NADA Curated by Daonne Huff

A Chicago and Milwaukee native, Tyanna Buie is a visual artist whose practice is based on visually revisiting and processing a uniquely challenging childhood through encountering the joyful moments she wants to reconnect with and empower.

Buie was born the youngest of four siblings on the city’s south side. By the age of four, Buie and her siblings were placed in the foster care system where they were temporarily housed, moving from one home to another throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. Buie’s life and work have been highly influenced by this experience.

Early on she was guided toward the art-making process as an outlet for self-expression and to cope with a challenging environment. In the midst of this chaos, Buie was free to create and this gave her a sense of release and enjoyment to find her voice, her creative vision and a connection with the outside world. Through the memory of these childhood experiences aided by a few family photos from her aunt, Buie has the ability to reclaim and rewrite her own past in her work: to not just focus on the hardships, but to highlight the celebrations.