As part of Afiwa Afandalo’s ongoing project, “Black Joy and Healing,” their upcoming exhibition, “Narratives of Love” explores how the concept of love manifests itself in her everyday life and interactions and in that of the Black women around her. Born and raised in Togo, Afiwa learned that the concept of love goes beyond the sphere of a romantic relationship. With these selected pieces, Afiwa investigates how love shows up in everyday environments.

Afiwa Afandalo '24, a student artist from the Bronx and Togo, is currently a 3rd year undergraduate with double majors in Africana Studies and Women, Gender, & Sexualities Studies with a Studio Art and English double minors at Lehigh University. Interested in what it means to be a human being who happens to be Black and a woman, most of her works focus on creating spaces of affirmation, comfort, joy, and healing for Black girls and Black women. Her work has been shown in the Lehigh University Art Galleries Thinking Through Drawing: Digital Community Exhibition Fall 2021, Lehigh Art, Architecture, and Design Student Exhibition Spring 2022, the Lehigh Institute on Critical Race and Ethnics Studies Art as Activism Spring 2022, and Amaranth, the Lehigh University Literary Journal Spring 2022 Edition.

Read more about Afiwa and her work on Lehigh University's student newspaper, The Brown and White.

Also available to view May 26 - August 10, 2023 by appointment.