Solange Named ‘Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year’

Solange has been named as the 2018 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year distinction and will be presented with the award on March 3rd.

Per its website, the foundation aims to “improve relations among racial and ethnic groups within the University and to enhance the quality of our common life.” The award will be presented on March 3rd as part of the Cultural Rhythms Festival, an annual event put on by the Harvard Foundation that features “student performances and ethno-cultural cuisine from over 30 student organizations.”

Solange’s music works often carry explore issues surrounding race most notably on her Grammy-winning 2016 album, “A Seat at the Table,” which featured the natural hair anthem, “Don’t Touch My Hair.” Knowles also had an exhibit on Black womanhood and Black Identity at London’s Tate Modern last year.

“During the creation of A Seat at the Table and my deeper exploration into my own identity, I experienced many different states of being, and mind throughout my journey. I mourned. I grieved. I raged. I felt fear and triumph while working through some of the trauma I set out to heal from,” she told the museum. “The state I so greatly wanted to experience, but that never arrived was optimism. I couldn’t answer my own question, if I had a responsibility as an artist to also express optimism in the midst of working through so much of my own healing.
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Past recipients of the award have included Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, Viola Davis, Queen Latifah and Shakira