In April Sunami’s art, every gaze has purpose
From studio walls to museum crowds, the artist creates portraits with bold encounters rooted in identity and strength.
When April Sturkey Sunami ’02 began studying art history, she saw no one who looked like her on the pages of her college textbooks. Her work and that of other respected Black artists is changing that.
“This is the driver of everything I’ve done to this point,” says the mixed-media painter and muralist. “Strong, Black, women subjects. That’s the nucleus of the work. That’s informed by art history and all I learned from it.”
Among Sunami’s many honors, one she cherishes most was serving as the 2026 Aminah Robinson Fellow, a legacy of the renowned artist and MacArthur genius grant recipient who bequeathed her home and belongings to the Columbus Museum of Art. “I got to work in her house and use her studio,” Sunami says. “It was amazing just to be in her space, to slow down. I got to commune with her spirit.”
The colorful portraits in Sunami’s own exhibits and lining the walls of her studio in Columbus’ Olde Towne East neighborhood introduce viewers to strong women, many bearing the names of West African queens and deities. They often look straight into viewers’ eyes. “I want my subjects to be powerful, to have agency. There’s always an active intent behind whatever gaze they’re giving,” she says, explaining how personal growth paralleled her journey as an artist.
“I don’t think my younger self was all that confident. I was trying to make myself small so that I could make other folks feel comfortable. But through art, I was allowed to take up space,” says Sunami, who also earned a master’s in art history from Ohio University. “My subjects became my voice until I was actually able to physically take up space. I see myself in every subject I paint, in what I’m trying to convey—be it strength or spirituality or beauty.”
This summer, she shared a day in her artist life with us.
9 a.m. Sunami gathers materials she will use at a Columbus Museum of Art BAM (Bar, Art and Music) event this evening. She will serve as the featured artist and do live painting on a piece in progress.
10 a.m. She sits down with fellow artist Gavin Benjamin, whose studio is down the hall. The two bounce ideas off each other and team up to catch local exhibits. The idea of partnering on a podcast comes up.
11 a.m. At the far end of Sunami’s studio hangs “Tonight Call Me Glorious” (above), named for a line of poetry by her good friend Barbara Fant. Dozens of paintings—most in acrylic and oil, often with small objects for texture—liven the studio’s walls. Other pieces are tucked away for future moments and inspiration.
Noon Sunami stops home at lunchtime to love on her kids, 16-year-old Ella and 18-year-old River. They are her anchors, and sometimes also her subjects. She is married to writer and philosopher Christopher Sunami ’02 MA.
1 p.m. A meeting with staff at Ohio State’s Urban Arts Space in downtown Columbus kicks off the afternoon. She sometimes curates exhibits and serves on art show juries at the gallery, part of the Department of Art.
7 p.m. At the BAM event, Sunami works on a piece featuring friend and fellow artist Michol Childress as patrons stroll by to observe her artistry and chat. Women have been her primary subjects since shortly after her days at Ohio State, where she majored in art history. Sunami recalls that the conversation about greater representation of all people within the art world was then in its early days.
7:15 p.m. Among those who stop to say hello is Urban Arts Space intern Khytarri Sarfino, a senior in visual communications design whom Sunami has just made arrangements to paint. Sunami is constantly scouting for her next source of inspiration. “Art is how I engage with the world. It’s a huge part of my identity, who I am and how I relate to the world. It’s how I see the world.”
See Sunami’s murals
Columbus
“What We Play Is Life” and “Ancestral Weather” (above)
Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St.
“Black Women Matter”
Canabar, 859 E. Long St.
“Still I Rise”
The Rise, 825 Cleveland Ave.
“Love Our Village”
Five Brothers Market, 1230 E. Long St.
Cincinnati
“Looking to Tomorrow”
ArtWorks, 1037 E. McMillan St.
