Penda Diakité (b. 1992, Portland, Oregon) is a Malian-American visual artist, author, and filmmaker raised between the United States and Mali. A child of two artists—her father a ceramicist and storyteller, and her mother a sculptor—she was immersed in traditional Mali arts from an early age. At just four, she was introduced to bogolanfini (mud‑cloth) painting, and by ten authored the Africana Award‑winning children’s book I Lost My Tooth in Africa, marking an early start of her storytelling through art. She earned a BFA in Film/Video with a minor in Cultural Studies from CalArts (2010–14), where she formulated her distinctive mixed-media collage style—melding traditional West African painting techniques, hand engraving, acrylic, oil, and paper collage. Today, Diakité lives and works in Los Angeles, with a rich portfolio spanning gallery exhibitions, film screenings, and collaborations with institutions like the Lakers, Forbes, and PBS Movement is at the heart of everything I make. I’m especially inspired by dancers—their grace, resilience, and ability to embody freedom through form. My background in theater and film deeply informs my visual art: each piece is a scene, a breath, a narrative in fragments. I build by cutting, layering, and arranging paper like a choreographer staging a silent ballet. Through my art, I aim to amplify the stories of women, of ancestors, of children, of icons forgotten by history. I create to remember, to heal, and to envision a future where joy, beauty, and Black imagination are centered without compromise. — Jennia Fredrique Aponte