What People Are Saying
About Augie N'Kele and Forgotten Heritage
He's more than an artist, he's a storyteller--with his hands. And he tells a story with the same passion that he remembers in his mother's voice when she told him about slavery in Africa...with aluminum gutter mesh, wire, and metal, a legacy of black history unfolds in incredible detail.
Dianne Elliott , DFW Connection magazine in 1993
An aura permeates the room where Augie N'Kele's art stands...Norma Wade, Dallas Morning News
People say it's just amazing how he uses the material he uses, how someone can take ordinary wiring and create sculptures with it, said Leon Woods, who helped install an exhibit of N'Kele's work at the Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. It's been three or four years and people are still talking about it...
Fort Worth Star-Telegram May. 20, 2003
...In order for people to be about their business of making a difference today, they must be aware of the past struggle. There's a linkage between the past and future; that's what I felt when I saw his work. And when I met him and saw his sincerity I could identify with him because of his feelings. The man's work speaks for itself...
Carrie Tunson, Dean of Contining Ed, TCC, SE, Arlington, TX
He’s telling an incredible story from a different perspective…Mitti Jordan, Exec. Dir. SDCC
Opening Reception for Forgotten Heritage at Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
Mr. N'Kele's musical instruments and visual art are exquisite examples of adapting industry's discards into objects of beauty...
Chip Taylor, Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
You were a fantastic addition to our Design IT studio program. Your warmth and humor make working with you a joy for us and our teens. Thanks for being so gracious during our visit to Tarrant County College, and for teaching us how to create art from wire. We still wear the jewelry you helped us craft.
Saafir 2006
Abdur-Raheem Saafir, DesignIT Coach
Design IT Studio, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
...N'Kele, a native of Congo, has been telling the story of the slave trade since 1991 when he was inspired to take up sculpting...His art work, included in the the Henrietta Marie exhibit, is part of a body of work N'Kele has entitled "Forgotten Heritage"...He described his work in an effort to educate children about the history of slavery.
It's an effective medium for storytelling. As a teacher in a predominantly African American third grade class, I struggled with my students' aversion to their history. As they put it, they didn't want to listen to "all that slave stuff." But the children who watched N'Kele create one of his sculptures, listened attentively to him...Edie Scott, Fort Worth Weekly
Augie N'Kele's sculptures depict the human cost of slavery...Edie Scott, Fort Worth Weekly
...artists from around the state submitted works...centerpiece of the exhibit is an incredible wire and aluminum sculpture by Augie N'Kele...
Forgotten Heritage, Sarratt Gallery, Vanderbilt University, 1996
Best exhibit I've seen here...E D M Wise, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN