Julie Denesha
Originally published on December 30, 2020 8:36 am
Artist Kwanza Humphrey s studio at the InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park is surrounded by the colorful, large-scale portraits he paints. He likes to swathe his subjects in African textiles.
“Black Americans have been uprooted from Africa,” Humphrey says. “I ll have models come in and sit for me and I ll take photos and I say wear whatever you want. It doesn t matter because I m probably going to change it and wrap you in these beautiful patterns from Africa. For me, it s a way of reconnecting with that culture that is lost and to see that richness.”