Medase Art Studios and Galleries mission is to educate the masses about the culture, politics, and socio-political issues of Africa through Art. African people in Africa and throughout the Diaspora have unfortunately been given a distorted historical and cultural introduction to Africa with the tools of Western and European propaganda. This was done and is consistently being done to exploit Africa, her people, and resources. It has always been with the intent to turn African people away from their native home, by attempting to make her seem primitive, underdeveloped. and without the ability to be civilized, so that her children throughout the world will be ashamed of her and have no desire to unite with or defend her from her aggressors. We are here to help change the narrative as it is our responsibility. Africa's traditional African art can be found in the museums of the colonizers of North America and Europe. The traditional art of Africa placed in these museums is regarded as property of people who are responsible for the constant spillage of African blood that runs through the rivers of Africa and in the ghettos of America. The looting of Africa's treasures being held in captivity is more than enough evidence to grant her children reparations for the crimes that have been committed against them, yet it hasn't been done. The redemption of these crimes can only come from her children, through their warm embrace of their mother. We at Medase Art Studios and Galleries deem it a pleasure to continue to lift up Africa in all her glory with the evidence she left of her existence before colonization and during. We want people to remember where they come from and who their people are and to be more than proud of their existence. Art is the most profound way to express oneself . Taking the ancient and traditional art and placing it in our modern lives for everyone to see always provides learning lessons to those who surround us. There is not one piece of Art in this world that doesn't have meaning, but African Art provides lessons and we want to share it and teach it to you. These lessons help to shape our existence, let us grow together. Welcome to Medase Art Studios and Galleries.
Our Team
Who We Are
Curator
LaTrista Kimani-Thoithi
My name is LaTrista Kimani-Thoithi. I have been fortunate enough to learn a great deal of
African culture. I was introduced to African culture in a way that I never would have imagined.
I learned so much through working at an institution called Pan-African Connection in Dallas. It
was also here that I was introduced to Pan-Africanism and uniting with the objective of Pan-
Africanism. Here, I became a fully aware Nkrumahist- Tureist, developing my ideology through
a collective process by being a member of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party.
Through years of organizing I participated in numerous activities and events. Most of them
were instances that I would not want to relive. I have seen racism, confronted police brutality,
and capitalist and imperialist cruelty head on by being engaged in protest and demonstrations
throughout my teenage life. Organizing in the AAPRP, I was a comrade of the late Bandele
Tyehimba and I learned a lot through his leadership. We decided collectively to change our
names to The United States of Africa Revolutionary Party, while still being in solidarity to the
line, principles, and objectives of the AAPRP. I served and still serve as a member of this
organization and today I am a Cadre. Pan-Africanism pushes the idea of complete African Unity
and liberation for African people throughout the World. As a resident of Dallas, I am proud to
say it has been well over 20 years that I have served in this party. I was very lucky to belong to
this formation as a youth because it has done so much for my personal and political
development. I am also a citizen of the Republic of New Africa. I served as a Black
Legionnaire in the RNA for in 2004 and 2005. In the USARP, I worked with many organizations
and stood in solidarity with many socio-political organizations throughout the world. One of
the most tactful movements was building the (UAF) United African Front. In the UAF we
confronted the Dallas Police Department head on for their Attack on the African Personality, it
was a major and historical moment in Dallas and created a lot of progressive realities and up
sprung many new activist in Dallas. I have had the opportunity to serve as a writer with the
African World Report Online. I was introduced to this work by being a member of the Pan-
African Internationalist Coordinating Committee and the Ujima’s People Collective, which I
started organizing with in the summer of 2011. I am currently the Founder of the Medase
Initiative. We initiated the movement in the year of 2013. It is an initiative to collectively link
individuals inside of the Prison Industrial Complexes providing them with study material and
resources they need for every aspect of their lives, particularly a newsletter as the primary tool.
I have written for The New Black Panther Party Political Prisoners Magazine. I have served as
the Secretary for the Department of International Affairs in Sierra Leone in conjunction with the
African Socialist Movement. With this work my objective was to stand in solidarity with
revolutionary socialist movements to get seats in parliament in Africa to take positions for
presidency so the peoples of those given countries in Africa can come under the banner of Pan-
Africanism and rid itself of neo-colonialist forces whose objectives are to exploit the resources
of the people and the land. I understand that the objective of African unity is the only solution
to combat the harsh realities that plague us as African people, wherever we find ourselves in
the world. Just like the realities of police terrorism in our own communities, which I work with
other grassroots organization, such as Guerilla Mainframe, who promotes political education
and self-defense. I am also a human rights activist that stands against the injustices of the
Prison Industrial Complex and mass incarceration. I served as the Executive Coordinator of
George Jackson University, which promotes political, social, and cultural education within the
prison system. The objective is to educate African men and women so they can be upon
release, not only able to function in society, but be great contributors to their society, especially
to their families and communities. We still today uphold that same objective. We intend on
creating and maintaining a world of thinkers that can serve and make better the conditions
around them.
Through this medium, I was able to practice being a servant of the people and I also have
committed myself to being an editor and publisher of the works of New Afrikan Political
Prisoners who are were being held in solitary confinement in Pelican Bay State Prison,
California. I want nothing less than being their voice, the voice of the people. I am also along
with my Political Party, the United States of Africa Revolutionary Party a member of the
National Network of Cuba. I also am a member of the Friends of the African Union. In every
entity, I am apart of we understand that our goals are to provide social services and more to
our communities of youth, adults, and elders. I am working also to build institutions that can
uphold these services, services such as youth empowerment, helping adults build and maintain
financial freedom, GED help and classes, SAT help and classes, providing and transporting our
elders to and from social activities, and much more. Because of my many years of community
involvement I had the opportunity to work and teach at Africa Care Academy located in Oak
Cliff. This experience was very enriching, having the opportunity to work with and to teach our
children. I was also an American Sign Language Interpreter for a young lady at a Non-Profit
Organization and school called My Possibilities. It was here that I developed the knowledge of
ASL and was able to implement it in my daily life. These are the factors that make up the fabric
of my being, which I am honored to be able to share with you.
Asante Sana,
LaTrista Kimani-Thoithi, Curator