31 Dec 2024 Five-Oh-Ones to Watch 2025: Adaja Cooper
By KD Reep
Adaja Cooper has been an artist since birth. A native of Magnolia (Columbia County), Cooper, her mother and sister have pursued art in some form as an expression of how they view the world and how art can be a catalyst for change.
“I’ve always sketched or painted. It was just something I always did,” she said. “How that has taken other forms over the years is exciting to me, and it’s provided me a lot of opportunities I never thought I would have.”
Today, Cooper works with the main branch of the Central Arkansas Library System, leading classes in arts and crafts for children and youth. At 23, she has created murals, led the reconstruction of the Little Rock Nine bench across from Central High School and attended Arkansas Governor’s School in the area of Visual Arts, where she further developed her skills with acrylics and oils.
“I really started to focus on art in high school when my teacher, Rex Deloney, encouraged me to explore more ways to create,” Cooper said. “After I graduated Central, I went to Hendrix College and studied visual art and business. That is what led me to complete a year-long journey as a recipient of the 2023 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.”
One of only 40 college seniors nationwide, Cooper received a $40,000 grant to travel the world for a year, creating and documenting public murals and how they impact communities. As a result, she connected with artists throughout England, Northern Ireland, Italy and Senegal.
“The way artists utilize art to bring awareness to social injustice inspires me,” she explained. “Public art is necessary to help people think about what is going on in their lives in a different way. The mural I painted on Seventh Street in Little Rock is called ‘Ain’t I a Woman,’ and it was inspired by Sojourner Truth, who gave one of the most famous abolitionists and women’s rights speeches in American history. That mural was defaced twice, but each time I went back and repaired it. It’s important to me that, through my art, I can explore what identity, culture and community means through the lens of social justice and equality.”
Because of her talent and subject matter, Cooper has won awards in state art competitions, including the Arkansas Young Artists Association, and placed third in the NAACP’s ACT-SO competition in the painting category. Her work is displayed at Hearne Fine Art Gallery in Little Rock and has been featured in various books, magazines and articles. With a reputation for service, she continues to see the power of art to effect change.
“I want to keep inspiring others to use their talents for advocacy,” she said. “Anything to bring light to our collective situations will help us understand each other in the communities we share.”
