We're so excited to be working with the artist Patrick Dougher on our Spring Bulletin cover artwork. The themes and motivations behind Patrick's art resonated so deeply with Jason Allen-Paisant's poetry collection, Self-Portrait as Othello, our Spring Choice. Here's a sneak-preview cover reveal and members can read more in our Spring mailing.
Born and raised in Brooklyn New York, Patrick Dougher is a self-taught fine artist, musician, writer, poet and actor. He has performed and recorded with Sade, the Grammy award winning Dan Zanes and many others. He has played drums with many notable reggae artists including Black Uhuru’s Michael Rose and Hip Hop star Chuck D of Public Enemy and on “The Dub Side of the Moon”, one of the bestselling reggae LPs of all time. He has performed his poetry for the WNET Open Mic series as well as BRIC TV and venues around NYC, and was a lead actor in the production “Brooklyn 63” which toured in 2014.
Patrick worked as an art therapist with HIV positive children at Kings County Hospital, a co-curator at the Museum of African Art, a youth counsellor and teaching artist at Project Reach and Studio in a School and most recently as the Program Director of Groundswell, NYC’s premier community mural arts organization where he oversaw and directed over 300 public mural projects throughout the city. For over 20 years Patrick has used the arts to empower and support the socio-emotional growth of at-risk and disenfranchised youth of the city.
Patrick’s art reflects his life’s mission to inspire and empower by honestly and fearlessly holding up a mirror to society’s inequity and injustices. Through his art he seeks to celebrate the noble beauty and divine spiritual nature of people of African descent and to connect urban African-American culture to its roots in sacred African art and ceremony.
We're truly honoured to work with Patrick as our Spring Bulletin cover artist. You can find out more about his work at www.godbodyart.com or on instagram @patrickdougher.