Motivational artist, administrator, accidental historian, occasional blogger, and dancer, Ramona draws from her Caribbean heritage, growing up in Brooklyn — and dance. Much of her work is inspired by Sankofa (“to go back and retrieve”) and whether from personal memory or part of a collective experience, it radiates with nostalgia, history, community, and cultural appreciation.

In 2020 Ramona’s work was chosen for the “Art in Embassies”, program of the U.S. Department of State. The work was featured in an exhibition in Dili, the capital city of Timor-Leste (East Timor). She will talk about some of the experiences her art has made way for her.

The artist credits her late mom, Carmelite Candy – a resourceful, creative, single mother of four – for all of her gifts.

Art Work pictured: Moon Dance, 1999, collage and acrylic

As Director of the Arts Council at St. Joseph’s University, she enjoys producing arts programming for the college and surrounding community. She is a founding member of Clark Center NYC, a dance legacy project, served on the Brooklyn Conservatory Jazz Leaders Fellowship Committee, and is a founding member of the Future Historical Society at BRIC.

The Cinque Artists Program is named after the Cinque Gallery founded by artists Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, and Ernest Crichlow in the late 60s. The gallery served as a catalyst for artists and curators of color to exhibit, but also as a place for networking and building community.

About Ramona Candy

At St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn, Ramona Candy curates, produces, and presents professional arts programming (art exhibitions, music, and dance) for students, the college community, and the larger surrounding community. In this work, she also engages a variety of curators in presenting local artists.

Most recently Ramona curated “Cultures United” a virtual exhibition of the Brooklyn Jazz Consortium, and “Expressions: Black Lives Matter”, an ongoing online exhibition of collaborations between Dance, Music, Visual Art, and Spoken Word for Clark Center, NYC

In 2020 Ramona’s own work was chosen for the “Art in Embassies”, program of the U.S. Department of State.  The work was featured in an exhibition in Dili the capital city of Timor-Leste (East Timor). She has also exhibited at Corridor Gallery, Tabla Rasa Gallery, DanceAfrica (2010 Featured Visual Artist), Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, Skylight Gallery, Rush Gallery, BRIC Arts Gallery, the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, and 73 See Gallery to name a few.

Her artwork can be found in the collections of Memorial Sloan Kettering, Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute, Hotel 718, Dunn Development Corporation (Brooklyn, NY), Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, and Pinacoteca de Sao Paulo (Brasil). Commissions include: New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Brooklyn Academy of Music (Dance Africa), and sets for “Orange Is the New Black”, “The Breaks” on VH1, “Hawaii Five-O”, and “Black Nativity”.

She says “So much of my art is inspired by my dance career of over 20 years. Dance was and remains my passion. I still use music to guide my hand when I create art. And as the saying goes, once a dancer, always a dancer.”

https://ramonacandy.com/