CARVING DEFIANCE unravels the extraordinary story of sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, a mixed-race artist who refused to let race, gender, poverty or prejudice determine her destiny.
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890–1960) was a pioneering Black and Narragansett American sculptor who left the United States for Paris in the 1920s determined to become the artist she was born to be.
Against extraordinary odds, she did.
In Paris, Prophet created profound sculptures through years of poverty and uncertainty, eventually exhibiting gaining recognition in the European art world. She returned to the United States in triumph, and taught a new generation of artists at Atlanta University and Spelman College.
Yet for decades, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet largely disappeared from the history of American art. Today, as art by and about women, Black, Brown, and indigenous people are being systematically erased, CARVING DEFIANCE brings her story back to the screen.