Anyone who has had the opportunity to encounter one of the many Duncanson Artists-in-Residence over the years has been fortunate to witness firsthand the creativity, courage, and cultural depth that define each year’s Artist-in-Residence. Each year, the artist transforms the way we see ourselves and invites us to reimagine the narratives we carry.
Asha Ama Bias-Daniels, a Cincinnati native with roots reaching across the African diaspora, emerged as a formidable creative voice long before she was selected as the 2021 Duncanson Artist-in-Residence. A multidisciplinary fashion designer, costume creator, and storyteller, Bias-Daniels has dedicated her career to exploring identity, ancestry, and liberation through wearable art. Her designs have appeared in national publications, graced runways across the country, and captivated audiences who see a bold merging of contemporary vision with ancestral memory in her work.
After graduating from St. Ursula Academy, Bias-Daniels pursued a degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. This academic pairing shaped her creative lens, grounding her artistry in cultural preservation. Over the years, she has refined her practice into a signature aesthetic: lush, sculptural garments layered with symbolism, West African textures, and the emotional resonance of lived experience. Her work is a testament, a reclamation, and at times a healing ritual.
Throughout her residency, Bias-Daniels transformed gallery spaces and community rooms into living studios of dialogue. “The placements of Asha's garments in the Duncanson Foyer,” said Elise Solomon, Taft Museum of Art’s Director of Learning & Outreach, “created an interesting conversation between an incredibly contemporary design and the bucolic landscapes in the formal interior space. Seeing the works of Black Cincinnatians from different generations demonstrated the power of creativity and inspiration.”
Bias-Daniels's workshops drew students, emerging designers, and community members eager to explore how clothing can serve as cultural armor, storytelling vessel, and spiritual anchor. Participants stitched memory into fabric, explored the politics of Black adornment, and learned how fashion can become a language of autonomy.
Asha Ama Bias-Daniels represents the best of what contemporary Black artistry can be: fearless, historically rooted, community-centered, and insistently visionary. She reminds us that fashion is not superficial but a tool of power, and a space for liberation.
Bias-Daniels’s story is still unfolding, but her impact since her residency is already undeniable. Since her time with the Taft, Bias-Daniels has made her mark at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM), and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, among other high-profile features such as BLINK and a collaboration with the Cincinnati Ballet.
Celebrating 40 years of the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence Program, this conversation features reflections from Tunde Wey on his residency—where food becomes a powerful lens for social discourse—and Annissa Lewis's collaboration on one of his public events. Together, they explore how art, community, and conversation intersect.
The Taft Museum of Art welcomed guests and supporters to the museum on May 1, 2026, to experience the "Black and White Bash: A Night at the Taft," a celebration and gala supporting the museum’s educational and outreach programs grossing over $319K. Learn more about the evening's impact and see highlights from the festivities here!
In January 2026, two Cincinnati-based musicians with a passion for art and shared history as Duncanson Artists-in-Residence came together in a spirited dialogue in celebration of the program’s 40th anniversary. Learn more from Kathy Wade (1988) and singer-songwriter Tracy Walker (2011) and experience how two artists, decades apart, found meaning in their experiences as Duncanson Artists-in-Residence in excerpts from their conversation.