About the Event

Firsthand Experiences bring contemporary creators together with learners ages 13 and older for hands-on programs that combine creative arts, conversations, and discovery.

Be inspired by the inventive ways multidisciplinary artist Autumn Spears and artists featured in the exhibition Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection incorporate fiber into their work. To kick off Women’s History Month, Spears leads a hands-on fiber workshop exploring hair as material, memory, and identity. Participants will create small woven tapestries using a variety of synthetic hair textures and colors, reflecting personal, ancestral, or collective stories. This workshop invites participants to consider hair as a powerful site of culture, history, and self-expression. All materials will be provided; no experience necessary.

About the Artist Instructor:

Autumn Spears (b. 1998) is a Washington, D.C. native whose art serves as a powerful medium for reimagining Black histories and diasporic narratives. Her upbringing in communities of color, while simultaneously navigating predominantly white institutions, has profoundly shaped her identity and artistic vision. These contrasting environments have ignited her interest in exploring black representation and identity across the African diaspora.

In 2020 she received her BFA in Art Education from Albright College. In 2023, Spears held her inaugural solo exhibition, “Becoming,” at the Freedman Gallery in Reading, Pennsylvania. This milestone event showcased her distinctive style and marked the beginning of a promising artistic journey. Additionally, Spears’s work has been featured in local cultural institutions such as the MLK Memorial Library, Charles Sumner School, Anacostia Arts Center, and the Anacostia Community Museum. Spears is also a 2024 D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities grant recipient and 2025 Art Bank Recipient.

Questions? Email education@nmwa.org.