Timbuk2 Students Bring Black Girlhood to TCNJ

Fifteen young artists from Timbuk2 Academy walked into Gallery 111 at The College of New Jersey's Art and Interactive Multimedia Building and withnessed something quietly extraordinary. The artwork work they had conceived, stitched, and named themselves and invited the world to look.

The exhibition was called The reDOLLution: Reclaiming Black Girlhood One Stitch At A Time

It opened on Friday, September 12th with a reception that drew women, men, parents, loved ones, and community members who stood before the work and witnessed something they had not expected: the full, unhurried, unapologetic presence of Black girlhood on display. The premise was deceptively simple. Each student created a handcrafted doll sewn and hand-stitched by her own hands and paired it with a story. Not necessarily her own story, but an authentic one. Stories of Black girlhood imagined, reimagined, and reclaimed. The dolls became vessels for narratives that rarely get told in galleries, in classrooms, or anywhere that is supposed to matter.

Joy. Kendra. Alanna. Karter. Giana. Aaliyah. Zayda. Anastasia. Nayomi. Emani. Ka'Leah. Amira. Zaira. Zendaya. These are the artists behind The reDOLLution.

"The act of sewing allowed the girls to slow down, take joy in the process, build childhood memories with their sisters, and embrace the wholeness of who they are," said Ayana Abbul-Raheem. Head of Timbmbuk2 Academy. "Each stitch became an act of love and affirmation, reminding them they are worthy of care, worthy of joy, and worthy of experiencing the fullness of girlhood." The gallery was open to the public through September 17th, with free admission. The partnership between Timbuk2 Academy and TCNJ's Arts and Communication department reflected a shared belief that girls from Trenton deserve to see their work treated as serious art, displayed in serious spaces, and received by serious audiences.

Proceeds from The ReDOLLution collection support student tuition, gallery participation, and future exhibitions.

→ Learn more and shop The ReDOLLution collection on our Exhibitions page

→ View The ReDOLLution at the TCNJ Art Gallery