Antwoine Washington
"My goal is to become the person I needed when I was growing up."
Antwoine Washington was born in Pontiac, Michigan, a small city near Detroit. Washington earned his BA in Studio Art from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA. While attending Southern, Washington deepened his understanding of Black history and art in America, inspiring him to carry on the legacy of Harlem Renaissance artists like Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jacob Lawrence. He decided to tell stories of the Black experience in America through his art. After college, he moved to Cleveland, OH, with his wife and began working as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. During this leap of faith to pursue his dreams, Washington suffered a stroke in November 2018. During his recovery, he used his art to manage panic attacks and numbness on the right side of his body. Since surviving the stroke, he has kept seizing every opportunity, showcasing his work at the Cleveland Museum of Art, MoCA Cleveland, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. He was also commissioned by Land Studios to create a mural at MetroHealth Hospital, Cleveland Public Square, and the Cleveland Walls International Mural Festival. Antwoine started a nonprofit called the Museum of Creative Human Art to teach art. He currently lives and works in Cleveland, OH.