Representing Alameda County Supervisorial District Four —
Ashara Ekundayo is a Black feminist multidisciplinary independent curator of contemporary art, visual art maker, archivist, cultural theologian, arts organizer and consultant. Her creative practice is rooted in joy-informed pedagogies and the study, creation and maintenance of Black archives. In the tradition of critical artistic action and dynamic imagination she also conjures collaborative site-responsive ceremony, and utilizes artist-based strategies such as photography, screenprinting, zine-making, installation and altar-making to illuminate the specific expertise of Black womxn of the African Diaspora. Her work explores healing, memory, space and place. She is the founder, curator and executive creative director of Artist As First Responder, a collective platform that utilizes exhibition, curatorial residencies, public forums and archives to center the work of artists whose essential creative practices heal communities and save lives. For the past 16 years Ashara has lived and worked in Alameda County. Ashara Ekundayo is a resident of Oakland.