Marilyn Nance (born November 12, 1953), also known as Soulsista, is an American multimedia artist known for work focusing on exploring human connections, African-American spirituality, and the use of technology in storytelling.
[2][3] Nance began photographing as a child and attended the Bronx High School of Science from 1968 to 1971, New York University from 1971 to 1972, studying journalism, before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in communications graphic design from Pratt Institute in 1976.
The festival centered around the themes, "Revival, resurgence, propagation, and protection of black and African cultural values and civilization," and[7] the North American delegation included Betye Saar, Faith Ringgold, Barkley Hendricks, Stevie Wonder and Sun Ra, and the writers Louise Meriwether and Audre Lorde.
It contained banners, church fans and pews, a notebook of her brief comments on the photos, and also presented Nance's contact sheets and magnifying glasses, by which viewers could "edit" the work.
[11] Nance's book about FESTAC '77, Last Day in Lagos (2022),[12][13] was hailed as a significant cultural document by The New York Times,[14] and The New Yorker where Julian Lucas described it as "a stunning yearbook of the Black world that is sure to induce envy even in those who weren't alive in 1977.