Vanessa Chakour’s kinetic drawings are about freedom: freedom to think, freedom to feel, freedom to remember, freedom to meditate, freedom to explore and freedom to move forward. Chakour uses pen, ink, and colored pencils to achieve a kaleidoscope effect. The colors in her paintings move in and out of each other, echoing the way psychedelic rock swells, crescendos and explodes into a sea of sounds. Text, historical figures, cityscapes, and abstracted shapes all openly interact in Chakour’s work. Her images function as politically, culturally aware streams of consciousness, at once reacting to the injustices of recent history and the lively kinesthesia of daily life.

Chakour is an activist as well as an artist as she champions human rights defenders. She coordinates concerts/events and creates programs to raise awareness and funds for various causes and to effect social change.  In addition Chakour consults and implements programs for various organizations including the Stop The Violence Movement. Vanessa Chakour lives and works in Western Massachusetts and New York City.