A'Driane "addyeB" Nieves is a USAF veteran, self-taught artist, activist, and speaker with a heart for serving others and social good. She's also a mental health advocate living with bipolar disorder, and runs an online mental health support group for women of color called Tessera Collective. She empowers women to transform brokenness in their lives into power and beauty, and amplifies the voices and experiences of those marked as Other in society through her written and visual work. Most recently she was featured alongside Bono as a ONE Campaign activist and volunteer for Glamour Magazine’s “Woman of the Year” issue, where Bono was awarded their first ever “Man of the Year’ award for his work on gender equity and extreme poverty. She believes creating and viewing visual art that addresses themes such as racism, mental health, and recovering from trauma can serve as a catalyst for personal growth and social change. Her work has been featured on BlogHer, Everyday Feminism, Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Mashable, The Fourth Trimester Bodies Project, Sheryl Sandberg's "Option B" platform, and MISC Magazine. Her artwork has been exhibited at Wild Goose Festival, Johnson State College, WORKS San Jose, and most recently at Rare Device in San Francisco. She lives in New Jersey with her robotics loving husband and three boys.
What Does Black History Month Mean To You This Year?
Danai Gurira as the leader of Wakanda’s special forces team, the Dora Milaje/ Marvel/AP
Black Panther (Wakanda Forever). All the Black athletes in the Winter Olympics. Ava DuVernay directing A Wrinkle in Time. Black people across the diaspora continuing to show that the impossible is actually quite doable.
Where Are You Finding Inspiration To Design This Year?
Ava Duvernay, award winning director and founder of ARRAY
The impact of personal and collective trauma, Dopeciety, Toyin Odjih Odutola, Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze, Kesha Bruce, Kendrick Lamar and SZA in “All the Stars”, Mindy Kaling, and A Wrinkle in Time.
To Learn More About A'Driane Visit:
- Website: addyeb.com
- Website: tesseracollective.org
- Instagram: addyeb_art