Pamela Council is an interdisciplinary artist creating works of veneration and playful catharsis. These multi-sensory dedications to the unsung, including their series Fountains for Black Joy, meticulously process history using dark humor, bright colors, nostalgic smells, and a campy Afro Americana aesthetic. They have created commissions for The Studio Museum in Harlem and VOLTA NY and exhibited at the Aldrich Art Museum, New-York Historical Society, and The New Museum for Contemporary Art. Council has been awarded numerous residencies including MacDowell Colony and ISCP. Council is an alumnus of Columbia University (MFA), and Williams College (BA), which awarded them the 2022 Bicentennial Medal as a distinguished alumna. They are a recipient of the 2017 Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Fellowship Statement

During my Fellowship, I will continue to create works ranging in scale from miniature to monumental, designing playful art that engages architectural history and supports public and private catharsis. I envision the Fellowship duration as a time when I can both get organized and feel free to experiment, tell stories that may not be the most commercially viable, and build a team to support my vision. I want people to meet at my fountains for reflection, sit on my benches and share gossip, and enjoy interiors filled with freedom-inspiring objects.

Photo by ally caple (@allycaple on Instagram), courtesy Pamela Council.