gallery, New York, NY
2018, Viewpoints 2018, Studio Montclair Gallery, juror, Gary Garrido Schneider, Montclair NJ 2018, BWAC Recycle, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Collective, New York, NY
2018, Approaching Vibrancy, Gallery at 14 Maple curated by Mary Birmingham and Sarah Walko Morristown NJ
2018, Sweet Music Never Heard until Diversity Plays Catch-Up: Contemporary African- American Thought, curated by Donna Moore, The Strand Center for the Arts, Plattsburgh, NY
2017, Edge, Novado Gallery curated by Thomas Banks, Jersey City NJ
2017, Open Orange 2017, Community Gallery, Orange NJ
2017, BWAC Recycle, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Collective, New York, NY
2017, No Limits, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair NJ
2017, SuperWoman! 107 Bowers Art Gallery, Jersey City NJ
2016, BWAC Color, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Collective, New York, NY
2016, Studio Montclair’s 19th Annual Exhibition ViewPoints, Newark NJ
2016, New Jersey Arts Annual, The Noyes Museum of Art, Atlantic City NJ
AWARDS | RESIDENCIES | PUBLICATIONS
2024, Surface Design Journal’s SDA International Exhibition in Print “Embrace: Expect The Unexpected”
2024, Artist in Residence at Touchstone Center for Crafts
2024, New Visionary Magazine, Issue 9, Winter 2024
2024, Artist in Residence @ Surface Design Association: – Parallel Play
2024, WESTAF, Leaders of Color Fellowship 2023-2024
2023, Surface Design Journal’s Eighth Annual International Exhibition in Print: Lasting Impression selected by Guest Juror Lorna Hamilton-Brown.
2023, Excellence in Fibers, Fiber Art Now, 2nd prize
2022, Seventh Annual International Exhibition in Print: The Fusion of Fiber Arts, Fashion & Design, Surface Design Journal
2022 Individual Artist Fellowship, Jersey City Arts Council
2021, Honorable Mention, ViewPoints 2021, Studio Montclair, Montclair NJ
2021, New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship in craft.
2021, International Juried Exhibition, The Center for Contemporary Art, 3rd prize.
2020, Excellence in Fibers VI, Fiber Art Now
2020 Jersey City Arts, Visual Artist Award
2020 Honorable Mention, American Contemporary Craft: National Juried Exhibition, LHUCA Lubbock, Texas
2020 Honorable Mention, BWAC Wide Open 11, BWAC Brooklyn NY,
2020 NOW•FRIENDS ; Artist Residency, Kenya
2019 Student Choice Award, Combined Talents 2019 Juried Competition, Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts; Tallahassee, Florida
2016 “Twin” People’s Choice Award, BWAC Color, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Collective, New York, NY
2016 Winner of the ArtQuench Gallery “My Life in Color” art contest.
RECENT PRESS
Fibre Arts Takes Two: Friday Feature Artist Theda Sandiford October 2024
75+ Artists Take Over Manhattan’s 14th Street, Hyperallergic October 18, 2024
Morris Museum Explores Artist Collaborations in African-American Art World, NJMontly.com May 3, 2023
7 Seattle art shows to see in May 2023, SeattleTimes April 26, 2023
This Jersey City Artists Finds Treasure in Trash, Hoboken Girl March 27, 2023
23 Hoboken + Jersey City Women to Watch in 2023, Hoboken Girl, December 22, 2022
FreshDirect, but Make It Fashion, New York Times, December 19, 2022
JCAST22: A Preview, Jersey City Times September 2022
Lunchtime Gallery Talks At NJ State Museum Sept 22, 2022
Theda Sandiford “Joyful Resistance’
Hudson County Artists to Know + Collect, Hoboken Girl April 1, 2022
Artist Spotlight: Theda Sandiford’s Shopping Carts Explore Equity & Sustainability February 2022
Bridge Arts 2021 Garden Renaissance
JCAST returns in person, Hudson Reporter October 7, 2021
‘Social Fabric’ exhibition at Morris Museum offers lavish look at a wide range of fiber art
JC Fridays preview: What would you be carrying in Theda Sandiford’s Emotional Baggage carts?
Art Review: “The Empowering: A Social Justice Exhibition” Jersey City Times, March 3, 2021.
Studio Montclair’s “Privilege, Power, and Everyday Life, Jersey Arts, Jan 2021
Visual Collaborative Interview: Theda Sandiford, April 2020
Five Takeaways from the 14C Art Show, Jersey Journal, February 22 2020
Top Things to Do this Weekend in Jersey City, chicpeajc.com September 4, 2019
BIG MOUTH By Theda Sandiford Opens In The Art House Gallery, Broadwayworld.com September 3, 2019
Monsters, myths, elephants, and more for the latest edition of JC Fridays, NJ.com September 3, 2019
Black Culture celebrated in Jersey City exhibit, NJ.com June 8, 2019
Let Me Tell You A Story, 5/23/19-6/23/19, Nieuw Art Blog art on the Jersey Side by Peter Delman, Friday, May 24, 2019
CONTROVERSY AND QUESTIONS IN SMI’S “LOVE & FEAR”, Montclair Local April 10, 2019
Studio Montclair Presents “Portfolio Series: Love and Fear” New Jersey Stage March 30, 2019
Meet Theda Sandiford: Mixed Media Artist, Vitiello Communications, January 30, 2019
Jerry Saltz, From The Pages Of New York Magazine To The Walls Of Lazy Susan Gallery, Cultbytes October 5, 2018
28 Years Of Art In Jersey City Celebrated With Massive Tour, NJ.com October 4, 2018
Art by Kevin Blythe Sampson, Fred Scruton, and Theda Sandiford On Display At Visual Arts Center of NJ, NewJerseyStage.com, September 14, 2018
NYC artists at Strand: Strand Theatre show to highlight African-American artists, Press Republican, January 4, 2018
Gallery Hopping in Jersey City Jersey Digs March 27, 2017
Collages and Paintings filled with Cultural Ephemera reveal the Artist’s Journey Riverview Observer Oct 10, 2016
LICENSED IMAGES
In Full Color, program cover art 2018
BET-TV, Being Mary Jane, “Selfie Joy” 2017
Joyce Schwarz, “The Vision Board: The Secret to an Extraordinary Life”, 2008, pages 56, 81, 82, 86, 141
WORKSHOP / LECTURES
2024 Weaving as Artistic Expression, Hudson Valley Mohawk Weavers
2024 Surface Design, Parallel Play Artist in Residency Talks
2023 Social Practice in Practice: Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
2023 Rope Making Workshop: Krasl Art Center
2023 Free Your Mind: Wa Na Wari Virtual Artist Talk
2023 Rope Making Workshop: Schweinfurth Art Center
2023 Free Your Mind: MAFA Virtual Artist Talk
2023 Rope Making Workshop: JC Friday
2021 NJAA Revision & Respond Virtual Artist Tour, Newark Museum of Art, Newark NJ
2021 Microaggressions Curator Talk, Studio Montclair
2015 The Business of Creativity, Harvard Business School
2008 Vision Board Workshop, SXSW, Austin TX
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Craft Council: Member Artist
American Folklore Society: Folklorist
American Kumihimo Society: Member Artist
Fiber Art Network: Member Artist
Handweavers Guild of America: Member Artist
Mid Atlantic Fiber Association: Member Artist
National Basketry Organization: Member Artist
Surface Design Association: Member Artist
Textile Society of America: Member Artist
Textile Study Group of New York, INC: Member Artist