Tijay Mohammed

Mohammed, who grew up in Ghana, currently resides in the Bronx and has recently completed a residency at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. The artist’s personal history plays an essential role in his work, and he is committed to collaborating with the diverse communities with which he surrounds himself. Mohammed maintains a studio both in the Bronx and in Ghana, inviting collaborations with children and adults at various levels of experience and expertise. In Ghana, his studio serves as a sanctuary for visiting artists to engage with the local residents, promoting multicultural dialogues through participatory story circles and free art workshops. These exchanges have been a source of motivation for him in his studio and teaching practice.

Tijay Mohammed has created unique workshops for the HRM that are grounded in form and content, history and myth, materials and process. He will encourage workshop participants to engage in critical thinking, conversation, creativity, and collaboration, using colorful, abstracted forms to portray both the joy and inherent contradictions of the contemporary African American experience.

Mohammed has also been invited to exhibit a work of art during his residency, entitled We the people: matter most, which will be on view in the Greene Education Center and serve as a reference point and inspiration for those who participate in his workshops and public programs.

Public Workshops

Saturday, March 7, 1:30–3:30pm
Representing Recreation: Multimedia Art Workshop
Take a special tour of Derrick Adams: Buoyant with Teaching Artist-in-Residence Tijay Mohammed, and discuss Adams’ subject matter, materials, and color choices in his Floaters series. Then, use paint, fabrics, and paper to create artworks that explore the recreational aspects of your life on floaters, either real or imagined.

Saturday, April 4, 1:30–3:30pm
Collaging Our Everyday: Multimedia Art Workshop
Create a mixed-media collage about your daily experiences, such as shopping, sports, parties, and other social occasions, while discussing similarities and differences among how diverse groups experience these activities and events. While recognizing the existence of historical barriers to full and free participation, the artist will encourage us to enter into a party atmosphere with Derricks Adams’ series We Came to Party and Plan and works from Self in the City: Highlights from the Collections of the HRM and Art Bridges, such as Archibald Motley’s Bronzeville, looking at where these gatherings happen: in cities, suburbs, and rural environments. Materials will include lifestyle magazines, table cloths, napkins, paper and plastic cups and markers, glitter glue, and ribbons. Support provided by Art Bridges.

Saturday, May 16, 12–4pm
Unity in Diversity: Community Mural
Visitors are invited to engage with the vision of the HRM as we look forward to our next 100 years and celebrate the rich and diverse history of the City of Yonkers. Take part in making a collaborative community mural and incorporate the materials and aesthetic choices of both Derrick Adams and Tijay Mohammed—simplified shapes, vibrant colors, cultural images and symbols, portraits, fabrics and invented patterning his workshop will delve into our deep-seated dreams, aspirations, and disappointments as it addresses issues of history, migration,and gender equality, through a process inspired by “Sankofa” an Adinkra symbol which means learning from the past for a prosperous future. Participants will use a variety of materials: historical and culturally-specific fabrics and symbols such as Adinkra, proverbs, maps, flags, markers, paint, wallpaper, cello sheets, and newspaper. Support provided by Art Bridges.

Saturday, June 13, 1:30–3:30pm
Buoyant: Multimedia Art Workshop
Inspired by the world depicted in Derrick Adams’ Buoyant, where joy, love, leisure, and even prosaic normalcy play central roles, create a multimedia self-portrait expressing optimistic and cheerful moments of your past, present, or dreamt-of life. Share positive tales, real or fictitious, in a story circle that accompanies these portraits, providing audio or visual documentation. Engage with myriad materials: wallpaper scraps, aluminum wire, cello sheets, text, fabrics, jewelry, and photographs on foam board.

Family Studio: Art Workshops
Designed by Tijay Mohammed; led by Junior Docents. Saturdays and Sundays, 1–4pm.

March: I Can Float!
Using materials such as paint, paper, and fabrics, and inspired by Derrick Adams’ vivid color scheme and the juxtaposition of positive and negative space, participants will make self-portraits floating on calm waters in unicorn- or candy-shaped plastic floats.

April: Cool Collages
Share personal stories of joy and celebration while you make a collage of your daily experiences such as shopping, partying, sports, and social participation, inspired by Derrick Adams’ installation We Came to Party and Plan and works from the Museum’s collection related to celebration.

May: Buoyant!
Create a multimedia self-portrait expressing optimistic and cheerful moments of your dream life as a superhero, sharing positive imaginary or real-life stories in words or pictures. Use wallpaper scraps, gold vinyl, cello sheets, text, fabric, jewelry, and photographs on cardboard.

June: I Can Float!
Using materials such as paint, paper, and fabric, inspired by Derrick Adams’ vivid color scheme and the juxtaposition of positive and negative space, participants will make self-portraits floating on calm waters in unicorn- or candy-shaped plastic floats.