Artist Statement
My art, comics, and illustration are heavily informed by my decades-long career as a Professor of African American literature. During those years, I worked to bring to light those Black writers and readers of the 18th and 19th century whose important contributions to American culture and history have long been overlooked. As an illustrator and comic creator, I use bright color and bold lines to create artworks that reflect the rich and often unacknowledged diversity within all of our communities, with the goal of creating comics, illustrations, and fine artworks that defy the notion that there is any one single American experience. My greatest joy as an artist and writer is when someone sees in my work someone who reminds them of a relative, a neighbor, a friend, or even themselves.
Bio
Ajuan Mance is an artist and writer based in Oakland, California. Ajuan is the author and illustrator of two portrait collections, 1001 Black Men: Portraits of Masculinity at the Intersections and Living While Black: Portraits of Everyday Resistance, as well as the children’s picture book What Do Brothas Do All Day? Ajuan’s comics have appeared in several anthologies, including, most recently, We Belong: An All-Black/All-Queer Sci-Fi/Fantasy Anthology and Come Out and Play: The Queer Sports Project, published in fall of 2025. Gender Studies, her first solo collection, was nominated for the 2024 Ignatz Award for Best Comics Collection.
