About Mary
Mary's Way
Mary E. Mudiku (nee’ Mary Esther Jones, b. Anguilla, MI) is a visual and performing artist and poet. Mary attended the Memphis Academy of Fine Art, where she was one of the school’s first African-American students. She then entered the Fine Art program at the University of Memphis, where she was the first Black student to graduate, earning her BFA in 1968.
Mary was a key figure in the Black Art Movement of the 1960s. As an MFA student at Howard University, she immersed herself in the burgeoning Black Nationalism movement of Washington DC. Embracing her African heritage, she developed innovative techniques to create work that spoke to the issues of the day—Black Pride, Black Feminism, Self Love, Community Development, Economic Growth, Art Therapy, Prison Ministries, etc. Her work became a critical resource for a community yearning to celebrate its African heritage. She developed a remarkable following of community groups, prison ministries, and children’s art programs; she designed and produced book covers, posters, notecards, fine art prints, and murals; and she created a line of “wearable art,” including dress-length t-shirts, purses, book bags, and shoes. - Art Matters Foundation
To read more about Mary, visit: