Danielle Scott: Ancestral Call

Danielle Scott: Ancestral Call is part of In The Making, a documentary shorts series from American Masters and Firelight Media follows emerging cultural icons on their journeys to becoming masters of their artistic disciplines.

---

Sonia Kennebeck and Tetiana Anderson’s director statement

Danielle Scott: Ancestral Call explores ancestry, trauma, and the power of collective healing through the eyes of an artist who doesn’t fear the ghosts of our past. When Danielle Scott wanders barefoot through the cotton fields in the American South, she feels no pain, but instead the spirits of her ancestors. Her life and art are only possible because of them, Danielle says. She honors her  ancestors by telling their stories and sharing beautiful images of who they were. Danielle takes great personal and professional risks when she bravely immerses herself into the experiences of enslaved people at a time when history lessons are considered controversial. Her leap of faith changes the trajectory of her career and leads her to solo exhibitions at museums, major  galleries, and universities. Expect Danielle Scott to be a household name. Through her layered art and collaborative work, this film gives a glimpse of hope that preserving the memory of the past can heal our future.

Danielle Scott’s artist statement

From vivid paintings to piercing photography to striking sculptures, all of my artistic offerings aim to arrest the viewer and transport them away from the pretentious and into a realm rooted in  truth. With heavy influence from a few of the art world’s most activated and unapologetic, such as Gladys Barker Grauer, Ben Jones, Betty and Alison Saar and Renee Stout, my work is created to enrich and push the needle forward. I choose to explore and connect the intertwining relationships between social justice, equality, human and women’s rights, police brutality, femininity and culture. As a woman, a mother and a self-identified lesbian, Afro-Cuban, Polish Jew in America, my perspective has been shaped with merciless hands yet has not been tainted by apathy. This perspective gives way to the audaciousness of hope.

More about Danielle Scott

Danielle Scott is a mixed-media assemblage artist who grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her work expresses politically and socially charged messaging. Scott was featured in the 2021 Essence Magazine as one of the top LGBTQ artists to look out for. Her art has been acquired by The Newark Museum of Art, author Roxanne Gay, and The Weissman Family Collection. Her work has been exhibited at The Monmouth Museum, Morris Museum, Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora, and The Every Women NYC Biennial. Scott’s work has  been internationally exhibited in Paris during Africa Week and was a part of the Havana Biennial in Cuba in 2024. Scott was an artist in residence at Chateau Orquevaux in France, American Schools of Angola in Luanda, MECA College of Art and Design in Portland Maine, and ESKFF at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City. She was commissioned by the city of  Newark to create several Public Art murals and the Limited Edition Newark Library card. She has received Visual Artist of the Year from ESKFF and the City of Jersey City. Scott was taught and mentored by the late Jack Whitten when she attended the School of Visual Arts.