Sharon Kerry-Harlan

Sharon Kerry-Harlan (b. 1951) is an African-American artist active in Hollywood, Florida and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin who is known for her textile art.[1][2][3] She was born in Miami, Florida in 1951.[1][4] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University and studied at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.[4] She went on to work at Marquette University as an Academic Coordinator and to teach textile courses at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee as an adjunct professor.[4] From July to August 2019, Kerry-Harlan had a solo exhibition at the James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center for the Arts.[5] Throughout August 2019, her work was on display in the And Still We Rise: Race Culture and Visual Conversations exhibit at the Mariposa Museum & World Cultural Center in Oak Bluff, Massachusetts.[6] In early 2021, Kerry-Harlan participated in the Textile Center and Women of Color Quilters Network’s juried exhibit Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist.[7] Later that year, Kerry-Harlan's work was displayed in the Museum of Wisconsin Art's Claiming Space Exhibition.[8] In 2022, her work, Portrait of Resilience, from the Flag Series, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign in 2022.[9][10][11][12][13] That same year, Kerry-Harlan's work was displayed in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art's exhibit Ain’t I A Woman? in celebration of the 2022 Wisconsin Triennial.[14] She also had work displayed in the 2022 Uncovering Black History: Quilts from the Collection of Carolyn Mazloomi exhibition at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.[2]