COURTNEY CLARK
New Orleans, LA
2024-2025 Grant Repurposing My Culture
Courtney Clark, a culture bearer and multimedia artist, sees her creativity as deeply rooted in her history, family, and culture. She comes from a line of seamstresses, carpenters, and culinary artists. In addition to her visual art practice, she caters primarily plant-based meals under the name Cocoamo.Cooks. Inspired by both her children and her ancestors, she employs acrylic paint, wooden furniture, textiles, driftwood and found objects in her artwork.
This grant will support Clark in crafting beaded patches, pins and more, utilizing the traditional beadwork methods of the Mardi Gras Indians. Her designs for these intricate pieces center around themes of food, gardening, and cooking, tying her dedication to culinary art with her visual artistry. Using the sewing skills she learned from her mother and grandmother, she has helped Mardi Gras Indians sew beads onto their suits for years. “The beadwork, stories and designs on Mardi Gras Indian suits is not just what they call a ‘costume,’ it's a storytelling work of art,” she says. She plans to interview community members experienced in crafting Mardi Gras Indian suits for deeper insight into the beading process. Clark wishes to pass her skills to the next generation and she plans to involve youth in documenting this creative journey.
Courtney Clark was a YAYA inaugural artist in 1988 and joined the YAYA Guild in 1989.