CYNTHIA SANDS

In 1976, Cynthia Sands moved to Zaire changing her life forever, thus beginning a 26-year odyssey of living in Africa. Years of exposure to the day-to-day cultural, social, political, and economic realities of life in Zaire, Uganda, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and Guyana led her to study the signs and symbols on textiles as a visual history of indigenous African people. She calls textiles the indigenous newspaper – a visual record and organic methodology that preserves traditional art forms.

Ms. Sands’ art career includes creation of new dye and color applications, utilizing and experimenting with original methods and materials in Africa. She has also launched and conducted training, apprenticeship and income generating activities in Benin, Cameroon, and Ghana and Guyana, among other countries, to investigate uses of indigenous artistic applications for social development, income generation, skills transfer, and art education.

Ms. Sands has exhibited her works of art, lectured, and given demonstrations throughout Africa and the U.S. Today, she lives in Washington D. C., where she continues to paint, manufacture textiles, research, and document indigenous uses of textiles in African life to preserve a visual record of traditional art forms. Today Ms. Sands works with Ghanaian textile artist helping with their product design and quality issues.