Laila James
A eighteen year-old young Black woman from New Orleans, Laila describes herself as “smart, determined, and indecisive.” Refusing any black-white binary, her art demonstrates the explosion of colors that make up our world and her inhabitants and reveal the different shades and tones and highlights that, when combined, form one’s personality. An exploration of the sweet and spicy parts of life, Laila’s work seeks to connect the beauty of the natural world to the everyday things we absorb. She emphasizes natural beauty through lily pads she would admire in City Park. Inspired by her mother’s sweets, French macarons in a multiplicity of colors reflect first viewing of their sweet taste. Pairs of denim pants and jackets become more than everyday clothes. Each piece insists upon a conceptual framework that asks viewers to think twice about what we see and what, perhaps, we are taking for granted.
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Sofia Olexia-Daigle
Sofia Olexia-Daigle is a Louisiana Native. She attends Tulane University as a BFA student, a teaching certification minor, and a SLAM liberal arts business minor. She is passionate about sharing unique, relatable work and inspires others to view art as a way to tell their stories. She regularly volunteers to teach youth who may otherwise not have access to the arts. Sofia works primarily in ceramics, glass, colored pencil, and acrylic but also has experience in mural and metal work, printmaking, photography, and digital art. Much of her work celebrates women and their various representations in society. Sofia enjoys including different races, body shapes, and identities in her work, believing representation matters.
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