EDUCATION
Georgia State University. Master of Fine Art. Atlanta, GA
Savannah College of Art and Design. Bachelor of Fine Arts. Savannah, GA
HONORS + AWARDS
2020 Emory University Arts and Social Justice Fellow
2019 Do Good Fellowship, Do Good Fund and Southern Food Alliance, University, Mississippi
2019 Selected Artist for OFF THE WALL a city-wide Mural initiative led by WonderRoot and the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee
2018 Selected Artist for Special Projects, Aqua Art Miami, Art Basel Miami
2018 Supplemental Funding Grant for Research, Georgia State University
2018 Andrew M. West Memorial Scholarship, Georgia State University
2017 Supplemental Funding Grant for Research, Georgia State University
2016 Welch School of Art & Design Graduate Scholarship, Georgia State University
2015 WonderRoot Community Supported Arts Program
2014 SCAD: Gene Arthur Allcott Scholarship / Glenda Knight Keyes Prize for Outstanding Talent (Wish Foundation) / Artistic Honors Scholarship
2014 Independent Study Fellowship, DIRMINC, Iwakuni, Japan
2013 Selected Illustrator for First Lady Michelle Obama Luncheon Hostess Gift, Congressional Club
RESIDENCIES
2021 Stove Works, Chattanooga, TN
2017 Artist in Residence, Baldwin’s Room, Johannesburg, South Africa
2015 Artist in Residence, The Creatives Project, Atlanta, GA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
“PERSONAL STRUCTURES”, European Cultural Centre, Venice, Italy
carry the wait, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2021
the beautiful tale of Atlannahland, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
2020
Holding Space for Nobility: A Memorial for Breonna Taylor, Ackland Museum, Chapel Hill, NC
Her Spirit Will Be Our Guide, Jones Carter Gallery, Lake City, SC
2019
Devout Griot, Emotional Keeper, Anne O Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
ini-she-ation, Chastain Arts Center, Atlanta, GA
Lit Without Sherman, Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA
2018
i come as us, Converse College, Sumter, SC
i come as us, Sumter County Art Gallery, Sumter, SC
Marginalized and Mythologized, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
2017
Foul Ainʼt Fair, Auburn Avenue Research Library, Atlanta, GA
The Fair Game Project, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC
2016
“Do Something New” Our Plea for Social Justice, Anne O Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
Monde Bossale Biennial, Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Montréal, Montreal, CA
Of Care and Destruction, Atlanta Biennial, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA
But Before Bone Is Skin, University of Central Florida Gallery, Orlando, FL
2020
Southern Values, Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, GA
Adorned, McColl Center for Arts + Innovation, Charlotte, NC
30 Years of Women, Jackson Fine Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
On the Wall, Albany Museum, Albany, GA
Women Heal Through Rite and Ritual, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD
2019
Adjust Yo Eyes For This Darkness, Ashara Ekundayo Gallery, Oakland, CA
Woven, The Arts Center of Greenwood, Greenwood, SC
Fruitful Labors, Zuckerman Museum, Kennesaw, GA
2018
Aqua Art Miami, Aqua Miami Hotel, Miami, GA
5 Perspectives, Steffen Thomas Museum, Buckhead, GA
2017
New South, The Southern Gallery, Charleston, SC
2016
Nine, The Creatives Project, Armour Yards, Atlanta, GA
Personal Politics: Artist as Witness, Memory Keepers, & Social Conscience, Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, GA
Personal Politics: Artist as Witness, Memory Keepers, & Social Conscience, University of West Georgia, Carrolton, GA
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Ackland Museum, Chapel Hill, NC
Arthur Lewis, Los Angeles, CA
Dewanda Wise, Pasadena, CA
BlackRock Financial, Atlanta, GA
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Boston, MA
Charles Michael Davis, Los Angeles, CA
Clark Atlanta University Museum, Atlanta, GA
Eden Bridgeman and Greg Sklenar, Los Angeles, CA
Farshid Arshid, Atlanta, GA
First Lady Michelle Obama, Washington, DC
Hill Harper, Detroit, MI
Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA
Joe Beasley, Atlanta, GA
Millicent Shelton, Culver City, CA
Microsoft Art Collection, Redmond, WA
Oglethorpe University Museum, Atlanta, GA
SCAD, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Samuel L. Jackson, Los Angeles, CA
Sara & John Shlesinger, Atlanta, GA
