Dr. Fahamu Pecou, an interdisciplinary artist and scholar, uses his portrayals of Black men and women to navigate the crossroads of hip-hop, fine art, and pop culture. Frequently featuring himself as a model, Pecou embodies and reinterprets stereotypes around Black masculinity to question and reshape viewers’ perceptions. In works like Onire the General (2020), Pecou connects contemporary Black identity with traditional West African deities, reimagining the Black body not as a symbol of trauma but as one of power and beauty. A recipient of the 2016 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, his work is held in prestigious collections, including those of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Seattle Art Museum.

‍