ARTISTS TO KNOW: ASARI AIBANGBEE
Photography: Kalynn Youngblood
Creative Direction & Production: Asari Aibangbee, Kalynn Youngblood, Bianca Jean-Pierre
SHEER is thrilled to spotlight Asari Aibangbee (they/them), an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans filmmaking, fiber/textile art, and curation. Originally from Los Angeles and Corona, California, Asari’s work is deeply rooted in world-building, storytelling, and the preservation of Black Queer experiences across the African diaspora. As a queer Nigerian femme, their art serves as both a personal and communal archive, blending traditional techniques with contemporary narratives to explore identity, belonging, and intersectionality.
Asari's fiber art practice, which began gaining momentum in 2021, incorporates hand tufting, cyanotypes, and sustainable materials to create intricate, symbolic compositions. Their pieces challenge traditional narratives by emphasizing the softness and vulnerability of Black Queer individuals and Black non-men, fostering conversations about tenderness, resilience, and diasporic connection. In addition to their visual work, Asari’s involvement in film programs like A24’s Beyond the Screen and the Queer Women of Color Film Festival’s Critical Juncture has informed their approach to immersive storytelling.
As SHEER prepares to exhibit at the Affordable Art Fair in NYC opening Wednesday, March 19th, we are proud to showcase Asari’s stunning fiber works that explore themes of personal evolution, joy, and cultural lineage through rich textures and vibrant hues. Joining a roster of exceptional SHEER artists, Asari, continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art, using color, craft, and collective memory as tools for transformation.
Asari Aibangbee interviewed by Bianca Jean-Pierre and photographed by Kalynn Youngblood for SHEER.
Bianca Jean-Pierre: Your work as an interdisciplinary artist spans filmmaking, fiber art, and curation. How do these different mediums intersect in your practice, and how do they inform each other?
Asari Aibangbee: My practice is rooted in world-building, and each medium I work with—filmmaking, fiber art, and curation—functions as a portal into different aspects of storytelling. Filmmaking allows me to document and archive lived experiences, particularly those of Black queer communities, while fiber art provides a tactile way to translate those narratives into physical form. My fiber art is always a way to communicate how important craft is within the context of West African art and centering my tribal lineages! My tufted pieces and cyanotypes often incorporate symbols, motifs, and archival imagery that mirror themes explored in my films.
“My fiber art is always a way to communicate how important craft is within the context of West African art and centering my tribal lineages! My tufted pieces and cyanotypes often incorporate symbols, motifs, and archival imagery that mirror themes explored in my films.”
Asari: Curation, in turn, serves as an extension of my artistic practice, creating spaces where these stories can be experienced collectively. By organizing exhibitions, film screenings, and community-centered gatherings, I bridge the gap between personal storytelling and communal engagement. The throughline across all these mediums is my commitment to preserving and reimagining Black queer life across the diaspora, ensuring that our histories and futures are both documented and felt.
Bianca: You founded the collective To Be Black and Queer in San Francisco, which focuses on the experiences of Black Queer individuals. How does your identity as a queer Nigerian femme influence the themes and messages within your art?
Asari: My identities play a huge role in the creation of all the mediums I work with. Being a Dark Skin Queer Nigerian Femmes informs how I move through the world and how the world communicates with me on a daily basis. From the West African heritage that raised me, to the sexuality and confidence that I had to grow into due to global stigmas. The vibrant colors and cultural motifs from my Nigerian background has helped me develop my own method of curating the vast nuances of color theory and design elements for my creations.
Asari: The line work in my pieces represent the roadmaps of my life! Growing up I was not encouraged to be an artist, as a first daughter of Nigerian migrants there was always this expectation that I would become a lawyer. So when I started my journey as an artist I felt like I was finally taking control of my own narrative and carving out a pathway for myself as an experimental and non-linear storyteller, both as a filmmaker and fine artist. And of course being inspired by the artists I was in community with when I founded the collective during undergrad. I learned so much about becoming my own person and leaning into my queerness as a tool of liberation. If I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin as a person with multiple marginalized intersecting identities, then there was no way I could’ve become an artist.
“The line work in my pieces represent the roadmaps of my life! Growing up I was not encouraged to be an artist. As a first daughter of Nigerian migrants there was always this expectation that I would become a lawyer. So when I started my journey as an artist I felt like I was finally taking control of my own narrative and carving out a pathway for myself as an experimental and non-linear storyteller, both as a filmmaker and fine artist.”
