In February, Orr Street Studios had their third annual "The Color Black" exhibition including four Mizzou SVS students including Amani Zaire, currently working toward her BFA at Mizzou.

“I have learned the importance of time and how to manage it. I am often taking multiple studio classes, while working on personal pieces, and working a part-time job as well. I am always doing a balancing act of what I can get done in a day and how I can incorporate my class projects into my practice. I honestly love the juggling of everything because it allows me to work on so much at once and try my hand at multiple different mediums."

Besides painting Amani Zaire is working on other mediums to expand her artistic expression. “I am currently brainstorming a few projects that I want to work on during spring that include ceramics and fiber work. I also have a few paintings that I am planning to create in the upcoming months, but they are still in the beginning phase. I am taking ceramics 1 this semester and for my second project I took on the task of creating two heads. Each of them possesses their own hairstyle, one is a protective hairstyle (braids), and the other is more natural (Afro puffs). I am excited to see where this new addition of ceramics is going to take my work."

Amani Zaire was born in Columbia and spent some of my younger years living in Kansas City but eventually moved back right before middle school. Her grandmother went to art school for some time and her uncle became a full-time artist when he retired. 

“As I grew up, I realized that my voice could be heard and seen through the art that I was making. I have always been interested in depicting the discrepancies between how my community is treated compared to how others are. 2020-2021 was a major changing point for my work as the world was able to see the plain discrimination and violence that the Black community faces. I began to understand how important it was to use my artistic voice."

Throughout high school, Amani Zaire participated in all of the available programs in Columbia including the CARE program right before freshman year where she worked with Madeleine LeMieux and a few others on the Kindness Butterfly mural in Alley A. She started to go to First Fridays at Orr street during high school and seeing everyone’s beautiful work was inspirational.

"In my junior year of high school, I participated in the mentorship program with Columbia Art League where I was paired with Sophie Pickering, and she helped me create a small body of work focused on femininity and how one views their body. During my senior year, I created an AP portfolio that was centered around humanizing Black people and breaking down the stereotypes and image that society has created."

Before Mizzou, Amani Zaire I attended the Art Institute of Chicago for a semester, then UMKC for a semester, and finally landed back at home at MU. 

“My experiences over the past few years have really shaped the way that I work now, and I am so grateful for that. I am now in the Orr Street Studios Black Artists in Residence program, and it has changed so much for me, I am so thankful to have a dedicated space to create and be surrounded by other artists. It is so surreal that a few years ago I was watching other artists in their studios, and now I am here with my own!”