Sonja Henderson

http://sonjahearth.weebly.com/

Sonja Henderson received her B.F.A. degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Painting and Drawing. She received her M.F.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she concentrated in sculpture and installation. While at Berkeley she taught undergraduate students, developed curricula, and lead community-based art and education programs for at-risk youth. Since then, Sonja has taught her own sculpture studio, led numerous residencies, and was lead artist for large-scale mural projects in three Chicago public schools.

Sonja Henderson has developed curricula that range from building personal altars to designing site-specific installations. She encourages her students to experiment with materials, to push their ideas to the limit, and to think always about the content of their work.

Sonja Henderson creates sculpture and ritual garments made from found objects that reference iconography and myth. The process of creating these objects becomes a ritual of repetition and channeling ancestral voices.

The contemporary materials and primitive construction techniques used to make these sculptures evoke Afro-Caribbean and Native American spirit and existence. The garments and ritual objects become a link between the past, present, and future.