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Faith Ringgold, born in 1930, is a painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, writer and teacher. She received her B.S. and M.A. degrees in visual art from the City College of New York in 1955 and 1959. Recently retired Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of California in San Diego, Ringgold has received 19 Honorary Doctorates. She lives and works in Englewood, New Jersey. During the early 1960's Ringgold traveled in Europe. She created her first political paintings, The American People Series from 1963 to 1967, and had her first and second one-person exhibitions at the Spectrum Gallery in New York. In the early 1970's Ringgold began making tankas (inspired by a Tibetan art form of paintings framed in richly brocaded fabrics), soft sculptures and masks. She later utilized this medium in her masked performances of the 1970's and 80's. Although Faith Ringgold's art was initially inspired by African art in the 1960's, it was not until the late 1970's that she traveled to Nigeria and Ghana to see the rich tradition of masks that have continued to be her greatest influence. She made her first quilt, Echoes of Harlem, in 1980, in collaboration with her mother, Madame Willi Posey. The quilts were an extension of her tankas from the 1970's. However, these paintings were not only bordered with fabric but quilted, creating for her a unique way of painting using the quilt medium. Ringgold's first story quilt, Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima?, was written in 1983 as a way of publishing her unedited words. The addition of text to her quilts has developed into a unique medium and style all her own. Faith Ringgold's first book, the award winning Tar Beach was published by Crown Publishers in 1991. It has won over 20 awards including the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King award for the best illustrated children's book of 1991. The book is based on the story quilt of the same title from The Woman on a Bridge Series, 1988. The painted story quilt, Tar Beach, is in the permanent collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Her second children's book Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky was published in 1992 by Crown. Dinner at Aunt Connie's, Ringgold's third book, is based on The Dinner Quilt, 1986 and was published in 1993 by Hyperion Books. Faith Ringgold's autobiography and first book for an adult audience We Flew Over the Bridge: The Memoirs of Faith Ringgold (published in paperback by Duke University Press in 2005) and the children's book My Dream of Martin Luther King were published in 1995. To date she has illustrated 14 children’s books. Three of Ringgold’s most recently illustrated books: O Holy Night, The Three Witches and Bronzeville Boys and Girls were actually written by Public Domain, Zora Neal Hurston and Gwendolyn Brooks respectively. Faith Ringgold is the recipient of over 75 awards and honors including: The Creative Artists Public Service Award for painting, 1971. The American Association of University Women for travel to West Africa, 1976. The National Endowment for the Arts Award for sculpture in 1978 and for painting in 1988. The Candace Award National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 1984 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for painting, 1987. The New York Foundation for Arts Award for painting, 1988. National Endowment for the Arts Award for Painting (NEA), Washington, D.C. 1989 Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1989 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Award, Baltimore, Maryland. 1989 The La Napoule Foundation Award for painting in France, 1990. Annual Youth Friends Award, School Arts League, New York, 1990 LaNapoule Foundation Award, LaNapoule, France. 1990 The Studio Museum in Harlem, Honors the Artist of the Year, 1991 Tar Beach wins many awards: School Library Journal, Library of Congress, Sesame Street, Parents Magazine, New York Times, California Children's Book, Video and Software Award, Publishers Weekly, Parents Choice 1991 Caldecott Honor Book: Tar Beach 1992 Coretta Scott King Award for illustration: Tar Beach, 1992 Jane Addam’s Peace Association Picture Book Award for Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky, November 9, 1993 Faith Ringgold Day, Proclamation - Office of the Mayor City of Newark, NJ, March 28, 1993 Womens Caucus for the Arts Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Visual Arts, Queens Museum, NY, NY, 1994 “Womens Caucus for Art Honor Awards Exhibition,” 15th 1994 Annual, Queens Museum of Art, Flushing, New York, January 25, 1994 Invitation to the White House for the 75th Anniversary of the Women’s Bureau, May 19, 1995 Townsend Harris Medal City College of NY Alum Assoc 1995 Spirit of Woman Award presented by the National Museumof Women of the Arts, Washington, DC, May 22, 1996 Spirit of Woman Award presented by the National Museum of Women of the Arts, Washington, DC, May 22, 1996 Arts Person of the Year,” The New Jersey Center 1997 Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award for 1997/1998 Key to the City of Oakland presented at the Berkeley Art Museum at the opening of “Faith Ringgold’s Dancing at the Louvre…” May 8, 1998 Pro Choice Activist Award, NARAL April 30,1998 Bank Street, May 27, 1999 City Arts Award, June 14, 1999 Art alliance (Scholastic) April 13, 1999 NAACP Image Award for Children’s Book “If a Bus Could Talk”1999 The African American Art Advisory Association of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas for Artistic contribution to American culture, April 1, 2000 The Dedicators Award 10/27/01 California Art Educators Association Living Artists Award 2002 National Visionary Leadership Project 2004 The American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, 2004 Moore College of Art and Design’s Visionary Women Award , 2005 Amistad Center for Art & Culture Presidents Award Oct. 15, 2005 James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art Honoree Howard University, Washington, DC 2006 Teacher of the Year, NYC Teachers Assn October 28, 2006 Harlem Arts Alliance Golden Legacy Visual Arts Award February 5, 2006 Wisdom Award , National Visionary Leadership Program The intergenerational Summit on the State of Black America at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC 2007 Nubian Women Art Circle Award November 2, 2007 Celebration of Leadership Award, Wives of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Washington, D.C., September 26, 2007 National Women’s History Project, Women’s Art: Women’s Vision, AIR Gallery, March 28, 2008 Faith Ringgold has been awarded 20 Honorary Doctorates from: Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1986 The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio. 1987 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, Massachusetts. 