Bianca: At the Affordable Art Fair opening March 19th in NYC, SHEER will feature your stunning piece, Myriad of Marmalade, which incorporates a mix of materials like acrylic, cotton, mohair, silk, and wool yarn. Can you walk us through the inspiration behind this piece and how the different textiles, colors, and materials contribute to its meaning?
Asari: This particular piece was inspired by my love for the color orange! I historically haven’t always loved the color but it has definitely grown on me and I have incorporated it in most of my works. It reminds me of growing up in California and seeing how beautiful the sunsets get over the mountains, and the flowers blooming during spring! I realized a few years ago that It’s a color that is constantly showing up in spaces and moments that bring me joy. So for Myriad of Marmalade, I wanted this piece to speak to how much I’ve grown as an artist, and so there’s so many different shades of orange which lays the foundation for the work.
I created certain patterns and color schemes that I have not experimented with before, because just like a sunset, I know that there are greater things on the horizon so long as I feel comfortable with experimenting and accepting unexpected outcomes.
Asari: The color also reminds me of Alice Coltrane, she used it a lot for her album covers and there’s an exhibition currently at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal in honor of her life and orange plays a huge role for the theme of the show. I played her music a lot while making this piece because I was so stressed out trying to perfect my craft, her sounds not only helped me relax and but also forced me to just trust the process!
Asari Aibangbee, Myriad of Marmalade, 2024, Textile/ Tufted Rug, Acrylic, Cotton, Mohair, Silk, and Wool Yarn, 36x36in, $5,555
Bianca: One of the central themes in your work is the softness and vulnerability of Black Queer individuals and Black non-men. Can you talk about how you explore these themes in your art and why it is important to challenge traditional narratives through your work?
Asari: The themes of softness, vulnerability, and belonging definitely center all of my projects because these are feelings and experiences I didn’t have access to growing up and so I am definitely healing so many childhood wounds when I articulate specific narratives in my work.
Being a Dark skin queer femme in this world forces me to move a certain way and I feel like I communicate with the world in a very specific manner that many others do not have to even consider. I have had to move with fear in heart and lack of self confidence but since coming into my own as an interdisciplinary artist, I have developed my own way of being. My personal experiences and those of my direct and global communities, have also shaped the way I tell stories, I want my work to reflect the world I am constantly trying to build, one where we all feel whole, especially those of us who come from marginalized backgrounds. I explore these messages and themes through bright and vibrant color schemes, culture motifs, and just being in community with like-minded folks!
“I learned so much about becoming my own person and leaning into my queerness as a tool of liberation. If I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin as a person with multiple marginalized intersecting identities, then there was no way I could’ve become an artist.”
Bianca: As you continue to evolve as an artist and expand your practice, what are you most excited about exploring in the future? Are there any new mediums or themes you're eager to dive into in your upcoming projects?
Asari: As I continue to evolve as an artist I am most excited about exploring and elevating my working in a number of ways! I’ve been studying the art of dyeing fabric and dyeing my own yarn, so that has been fun and has been taking me down memory lane when I used to do art and crafts projects in school as a kid and adolescent.
It also reminds of the practice of making clothes in West Africa, which plays a huge role in the fabric of our cultures! I want to be able to use natural dyes to help expand my understanding of color theory from a diasporic perspective! In addition to incorporating dyes into my fiber and textile practice, I want to advance my practice with the multifaceted uses of wood and metal work.
I will be attending the Penland School of Craft this summer as part of my residency with Crafting the Future. I will learn the art of woodworking and how I can translate the skills from the workshops into my own personal studio practice. Eventually I will be merging filmmaking into my studio practice involving fiber and textile art. I specifically want to work on large scale installations for traditional spaces like galleries, museums, and non conventional places. I always push to try something new and incorporate unconventional/unique elements to my work because evolution is key to being a well rounded artist. I am so grateful for the opportunity to grow as an artist and I look forward to continuing to expand my practice beyond my wildest of dreams!
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Photography by Kalynn Youngblood
As SHEER prepares to exhibit at the Affordable Art Fair in NYC opening Wednesday, March 19th, we are proud to showcase Asari Aibangbee’s stunning fiber works that explore themes of personal evolution, joy, and cultural lineage through rich textures and vibrant hues. Joining a roster of exceptional artists, Asari, continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art, using color, craft, and collective memory as tools for transformation.