Open Studio for Teens: Coumba Samba

Teens are invited to join artist Coumba Samba for a special Open Studio for Teens. Through sculpture, color, and creative image-making, participants will explore how art can uncover the histories and systems of power embedded in the objects and symbols that surround us. Inspired by Samba’s Stars and Stripes, teens will consider how national symbols, natural resources, and global systems of power are connected. Participants will visit Samba’s installation, where sculptures modeled after depleted uranium shells are painted in the colors of the flags of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Namibia, Niger, and the United States. Drawing from Samba’s exploration of resource extraction, colonial histories, and the global nuclear order, teens will create their own sculptural forms and visual compositions that transform familiar symbols to reveal hidden stories, relationships, and histories.