ANNOUNCEMENT: Abenaart shop is currently closed as I recalibrate through hibernation season.

In efforts to create a more sustainable small business model in 2023 and honor the changes of the seasons Abenaart store will only be open for orders for one week during the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. The store and products will remain up on Abenaart but orders cannot be placed outside of open weeks.

*if you would like to get alerts when the shop is open feel free to sign up for my email list at the bottom of this page* Thank you all for your continued support and understanding! (Feel free to contact me if you would like to commission or make a purchase and are local to Chicago)

Shop - Joyous By Abenaart Collections

Image of Abena in front of her paintings at The other art fair chicago 2022

What is Joyous By Abenaart?

Joyous by Abenaart is the name of my online store and is an extension of my practice through abenaart.

It is a place where I get to indulge in all of my creative wants - a place where I don't limit myself based on medium but rather my JOY of exploring different material. And a place where I hope to share my practice of joy with you through smaller art works.

Joyous came about after I read a passage about spinner dolphins in Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals, a book I absolutely recommend by Alexis Pauline Gumbs. In this passage Alexis talks about these beautiful marine mammals who chose to spin out of pure joy and maybe a little bit of a show. But it also made me reflect on why we need to be proud of ourselves and how to show our flippers every now and then and spin with Joy.

Joy for me? Is a form of resilience, a form of connecting to my ancestors, a form of connecting to the society I grew up in (a small town called Maseru, in Lesotho), its a way of showing up as my full self -  JOY not as a brand but as a way of living and genuine connection.