Side A: Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson (1940-2015) and her son Sydney moved into this home in 1974. The artist, a visual historian, lived and worked here in the Shepard community until her passing. Raised in Columbus’s Poindexter Village and educated in the local public schools, Robinson also studied at Columbus College of Art and Design and The Ohio State University. Her art reflected stories handed down from her elders, experienced within her community, and the local history she researched while working at the Columbus Metropolitan Library. She received a 2004 MacArthur Award for her celebration of “family, ancestry, and the grandeur of simple objects in drawings, paintings, and large-scale, mixed-media assemblages.” (Continued on the other side)
Side B: (Continued from the other side) Robinson taught art for Columbus Recreation and Parks 19 years before becoming a full-time working artist in 1991. As she traveled the world and grew to national acclaim, this home became her muse. Every room was dedicated to her research, writing, and art-making: drawings, watercolors, button-beaded books and dolls, illustrated texts and journals, and monumental tapestries and sculpture using traditional, found, and handmade materials. Today, her profound and elegant works are in numerous public and private collections. When Robinson died, she entrusted her estate to the Columbus Museum of Art. The home studio was renovated to preserve her indomitable spirit, her endearment for community, and as an inspiration for resident artists.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.