Dr. Tanekeya W. Harris (born in 1983 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA; currently residing and working in Milwaukee, WI) is a distinguished multimedia visual artist whose work encompasses drawings, paintings, narrative forms, and fine art prints, exploring the concept of the everyday fantastical. Harris introduced the term everyday fantastical to articulate the everyday lived experiences of Black girlhood and womanhood with the richness of Black imagination. She explains, “It is my personal mission to continually investigate the essence of Black girls and women—both present and historical—and to explore how we envision ourselves beyond conventional representations.”

Originating from the Birthplace of the Blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi, Dr. Harris’ artistic methodology mirrors the narrative style of the Blues, embodying a call-and-response that conveys a spectrum of emotions and introspective depth. As both a writer and scholar, her visual lexicon is profoundly influenced by African American literature, Black imagination, and academic discourse. Her artwork is often serialized and presented on a scale relatable to everyday objects, not exceeding the size of the human body, encapsulating nature, Black geographies, material culture, and Black interiority—all harmonized with the Black body.

Tanekeya is also the founder of Black Women of Print, a collective dedicated to supporting Mid-career and Established Black women printmakers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Afro-American Studies from Howard University, a Master of Arts in Arts Management from American University, and a PhD in Urban Education with a specialization in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her doctoral dissertation is titled Black Womanhood + Black Aesthetics in Art Education (2024).

Dr. Tanekeya W. Harris has exhibited her work in numerous national exhibitions, and her pieces are part of several prestigious private and public collections including The Whitney, The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty Research Institute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.