About the Artist

Harriet Watson b. 1994 (Indianapolis, IN), draws inspiration from being adopted and growing up in a small rural community. She grew a passion for non- conformity and a rejection of societal expectations for biracial females. Many of her early works are self-portraits, depicting herself in different environments, often surrealist with vibrant colors, and using oil or acrylic paint. After spending two years at Ohio Wesleyan University studying art and psychology, and nearly two years at Herron School of Art and Design, she finished her degree at Indiana University, Bloomington, with a BA in psychology in 2020. After graduating from IU in 2020, Harriet worked alongside 17 other Black artists from Indianapolis to create a Black Lives Matter mural on the historic Indiana Avenue in downtown Indianapolis. Harriet enjoys painting portraits with acrylics and draws inspiration from Black female artists from the 70s, such as Adrian Piper and Faith Ringgold. Harriet believes that art is necessary for society to understand each other by expressing themselves without shame or stigma, and that art can be used as a universal language to reach that goal.