Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper ARTMAKER SISTAAH STUDIO
Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper ARTMAKER SISTAAH STUDIO
Wilhelmina Grant, Artmaker, Arts Instructor & Author
About SISTAAH Studio
Wilhelmina ‘Obatola’ Grant-Cooper is a self-taught, Harlem-based visual artist, arts instructor and author. Wilhelmina creates assemblages using mixed-media and found objects which she repurposes into visual art. Many of the ideas that stimulate the creation of her work are reflective of her interpretations of contemporary social concerns, namely: urban issues, and women’s health matters with a focus on breast cancer awareness. Wilhelmina has mounted numerous solo exhibitions in Harlem, Texas and Alaska, and has participated in group exhibitions at numerous venues throughout New York, the east coast and Alabama.
Wilhelmina is the founder of SISTAAH, Inc. (Survivors Inspiring Sisters Through Art and Advocacy for Health), an arts-based non-profit organization which seeks to inform, encourage and facilitate access to early detection of breast cancer by connecting the medically underserved to free screening services. Using SISTAAH, Inc. as a platform, Wilhelmina has launched two successful grant-funded community art projects: Saving Our Sisters in the African American Community, and the Harlem Hand Fan Initiative.
In 2010 Wilhelmina was honored with three prestigious awards for art: The Black Art Makers Award of National Conference of Artists, The Women’s History Month Creative Power of Women Award presented by New York State Senator Bill Perkins, and The Alain Locke Art & Action Award presented by The Harlem Arts Alliance. She was also a NoMAA (Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance) 2016 Uptown Arts Stroll Honoree.
Her arts instruction undertakings included assignments as artist-in-residence at The Ralph Lauren Cancer Center and as a Creative Center at University Settlement artist-in-residence wherein she used the arts to nurture the creativity of cancer patients, their families and staff in a public hospital setting. She currently guides elder participants through arts activities at senior centers in Washington Heights, Upper East Side and Brooklyn.
In 2017, SISTAAH received a Citizens Committee Neighborhood Grant to implement arts workshops at no cost to participants.
She self-published her first book, A Feeling of Fullness: Insights of a Divinely Guided Journey Beyond Breast Cancer (2016, Xlibris Publishing Company) which chronicles the journey from the nearly-missed breast cancer diagnosis at age 37 through her present-day life as an artist/author/health awareness advocate. Her second book entitled Uplifting Cancer Survivors in the COVID Era: Expressions of Kindness and Inspiration Between Aunties and Nieces was released in October 2022.
Some collectors of her artwork include: Alice Walker, Bill Clinton, The Heath Gallery, and Hamilton Landmark Galleries. Eleven of her assemblages appear as set dressing in Seasons 1 and 2 of the Prime Video Series HARLEM.
Wilhelmina is an avid gardener and lives with her husband in Harlem.
Bio of Wilhelmina 'Obatola' Grant-Cooper
A visual artist and two time breast cancer survivOR
Wilhelmina Grant is a native New Yorker and a resident of Harlem. As a mixed-media assemblage artist, she uses discarded or found objects which she repurposes into visual art. Many of the ideas that stimulate the creation of her work are reflective of her interpretations of contemporary social issues, namely: gentrification, violence against women and breast cancer awareness. Aside from numerous solo exhibitions, Wilhelmina has participated in many group exhibitions in and around New York City, the east coast, Texas and Alabama. It is Wilhelmina’s sincere hope to have an impact on the community through the realm of visual art.
My Favorite past Work
During her career as a gynecological teaching associate, Wilhelmina shared her knowledge and expertise by providing demonstration, guidance and feedback, as she trained more than 1,200 medical students, nurse practitioners and physicians to perform patient-sensitive breast and pelvic examinations in medical schools and hospitals throughout New York State. As a fashion model, Wilhelmina worked in France, Germany and New York in runway shows, designer showrooms and appeared in numerous print advertisements and magazines
Wilhelmina also worked as a flight attendant at Trans World Airlines for 17 years. She has traveled extensively and attended numerous symposia and conferences relating to cancer in the United States (including Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, Honolulu and Washington, D.C.) and Europe. She has facilitated workshops at the Paoli Peer Leadership Conference in Princeton, New Jersey, at the First World Conference on Breast Cancer Advocacy in Brussels, Belgium, and was the keynote speaker at The Witness Project First Annual Luncheon in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Videos, Interviews & Art Talks
I am humbled and thrilled to be the first artist to be interviewed in the 2020 Stay Home Open Studios by NoMAA (Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance) as the 2020 Uptown Artstroll goes virtual.
I am humbled and thrilled to be the first artist to be interviewed in the 2020 Stay Home Open Studios by NoMAA (Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance) as the 2020 Uptown Artstroll goes virtual.
I appreciate the collaboration between community partners: Word Up Bookstore, Sister's Uptown Bookstore, Community League of the Heights (CLOTH)
Manhattan Times News Article
Read the review of Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper's new book: Uplifting Cancer Survivors in the COVID Era
