Portland-born artist Penda Diakité presents Bokolo : Roots, an art installation exhibition that explores bicultural identity through the lens of her lived experience between Mali and America.
The Black Wall Street Times spoke with Diakité prior to her solo exhibition.
“It translates to ancestral roots. The show’s called Bokolo Roots. This will be my first installation based exhibit,” explained the artist.
Diakité commented, “I am excited to return to Portland with this solo exhibition. I previously exhibited at the Portland Art Museum in the group show Black Artists of Oregon, and it is always meaningful to share my work with my hometown audience.”
Asked what kind of reactions has stuck with her over the years, Diakité responded, “One of them is when people really get the meaning behind why I created a piece, and they’re able to verbalize it so perfectly. And I’m just like, ‘yes!’ That is what it’s about.”
Diakité furthered, “I try not to over-explain my work because I want to hear how people experience it beyond my original intention. Part of the goal of creating is to allow people to connect with it in their own way.”
“It’s incredibly rewarding when you’re inspiring others, especially when there’s young Black girls that say, ‘you made me want to create. You made me want to be an artist.’ That is very meaningful to me.” Diakité continued, “That is a big part of why I share my art publicly, to encourage more people who look like me in the art space.”
Speaking on creating her new exhibit, Diakité noted, “It has brought back a kind of joy and a play in the creation process. It’s been rewarding to re-immerse myself in clay work, working from a sculptural idea, to making a plaster mold by hand and then casting each ceramic clay sculpture from it, bringing my vision to reality.”
“And this particular show, I called it Bokolo Roots because it’s really about a journey of finding home within ourselves and finding home in our roots. It’s very much a physical experience, but also a spiritual experience of rediscovering and reconnecting and remembering who we are.”
Diakité concluded, “It’s about my bicultural experience. But I think everybody is on a journey of self-discovery and finding self so I think it should be something that we can all relate to on different levels, no matter where we’re from.”
Opening at Nine Gallery on Thursday, December 4, 2025, from 5–8 p.m., the exhibition is free to attend, with an artist talk to be announced. The show will be available to the viewing public through December 27. The event location is 122 NW 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97209.
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