Shani Crowe, an interdisciplinary artist from Chicago’s South Side, celebrates the diversity of women’s bodies and interconnectedness in “Every Body,” the exhibition opening Saturday, September10, at The Collective, 4101 San Jacinto St., Suite 116.

The show, which is part of FOTOFEST Biennial 2022, continues through October 22.

Crowe explains, “No matter the size, we are all a part of the same divine whole. Self-love is the most important love.  Material wealth and interpersonal relationships are all temporal. The only true constant in life is you.”

She asks, “Why not show yourself some love? Right now. As you are.” 

Crowe, who received her BFA in film production from Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications in 2011, centers her work on traditional African coiffure, beauty ritual and how African aesthetics can be re-contextualized to foster connectivity and unity among people of African descent. A life-long braider, she most notably creates complex braided hairstyles and captures them as photographic portraits.  Beyond her portraiture, Crowe applies the materials and techniques of braiding to sculpture, performance, fibers and installation art.

Her work and performances have been featured on “Saturday Night Live” in collaboration with Solange Knowles, the Broad in Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary African and Diasporan Art in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Mich., the August Wilson African American Culture Center in Pittsburgh, Penn., and at Miami Art Basel. She was also part of the ensemble that represented the United States at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.