Dinah Young (b. 1932) builds sculptures from wood and found materials around her home in Newbern, Alabama. Young is featured in Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art (1999), a detailed study of artworks by African American folk artists living and working in the South. The book includes two essays on her work: the first essay, William Arnett’s “The Road to Dinah Young's House,” reflects on the history and present-day landscape of Hale County, where Young’s home and artwork are situated. The second is Theophus Smith’s “Unknown Dinah,” which intimately describes the materiality and craft of Young’s work, reflecting on camouflage, concealment, and her refusal to be called an “artist.” In 2020, Young’s work was featured in the exhibition, We Will Walk—Art and Resistance in the American South at Turner Contemporary in Margate, England.

Featured Image: Portrait of Dinah Young, 1997. Photo by William Arnett.