Sir Elton John, Atlanta, GA
The Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, Augusta, GA
FILM + TELEVISION
Heartstrings, Netflix
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, HBO Films
Step-UP: High Water, Lionsgate
Greenleaf, OWN Network
Zoe Ever After, BET
Addicted, Lionsgate
Being Mary Jane, BET
PUBLIC ART
Mural, Georgia Beer Garden, Commissioned by Superbowl Host Committee
Mural, 454 Irwin Street, Commissioned by Superbowl Host Committee
Mural, Vine City MARTA Station, Commissioned by Superbowl Host Committee
Mural, 787 Windsor, Commissioned by AfroPunk
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2021
Betsy Riley and Kamille Whittaker, ‘6 Atlanta artists to watch in 2021,’ September 01
Adron McCann, Speaking Of The Arts’ With Shanequa Gay, WABE, July 22
Pamela Miller, ‘The South Got Something to Say’ in public art exhibition, The Atlanta Georgia Constitution, June 02
Deanna Sirlin, Review: 2021 Atlanta Biennial shows that dark times can lead to renewal, creativity, ArtsATL, March 03
Leslie Johnson, Midtown Alliance brings art to the heart of the city, Atlanta Business Chronicle, February 07
2020
Maximilíano Durón, Rising Stars, Rare Old Masters, and More: What the World’s Top Collectors Bought During a Pandemic, ArtNews, October 13
Kathy Janich, ‘In Our Own Words: Shanequa Gay, Installation artist and creator of “The Devouts,” ArtsATL, April 04
Feme Oki, ‘Can you name 5 women artists? Female artists remain dramatically underrepresented and undervalued in the art world today,’ Al Jazeera, March 10
Hillary Brown, ‘Contemporary art gift to transform museum operations,’ UGA Today, March 05
2019
Felicia Feaster, Artist creates wall paintings as a tribute to Atlanta’s West End, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Aug 08
Shelley Danzy, Shanequa Gay’s “LIT WITHOUT SHERMAN” proves that love never fails community, ArtsATL, July 16
Summer Evans, Artist Shanequa Gay Creates ‘A Love Letter To The West End,’ WABE, NPR, July 11
Eric Stirgus, Oglethorpe students expand diversity of its museumʼs collection, Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 15
Eric Stirgus, Oglethorpe University students make artful move toward diversity, Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 12
Kathy Janich, Shanequa Gay On Myth, Blackness And The Feminine In Devout Griot, ArtsATL, April 02
William Inman, These Walls: Artist Shanequa Gay, Georgia State University Magazine, Spring Issue
Andrea Diaz, These giant murals will share Atlanta's civil rights history with Super Bowl visitors, CNN NEWS, January 25
Alexa Liacko, Atlanta Artists Create Dozens Of Civil Rights Murals Ahead Of The Super Bowl, FOX Five NEWS, Good Day Atlanta, January 23
2018
Associated Press, New Murals Near Super Bowl Venue Highlight Atlanta's Civil Rights Legacy, NBC NEWS, December 26
Kelundra Smith, Wonderrootʼs Off The Wall Mural Project Calls On Local Artists To Put Civil Rights Front And Center, Atlanta Magazine, December 03
Jane Collins, Current Art Exhibits Give Validity To 'A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words (Review), Sumter Item, May 03
Ida Harris, 7 Iconic Black Women Artists From Around The World Who Deserve More Recognition, Blavity, March 08
Aricka Foreman, Marginalized & Mythologized, The Offing Magazine, February 02, 2018 Andrea Gable, 5 Perspectives, Lake Oconee Living, January 22
Tia Lynn Ivey, 5 Perspectives, Morgan County Citizen, January 08
2017
Regan Petty, New exhibit at Wofford Portrays Contemporary African-American Experience, GoUpState, February 22
Kelley D. Evans, Artist Shanequa Gay Brings Inspiring Black Experiences To Canvas In New Exhibition, The Undefeated, March 6
Chelsea Steverson, Leading Lady: Shanequa Gay, C4 Atlanta, March 16
Floyd Hall, “Substance in the Marginal Carnival” With Shanequa Gay, Today Maybe Forever, June 18
Muriel Vega, Q & A | Artist Shanequa Gay, Commoncreativ ATL, July 12
2016
Dinah McClintok, Review: With "Personal Politics" Artists Deliver Rigorous Dialogues, ArtsATL, February 29
Shantay Robinson, Studio Visit, Burnaway, August 17
PUBLICATIONS
2021 Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, Bold Type Books.
2020 Frances J. Harris, The Sweet Hand, Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Cover Art
2020 Justin Philip Reed, The Malevolent Volume, Coffee House Press. Cover Art
2019 Dexter R. Voisin, America the Beautiful and Violent: Black Youth and Neighborhood Trauma in Chicago Columbia University Press