Progrés Studios features and promotes the endeavors of Poet, Fine Artist, and Educator, Aminah Decé.
Li’ilt Nidan, Parham Aminah Decé sprang from the soil of The Great River, Biloxi. Aminah celebrates a diverse heritage, tracing her lineage through rich cultures including, the Medjai Warriors of the House of Shewa, Nubia, the Bantu peoples of the Ivory Coast, and the Mound Builders of Mississippi. Aminah is trained at the World Combat Academy, Institute of Martial Science, and maintains degrees of The Humanities, Fine Arts & Art History/Criticism from The University of Texas, San Antonio. Under the pseudonym P16, she began her artistic journey as a slam poet in Killeen, Texas.
Through a variety of media and performances, Aminah discredits the concepts of race and supremacy. By day she is a Visual Arts instructor and by night Aminah leads A.OK Art House and collaborates with local artists and organizations to create Happenings and facilitate creative workshops in the community. "My mission is to assist my students in mastering their academics, socioemotional and self-control traits. I find that serious study and application of the Arts heal and empower minds to create satisfying and productive lives."
Aminah is also a member of Return of the Matriarch, a musical group completed by San Antonio's Poet Laureate, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson. Together RoM has featured their message of youth and women empowerment at South by Southwest, Luminaria, The McNay Art Museum, The Carver Community Cultural Center, and various schools and universities in the Central Texas region. Return of the Matriarch is currently preparing for the release of their long-awaited album, Queendom Come. To learn more about Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson please Click Here.
"I would not be where I am without the support of my village; without beings guiding and assisting me in maintaining balance.
Art is life. I live a little, teach a little."
-Aminah Decé