Adana Tillmans’ path to an artistic practice started at an early age. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio now living and practicing in Atlanta, Georgia. Sewing with her mother is where Adana was first introduced to needle and thread. Working on quilts and small sewing projects to taking Saturday classes is where she built her foundation for textiles. Attending visual arts focused schools until high school graduation, Adana learned the fundamentals of sketching, composition, and other techniques. In reflection, at any opportunity in schooling to freeform projects, Adana would incorporate textiles/sewing at any given chance. In secondary education the visual arts path was left behind and a focus on business administration was followed. Adana is self-taught in the textile/fiber arts. She builds her knowledge with books and sporadically takes classes to further her knowledge. In years after leaving University, Adana realized that the visual arts were where she was happiest. Beginning to draw and sew small projects on the weekend and after work served as a therapeutic tool for the artist.  

After sharing a few finished works online and gathering encouragement to share her works with the public. At that time, she was creating small works of character portraits. The first time showing her work in adulthood was at a church art and book fair. Unbeknownst to the artist this was the only beginning. At the suggestion of a co-worker, she applied for a yearlong fellowship with TILA studios an artist collective for female artists in Atlanta, Georgia. The second attempt at applying, Adana Tillman was accepted into the program. During this fellowship this was a time when her practice really grew. From workshops on crafting an artist statement/bio and building a cohesive body of work. This culminated to traveling to Miami to present during Art Basel in 2019. This show was used to explore creating larger pieces, incorporating surface design and relief printing. During the pandemic she partnered with The Akron Art Museum, to develop a public arts project to produce an augmented reality poster. Adana was awarded a grant from Sprite/Give back to help complete two artworks to be displayed in a pop-up group show during 2020. Most recently Tillman completed a solo show in Atlanta, Georgia at Mint Gallery in Summer 2022 and a “Resting Our Eyes” a group show at ICA SF on view until June 2023 in San Francisco.  

As a textile artist Adana Tillman explores the journey of identity through her figurative portraits. Within the African Diaspora, grace is not always given by others to explore with fashion, hair without being judged. In her works the figures are living loud and unapologetic. In the mixing of bold patterns, colors in the fashion to the various hair style shows each figure on the lifelong journey of self-discovery. Each piece incorporates found textiles acquired through the artist’s travels. Her mother has developed an extensive library of fabrics over the years and sometimes sources materials. The artists’ hand dyeing of textiles has become a large part of the practice. When creating Adana usually starts with rough gesture drawings, playing with movement and composition. Then comes pattern drafting. Next is working in scaling and placement of the figures or position of portraits. The next phase is most exciting through mixing and exploration of fabrics until a cohesive palette is obtained. Use a combination of hand sewn techniques such as embroidery and beading. With each piece constructed as a quilt it takes the traditional art and gives it a contemporary presentation for today’s viewers.  

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