Bio
Serene Linda Nembhard, was born and raised in Philadelphia where she focuses on community sustainability work, care, and practice. She creates art around the experience of Black Femmes across the diaspora. Her artwork touches on hair, grief, resistance, rest and imagination.
Haircare as a space of RESTistance
Serene Linda's work on Black hairstyling identifies a unique “third space”—a safe, therapeutic environment where Black, femmes, woman and girls connect, grieve, and share their most vulnerable selves. One of Rest, of Resistance.
Hair Care = Mental Health Care
Founded in 2021 Serene Linda host a community event in Philadelphia that provides free hair care service to the Black community, and connects individuals to mental health care resources serving asn a bridge to mental health first aid.
Community Actvism
"Our main goal for this event is to create a nurturing self-care space for Black people, with Black wellness at the heart of everything. Wellness encompasses mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects, and we aim to support all of these areas. Beyond just hair care, we are committed to providing resources that address a full range of needs. The hope is that everyone leaves feeling seen, valued, and supported."
Reclamation
Serene's work touches on her Jamaican and African-American roots. Seeking to reclaim history lost over a diaspora."I look to the black women all across the diaspora inventing new hairstyles in the aftermath of being stripped of their African identities, in the aftermath of loss and of grief, to learn to possess this same resilience and creativity."
Nobody's Mama
Inspired by Renee Cox "Yo Mama's Last Supper" Serene's photo series " Nobody's Mama" touches in the journey of Black Women taking on the role of martiarch.
2021 Gallery:
A Place to Rest
An exploration and amplification of the resilience of Black women across the African Diaspora.
Making of Gourd Pinhole cameras
Sustainable Lenseless Photography