Black Women in Art: Restorying the Canon — Conversation with Robin Wilson

Episode 187

This episode was originally recorded for CAA Conversations in alignment with their content structure at the time. When CAA shifted to a panel-only format, they chose not to release individual interviews. I’m proud to share this dialogue independently because Black women’s stories, artistry, and cultural labor deserve to be heard. 3 of 3 recorded.

In this final installment of the “Black Women in Art: Restorying the Canon” series, I speak with educator, children’s author, entrepreneur, visual artist, and Vesey Lane Goods founder Robin Michelle Wilson. Rooted in the legacy of her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother, Robin’s work centers family memory, material traditions, and community care through crocheted story quilts, archival imagery, and literacy advocacy.

We discuss how Black women’s creativity and community-centered practices resist erasure, preserve lineage, and shape inclusive futures in the arts.

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In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
• How family legacy, lineage, and intergenerational craft shape identity
• How artists can balance creativity and entrepreneurship sustainably
• Why visual storytelling counters cultural erasure
• What community-centered business models can teach the art world
• What educators and institutions can do to support Black women in the arts

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Key Takeaways:
• Legacy is a blueprint for creative and entrepreneurial purpose
• Rest, boundaries, and structure protect creative practice
• Community is cultural infrastructure, not an afterthought
• Institutional courage is required to resist erasure
• Visibility is a practice—artists must put themselves out there

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About the Guest – Robin Michelle Wilson:
Robin Michelle Wilson is an educator, children’s author, entrepreneur, and multidisciplinary visual artist known for crocheted story quilts and archival-inspired textiles. She is the founder of Vesey Lane Goods, a Detroit-based creative business and gathering space offering handcrafted goods, author events, workshops, and storytelling-based community programming.

A lifelong literacy advocate, she founded the Josie Odum Morris Literacy Project at age 21, is a Fulbright-Hays Brazil Fellow, and a member of the Great Lakes African American Quilters Network. Her work has been exhibited across Metro Detroit.

Instagram: @veseylanegoods

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About the Host – Deneen L. Garrett:
Deneen L. Garrett is a Cultural Alchemist, international speaker, Dream Lifestyle™ Coach, and host of “Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation,” a Top 100 empowerment podcast. A former D&I leader at AT&T, she now leads Deneen L. Garrett LLC, merging art, culture, storytelling, and empowerment. She serves on boards at the Detroit Institute of Arts, supporting African and African American art initiatives.

Website: deneenlgarrett.com
Instagram: @deneensdreamlife

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