Central Library partners with Fulton County Arts and Culture to launch the EmpowerHER art residency program, a celebration of women in Art.
About Reinilda Blair:
Reinilda Fernandez Blair is a Dominican-born, New York–raised artist based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Working in acrylics, sculpture, and immersive installations, she tells stories through color, texture, and form. Her work draws from ancestral memory and collective experience, exploring how personal and cultural histories intertwine to shape the human spirit. Her art has been exhibited widely across metro Atlanta, including at the Emma Darnell Aviation Center, Arts Clayton Gallery, ArtsXchange, and the Fulton Government Center. She has also created murals in Georgia that celebrate heritage and renewal. As both artist and curator, Blair uplifts underrepresented voices and visionary practices often absent from mainstream spaces. Through her storytelling, Blair invites viewers into shared spaces of reflection and awareness. Her work reveals that art is not just an act of creation but a collective remembering of who we are.
Born in Bonao, Dominican Republic and raised in New York City, Blair developed a practice that reflects both her Caribbean roots and her connection to the spirit realm. Her work is recognized for its bold, vibrant colors and layered surfaces that translate dreams, visions, and ancestral presence into physical form. Blair is largely self-taught, developing her practice through lived experience, community engagement, and an intuitive process that she describes as painting “as if her hand is connected to another realm.” Her subjects often include figures in states of transcendence, landscapes infused with spiritual energy, and recurring symbols such as ancestral hands, ropes, and luminous bursts of color.
Her career has grown quickly since her first solo exhibition Transcendence: Illumination of Life, Death, and the Future Through Visionary Art at Arts Clayton Gallery in 2023. That show introduced her near-death experiences as a source of imagery and narrative. In 2025, she co-exhibited in Ayiti-Quisqueya : Nexus of the Taíno at ArtsXchange, an exhibition honoring the ancestral history of the Taíno people while opening dialogue around Dominican and Haitian identity. She also curated Somos Herencia, the inaugural Hispanic Heritage Month exhibition at the Fulton Government Center in Atlanta. Blair has exhibited widely across metro Atlanta in venues including Spruill Gallery, Pulgram Gallery, Alpharetta Arts Center, Mason Fine Arts, and the Emma Darnell Aviation Center.
Her work has received recognition including awards at Paint the Town at Alpharetta Arts Center and ArtsXchange exhibitions. She has also contributed to public projects such as murals and cultural programming that bring art directly into community spaces. She is currently developing The Revolution Starts in the Subconscious, a body of work that explores dreams and the subconscious as a source of both individual and collective transformation. She is also focused on taking Nexus of the Taíno to other states, expanding the project into new communities and continuing its dialogue on ancestry and cultural memory. Through her work and community projects, Blair continues to create spaces that invite viewers to reconnect with ancestry, spirit, and inner strength.
Artist Statement:
"I am a multidisciplinary artist working in painting, sculpture, and installation. My work explores culture, spirituality, and the psychological landscapes that shape human experience. I use color, texture, and symbolism to tell stories that connect ancestry with the present moment and reveal the invisible threads that link us to one another. Each piece begins with reflection and evolves through intuition. I am drawn to exploring how memory, emotion, and belief live within the body and how they influence the collective story we share. My art seeks to move beyond surface connection, building a community rooted in awareness, empathy, and truth. Through my creative practice, I aim to create work that invites people to reflect and recognize themselves within a larger whole. Art, for me, is a way to remember that we are all connected, constantly becoming, and capable of transformation."
Connect with Reinilda Blair on Instagram at @reinildablair, opens a new window, her website at www.reinildablair.com, opens a new window, or email at rp@reinildablair.com, opens a new window
See some of her work below.
For more information about current artists or the Central Artist Corner residency program, please email vikki.walters@fultoncountyga.gov, opens a new window.
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