In her collage series #blackfolk, Brooklyn-based creative Elise R Petersonplaces prolific figures in the nooks of fine art to create spaces for some of contemporary culture’s most badass black icons. In between gigs at various schools and publications, Peterson has always tapped into educating others about the power of challenging identity norms. She realized she was onto something with her art after she placed 1970s blaxploitation star Pam Grier in a collage with a piece by French painter Henri Matisse because, “If Matisse and Pam Grier were living at the same time, of course she would be a muse.”

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