She/Her
Amaranthia Sepia feels it's critical to use her voice to facilitate representation of marginalized women. As a Buddhist Black, invisibly disabled woman with C-PTSD, panic disorder, and agoraphobia, she highlights unconventional experiences through art. Currently she's a resident of Socially Distant Art, a residency focusing on disabled creatives.
Returning to America after spending her childhood in Japan, Sepia was severely bullied. Creating works based on fond memories of Tokyo taught her the healing power of art. Since 13, she's coordinated art events on anti-bullying advocacy, BLM, disability, and women's mental health. Now 23, she provides these groups tools for utilizing their creativity to gain confidence to make a difference in their communities.
Claire Jones
In one week in March 2022, days after launching Sista Creatives Rising with her daughter Amaranthia, Claire lost her mobility by the hour. Enduring emergency surgery to remove a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from her spine, she let go of alldelusions and illusions about her health. Claire is now within the 1% category to walk again after such surgery. Now in remission, Claire redetermined to help marginalized women gain inner strength by accessing their artistic side.
A Buddhist and Frances Perkins Scholar, Claire's journey to scholarship began during her childhood in Barbados when she sought relief from the chaos of living under domestic violence. Claire uses her creative works and writings to encourage women trauma-survivors to utilize art for self-improvement. In the 1990s, standing at The Door of No Return in Senegal, where enslaved people last saw their homeland, she reaffirmed her purpose: to overcome intergenerational trauma.
Photo Description: Claire Jones, on left, is a bald older Black woman wearing a denim jacket and red scarf. You can see the handle of her cane and several sunflowers against her chest. She has her hand around Amaranthia's shoulder, a young Black woman with black-rimmed glasses and black locs flowing down to the left of her head. She's wearing a leather jacket with white text and metal studs. Both have a closed lipped smile. They are sitting outside with trees and their porch banister behind them.
