Looking into Njeri Kinuthia’s “Nyumba” at Gallery221@HCC Dale Mabry. Credit: Photo courtesy of HCC Art Galleries.

A new exhibition from Njeri Kinuthia—a Kenyan-born artist and 2024 winner of the People’s Choice award during the Florida Prize exhibition at the Orlando Museum—opened this month, transforming Gallery221 at Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus into a collage of textiles that serve as symbols of empowerment.

“By placing myself higher than eye level and adorning a large gown, I assert my presence both symbolically and physically. The fabric, shipped from Kenya by my mother, underscores the collaborative bond between a mother and daughter, enriching the narrative of this piece. The goal of this artwork is to provoke contemplation on empowerment, self-assertion, and authority,” Kinuthia wrote in a press release.

One work at Hillsborough Community College’s Gallery221, Nyumba, is 13 feet high and large enough for a small family to enter. The 26-year-old rising star’s opening reception happens this week, and the show is up until April 17.

There’s no cover for the opening reception for “Ukombozi: Reclaiming Place and Self (Recent Works by Njeri Kinuthia) ” on Thursday, Jan. 23 inside Tampa’s Gallery221@HCC Dale Mabry. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2025.