Bazaar’s 2022 Icons issue celebrates a rising generation of stars—people 30 years old or younger who are making an impact on the world through their ideas and their art. Here, we talk to Qualeasha Wood, who is known for weaving selfies into tapestries. At once hyper-contemporary and traditional, her work—which has appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Hauser & Wirth gallery—reflects the realities of life on the internet for Black women.
“The word icon means, to me, simply unique. It doesn’t have to be someone doing anything new, but the way that you do something—what you put into it, your own spin on it—is what makes someone, I think, an icon or something iconic.
There are a lot of things I want for myself. I want my family legacy to be secure. In terms of my legacy in the art world, I really just want to open doors for young women everywhere—to push the boundaries of what art is considered and who gets to be in art spaces. I would love to see art become a thing that feels like it’s for lower income folks and not just people who have access to so many things. And maybe I’d start a couple art scholarships.”