1991 The City College, The City University of New York, New York, New York. 1991 State University of New York, State University College at Brockport, May 17,1992 California College of Arts and Crafts. 1993 Rhode Island School of Design, June 4, 1994 Parsons School of Design, New York, May 14, 1996 Russell Sage College, Troy, New York, September 26, 1996 Wheelock College, Boston, Ma May 16, 1997 Molloy College, Rockville Center, New York, May 17. 1997 Bank Street College of Education, U of the State of New York, May 27, 1999 Marymount Manhattan College, New York, New York, June 8, 1999 Marygrove College, Detroit, Michigan, May 13, 2000 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, May 19, 2001 The William Paterson University of New Jersey May 15, 2001 Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, Connecticut, May 23, 2004 Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, New Jersey, May 26, 2005 Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, May 2007 University of Michigan, December 2008 Selected Public Collections: American Craft Museum, New York, NY The Art Institute of Chicago, IL The Baltimore Museum of Art, MD Blanden Art Museum, Fort Dodge, IA Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Provo, UT Brooklyn Children’s Museum, NY Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, NY Columbus Museum, Columbus, OH Cornell Fine Arts Museum of Art at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL Fort Wayne Museum of Art, IN High Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY The National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC The Newark Museum, NJ Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA The Philip Morris Collection, New York, NY Phoenix Museum of Art, AZ Saint Louis Art Museum, MO Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England Worcester Art Museum, MA Selected Public Commissions: For the Women’s House, oil on canvas, 96” by 96” Singer Women’s Facility on Rikers Island, NY 1970 100 Years at Williams College Quilt 1889 to 1989, Collection of the Clark Museum 1989 Freedom Of Speech commissioned by The Constitution Center for the 200th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights 1990. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1990 4 Good Years and Then 4 More for President Bill Clinton’s 1993 Presidential Inauguration. Collection of William Clinton Library. 1993 The Black Family Dinner Quilt, Collection of the National Council of Negro Women 1993 Working Women commissioned by the United States Department of Labor, The Women’s Bureau for their 75th Anniversary 1920 to 1995, 1999 Harlem Heroes and Heroines, two 30 foot mosaic murals for the Metropolitan Transit Authority was installed in the 125th street 7th Avenue IRT subway station in 1996. The Crown Heights Children's History Story Quilt, which depicts folktales from the 12 dominant cultures which settled Crown Heights. It is a Percent for Art Commission for the library at Public School 22 and was installed in 1996. Eugenio Maria de Hostos: The Man and his Dream, a 9 x 17 foot mural celebrating the life of Eugenio Maria de Hostos is permanently installed at De Hostos Community College in the Bronx. 1996 Oklahoma Children’s Commemorative Story Quilt commissioned by the Helious Foundation in collaboration with Grace Matthews 1996 Tar Beach Mosaic installed on the walls of the Princeton Public Library, NJ On the Steps of Low Library was commissioned by Columbia Women in Business for their 10th anniversary conference in 2003 Coming to Jones Road: Under a Blood Red Sky #5 for the Print Gallery collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art August 4, 2004 Creativity Styling Performing Playing Sports includes 52 mosaics (forty seven 48” by 24” and five 48” by 60”) installed on four Civic Center Platforms (EFMN) in the Civic Center Station in Los Angeles, California 2008 Publications: Books by Faith Ringgold Tar Beach, Crown Publishing Company, New York, NY (1991) Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky, Random House, Crown Publishers, New York, NY (1992) The French Collection Part 1 Englewood, NJ 1992 Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House, Hyperion Books For Children, New York, NY (1993) Scholastic Inc New York, NY (2007) 7 Passages To A Flight, Brighton Press, San Diego, CA Ringgold Biography Page Ten My Dream of Martin Luther King, Crown Books for Young Readers, New York, NY (1995) Bonjour Lonnie, Hyperion Books for Young Readers, New York, NY (1996) The Invisible Princess, Crown Books for Young Readers, New York, NY (1999) Counting to Tar Beach, Crown, New York, NY (1999) Cassie's Colorful Day, Crown, New York, NY (1999) If a Bus Could Talk, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY (1999) Coming to Jones Road, Good Stuff Press Englewood, NJ , 2000 Cassie's Word Quilt, Crown, New York, New York (2001) O Holy Night, by Public Domain, illustrated by Faith Ringgold, Harper Collins, New York, NY (2004) The Three Witches by Zora Neal Hurston, illustrated by Faith Ringgold, Harper Collins, NY (2005) Bronzeville Boys & Girls, by Gwendolyn Brooks, illustrated by Faith Ringgold, Harper Collins, NY (2007) Books About Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold: Portrait of Women Artists for Children by Robyn Montana Turner published by Little Brown 1993 Dancing at the Louvre: Faith Ringgold’s French Collection and Other Story Quilts by Dan Cameron, University of California Berkeley and Los Angeles, California Art on Fire: The Politics of Race and Sex in the Paintings of Faith Ringgold, By Dr. Lisa Farrington, Millennium Fine Arts Publishing, NY (1999) Faith Ringgold: A View From the Studio, by Curlee Raven Holton Bunker Hill Publishing in association with Allentown Art Museum, Charlestown, MA (2004) Faith Ringgold, David Driskell Series of African American Art by Dr. Lisa Farrington Pomegranate, Petaluma, California 2004 Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Faith Ringgold By Mike Venezia, Scholastic, Children’s Press, New York, NY (2008) Books By and About Faith Ringgold We Flew Over The Bridge: Memoirs of Faith Ringgold, Little, Brown & Company, Boston, MA, (1995) Duke University Press, Durham, NC, (2005) Talking To Faith Ringgold, Linda Freeman and Nancy Roucher, Crown Books for Young Readers, New York, NY (1996)