Akilah Watts (b. 1996) is a Barbadian multidisciplinary artist whose
practice spans painting, mixed media, sculpture, and relief. Her work
explores themes of BlackCaribbean identity, heritage, and personal
storytelling. A graduate of the Barbados Community College (BFA,
2017), Watts quickly gained international attention, debuting at Miami’s
Prizm Art Fair shortly after graduation. Since then, her art has been
shown in New York, Berlin, Johannesburg, and across the Caribbean,
earning recognition for its bold, culturally rich visual language.
Watts has presented both solo and group exhibitions, including her 2019 debut Barbadiana Nostalgia in Barbados. Recent group shows include Arcadia: Often Dreamt of Seldom Lived at Verena Kerfin Gallery (Berlin, 2025), Touching Grass at Good Black Art (Hudson, NY), and Inner Visions: Self Reflection and Power House Women at the Queen’s Park Gallery in Barbados (2025). In 2024, she was awarded first place in the prestigious Mustique Contemporary Caribbean Art Prize, where she also participated in the Caribbean Soul exhibition.Watts has been selected for several international artist residencies, including the Vermont Studio Center (USA) and the Black Curatorial Lab (UK) in 2023, as well as earlier residencies with ArtLeadHER at Mana Contemporary, the Chautauqua School of Art, and the Ox-Bow School of Art.
In addition to her studio work, Watts founded the Greedy Gift Shop, a curatorial project reimagining her works as souvenir to challenge the somewhat stagnant imagery of souvenir today, and is currently serving as the Visual Arts Coordinator for CARIFESTA XV, the Caribbean’s largest cultural festival. Akilah Watts continues to make a mark as one of the region’s most compelling emerging voices, using her art to reframe narratives of Caribbean identity and to champion the creative potential of her community.
BIO
Artist Statement
As a Black Barbadian woman, my work is deeply rooted in the exploration of identity, heritage, and the lived experience of Caribbean life. I create across multiple mediums, using each to build visual narratives that honor the culture I come from while also challenging and expanding its representation.
My art draws heavily from Barbadian folklore, domestic life, and familiar objects: fruits, vegetables and others. These symbols carry deep personal and cultural resonance.and allow me to reflect on themes of nostalgia, belonging, and transformation, inviting the viewer to engage with the beauty and complexity of Caribbean identity.
In my series like Moments From My Island Home, I examine the tension between romanticized perceptions of the island and the nuanced realities that shape daily life. Beautifully Braided celebrates the strength and beauty of natural Black hair, honoring the cultural significance of braiding as both an art form and a marker of identity.
My goal is to create work that speaks to the people and places I come from, while also inviting broader audiences to witness and feel the emotional and historical weight carried in Caribbean stories. Each piece becomes a space for remembrance, resistance, and reimagining, a way of preserving culture and fostering dialogue.
Through my art, I seek not only to represent but to empower and create connections across generations and geographies through the lens of my island home.