My ‘Why’s’ For this Work
I do this work because through archives I communicate with the ancestors, and preserve our collective history, while honoring those who make my existence possible.
Nicoletta de la Brown
Director, Experience & Engagement
Connect With Me
What I Do at Work
I am the Director of Experience and Engagement for Afro Charities Inc. In this role, I focus on ideation, coordination, and execution of Afro Charities’ experiential programming, overseeing touch points that impact how the public and internal team engage with the AFRO Archives. I am currently developing best practices to ensure that “how one feels” while interacting with the archives is in alignment with our organizational mission, and that we leave both people and the archives in better shape than we found them.
My Background
I am a Panamanian-American, Baltimore-born NYC raised, award-winning interdisciplinary artist and curandero chamána (shamanic practitioner). My artwork re-conceives the life of an artist as thriving, nourishing others during and through my art practice, while healing myself in public space as a Black-Latin woman. I am a MacDowell Fellow, Artist-In-Residence at Baltimore School for the Arts, 2022-24 Tabb Center Public Humanities Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, 2024 KODA Mental Health Resident Artist, 2024 Vermont Studio Center Marshall Frankel Fellowship Artist in Residence. Former sculpture professor at Towson University and former adjunct faculty in the MFA in Community Arts Graduate Program at Maryland Institute College of Art.
My performances have been presented at The National Aquarium, Baltimore MD; The Phillips Collection, Washington DC; The Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC; The Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building, Washington DC; Walters Art Museum, Baltimore MD; Eubie Blake, Baltimore, MD. Exhibitions of Nicoletta’s video artworks and installations have been presented at Bennington College Usdan Gallery, Bennington, Vermont; The National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD; The Tribeca Film Festival, New York, NY; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore MD; IA&A at Hillyer Gallery, Washington DC; Cardinal Gallery, Baltimore MD; Pinkard Gallery, Baltimore MD; The Segal Gallery, Baltimore MD; Leidy Atrium, Baltimore MD; MICA PLACE, Baltimore MD. My work is included in private and public collections, such as The Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University, GLB Memorial Foundation Collection, The National Aquarium.
Collection Items that Resonate with Me:
From the AFRO Collection:
For my first visit to the archives, the team pulled photos from the Canal Zone and Panamanian ephemera. As a Black-Latin woman, I often feel invisible. The team made me feel seen as a Panameña. I didn't know that my people lived in the AFRO American Newspaper Archives. My first job, at age 15, was a lifeguard. This photo inspires me to spend even more time doing archival research.
An Object From My Personal Collection
From My Personal Collection:
Age 3, 1984. This is little me. I danced every day. I always put on a fancy dresses to play. I learned how to love and heal in mi abuelita (my grandmother's) kitchen.