The term “womanist” was coined by writer Alice Walker. Two artists have adapted that movement into an exhibit celebrating Black women.

Keion Hennessey and D Colin worked together to create the installation in Troy. The collaboration happened after attending a workshop that wanted to put limits on their artistic expression.

“It’s an embracing of who we are as Black femmes," said Colin.

“There was a very particular moment when middle-age white men were reviewing my artist statement about me being queer, darker skinned, and a Black woman from the south,” Hennessey said. “He critiqued it by saying ‘take all that out and just leave the part about being an artist.’ I said to him, ‘so you want me to leave out the part that I am Black?’ ”

Each piece in the exhibit is meant to explore the intersectionality of Black femininity and American politics.

“Oftentimes, they are going to be political, because we live in a country where race still matters,” said Colin.

Colin likes to weave her poetry into paintings addressing the Black Lives Matter Movement of the present. Hennessey adapts the Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit” to highlight the Black lives lost to lynching in the past.

Both say more exhibits like these are needed to foster exposure and talent in women of color.

“For me, it’s been really helpful to find spaces where we can talk about the structure of the work without piecing apart who I am,” said Colin.

The Collective Effort will house the exhibit through the end of February.

You can find out how to reserve a viewing time, purchase paintings, or make a donation by checking the artists’ GoFundMe page, viewing Hennessey’s artist page, or Colin’s artist page.