As a child with speech delays, Maryam Adib used art to express what words couldn’t. Now, she uses it to amplify the voices of others.
Adib, a painter, muralist and clothing designer, creates new versions – or perhaps, visions – of old stories with inspiration from Black oral traditions of storytelling, folklore and fantasy.
The East Coast artist is drawing on live interviews for a new exhibition that she’ll complete as the 2026 Aminah Robinson Artist in Residence.
The three-month residency is offered jointly by Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) and the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC). Chosen by a panel of artists, scholars and community members, the resident receives an unrestricted cash award.
Since Sept. 1, Adib has been living and working in the
Sunbury Road home and studio the late Robinson bequeathed to CMA.
“I feel grateful for this beautiful honor to walk the same steps and harness the same space Aminah once did,” she said in a press release.
“Like Aminah, I see art as a sort of archival tool, a process of recording, transforming and reflecting our experiences back to us.”
During her residency, Adib is producing works for “Inner Knowings,” a two-person exhibition that examines how Black communities heal from medical trauma through community, herbal knowledge and bonds with nature.
“I look forward to having the time and space to experiment, to deepen my practice, and develop a new body of work,” Adib said in the release.
The exhibition is set for April at the Community Arts Partnership (CAP) Gallery in Ithaca, New York.
Adib’s work has been shown extensively around Ithaca, as well as in Albany, New York; New York City; Philadelphia and other cities. She also has exhibited at the National Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce, Ohio.
A 2020 graduate of State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland, Adib completed the Ox-Bow School of Art’s Longform program in 2025. She has done several residencies including programs in Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts.
Public art by Adib can be seen around Ithaca and include a mural honoring the late Toni Morrison.
Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New York-based painter named 2026 Aminah Robinson Artist in Residence
