Chere is research project and a thesis exhibition installation composed of a series of drawing/paintings and short animations that explores the phenomenon of migration and the African diaspora. This exploration was originated by contrasting aspects of forced and voluntary migration in addition to Kvasnyand and Hales' idea, that \"Belonging everywhere or not belonging anywhere\" describes the situation among people of the African diaspora.
Through research I intersperse layers of personal history with that of my ancestors and their descendants in the Americas. As a biracial person, a self-identified Afro-descendant from Colombia, South America, I am interested in the process of hybridization as a consequence of migration. I draw inspiration from African textiles and their African American hybrid forms, quilts. This project analyses Ptolemaic concepts in regards of pre-Columbian and African map conventions, and African syllabaries in order to visualize aspects of the African diaspora such as colonization, evangelization, displacement, instability, inequality, marginalization, adaptation, and acculturation.
With the development of this project I intend to reach a more accurate understanding of the multi-layered experience of the African Diaspora, particularly with regard to the persistent color line traced five hundred years ago by the Western colonial system. This exploration traces back to the origins of cultural traits of the Afro-descendant traveling culture. It focuses on elements that survived and disseminated in the New World such as quilts and percussive music, and place them in a contemporary context. This project also incorporates materials infused with historical meaning to my practice as a visual artist.
","abstract_html":"<p>Chere is research project and a thesis exhibition installation composed of a series of drawing/paintings and short animations that explores the phenomenon of migration and the African diaspora. This exploration was originated by contrasting aspects of forced and voluntary migration in addition to Kvasnyand and Hales' idea, that "Belonging everywhere or not belonging anywhere" describes the situation among people of the African diaspora. </p> <p>Through research I intersperse layers of personal history with that of my ancestors and their descendants in the Americas. As a biracial person, a self-identified Afro-descendant from Colombia, South America, I am interested in the process of hybridization as a consequence of migration. I draw inspiration from African textiles and their African American hybrid forms, quilts. This project analyses Ptolemaic concepts in regards of pre-Columbian and African map conventions, and African syllabaries in order to visualize aspects of the African diaspora such as colonization, evangelization, displacement, instability, inequality, marginalization, adaptation, and acculturation. </p> <p>With the development of this project I intend to reach a more accurate understanding of the multi-layered experience of the African Diaspora, particularly with regard to the persistent color line traced five hundred years ago by the Western colonial system. This exploration traces back to the origins of cultural traits of the Afro-descendant traveling culture. It focuses on elements that survived and disseminated in the New World such as quilts and percussive music, and place them in a contemporary context. This project also incorporates materials infused with historical meaning to my practice as a visual artist. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Borja, Wilson Andres"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pierce, Stephanie","King, Sam"],"advisors":["Musgnug, Kristin A."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:58Z","subjects":["African-descendants","Diaspora","Maps","Migration","Quilts","Textiles","African American Studies","Graphic Design","Illustration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2182","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pierce, Stephanie","King, Sam"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Musgnug, Kristin A."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Borja, Wilson Andres"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-02-06T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["African-descendants","Diaspora","Maps","Migration","Quilts","Textiles","African American Studies","Graphic Design","Illustration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2182"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Chere is research project and a thesis exhibition installation composed of a series of drawing/paintings and short animations that explores the phenomenon of migration and the African diaspora. This exploration was originated by contrasting aspects of forced and voluntary migration in addition to Kvasnyand and Hales' idea, that \"Belonging everywhere or not belonging anywhere\" describes the situation among people of the African diaspora.
Through research I intersperse layers of personal history with that of my ancestors and their descendants in the Americas. As a biracial person, a self-identified Afro-descendant from Colombia, South America, I am interested in the process of hybridization as a consequence of migration. I draw inspiration from African textiles and their African American hybrid forms, quilts. This project analyses Ptolemaic concepts in regards of pre-Columbian and African map conventions, and African syllabaries in order to visualize aspects of the African diaspora such as colonization, evangelization, displacement, instability, inequality, marginalization, adaptation, and acculturation.
With the development of this project I intend to reach a more accurate understanding of the multi-layered experience of the African Diaspora, particularly with regard to the persistent color line traced five hundred years ago by the Western colonial system. This exploration traces back to the origins of cultural traits of the Afro-descendant traveling culture. It focuses on elements that survived and disseminated in the New World such as quilts and percussive music, and place them in a contemporary context. This project also incorporates materials infused with historical meaning to my practice as a visual artist.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Chere"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Pierce, Stephanie","King, Sam"],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Musgnug, Kristin A."],"dc:creator":["Borja, Wilson Andres"],"dc:date":["2014"],"dc:date.available":["2024-02-06T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Chere is research project and a thesis exhibition installation composed of a series of drawing/paintings and short animations that explores the phenomenon of migration and the African diaspora. This exploration was originated by contrasting aspects of forced and voluntary migration in addition to Kvasnyand and Hales' idea, that \"Belonging everywhere or not belonging anywhere\" describes the situation among people of the African diaspora.
Through research I intersperse layers of personal history with that of my ancestors and their descendants in the Americas. As a biracial person, a self-identified Afro-descendant from Colombia, South America, I am interested in the process of hybridization as a consequence of migration. I draw inspiration from African textiles and their African American hybrid forms, quilts. This project analyses Ptolemaic concepts in regards of pre-Columbian and African map conventions, and African syllabaries in order to visualize aspects of the African diaspora such as colonization, evangelization, displacement, instability, inequality, marginalization, adaptation, and acculturation.
With the development of this project I intend to reach a more accurate understanding of the multi-layered experience of the African Diaspora, particularly with regard to the persistent color line traced five hundred years ago by the Western colonial system. This exploration traces back to the origins of cultural traits of the Afro-descendant traveling culture. It focuses on elements that survived and disseminated in the New World such as quilts and percussive music, and place them in a contemporary context. This project also incorporates materials infused with historical meaning to my practice as a visual artist.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2182"],"dc:subject":["African-descendants","Diaspora","Maps","Migration","Quilts","Textiles","African American Studies","Graphic Design","Illustration"],"dc:title":["Chere"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:59:58Z"}