2025
January 18 – February 22, 2025 | Danielle Ellis, ORACLE
An Oak Cliff native, Ellis’ work connects African Traditional Religion and history to the African diaspora through her work in digital collage, photography, and spiritual practices.
ORACLE encapsulates Ellis’ Brassfly Oracle Deck, a body of work she began developing in 2020. Presented as a suite of digital collage prints, the oracle deck is a celebration and commentary on African diasporic history and spirituality. Exploring connections to the African diaspora, Ellis pairs historical images reflecting African traditions with those of lived experiences of African Americans. Her digitally sourced imagery of objects, symbols, and photographs, while rooted in African cultural experience and religion, reflect the continuation and preservation of African cosmology throughout the African diaspora. As a body of work, ORACLE represents a convergence of experience and traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and evolved through oppression. Deriving from African Traditional Religion, Ellis’ ORACLE includes a secluded altar in the center of the gallery, honoring the experiences and legacy of the African diaspora.
Danielle Ellis is an Oak Cliff native always ready to share her love of the arts with everyone at a moment’s notice be it painting live or holding workshops through her creative incubator Brassfly Studio. Her art education came from her parents, summer workshops at the South Dallas Cultural Center, attending Booker T. Washington High School of the Performing and Visual Arts and later The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She’s a member/producer of ArtLoveMagic, a member of We Here Collective and the Radical Love Collective. She is the creator of Mermaids Bring Water, a mutual aid initiative that provides clean water to communities in need with its focus on one of the last remaining Black Townships- Sandbranch, Texas and provided emergency bottled water to households across the metroplex during the Texan Winter Storm of 2020. Her work has been seen in multiple venues and events including the Dallas Museum of Art, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Latino Cultural Center, and the State Fair of Texas. She is a recipient of the 2023 Juanita J. Craft Artist Residency at the South Dallas Cultural Center.
