Praise Fuller

WARD: Can you introduce yourself?

PRAISE: My name is Praise Fuller. I am from Houston, Texas, and I’ve been living in New York for about three years. I’m a cyanotype artist. Anything that it’ll stick to, I’ll work with it.

WARD: How did you get into cyanotypes?

PRAISE: I always say that I was a broke and depressed college student. I didn’t go to art school, but I do have a degree from YouTube University. I was looking for a cheap way to put my foot in the printmaking door. The place I was living was really small, and I didn’t want to deal with the cost of materials or the mess of screen printing. I had a film camera, like everyone does, and researched enough to find out about cyanotypes. I started doing portraits of friends, then realized I could get more experimental with it. From there, I wanted to see what materials it could stick to, what different subject matter looked like. Then I moved into a bigger house with my own studio, and I just went insane with it.

WARD: I love the concept of YouTube University.

PRAISE: I teach cyanotypes a lot, and when I first started, people would always try to find out my credentials. People would DM me asking how I do this. Everything I know is already out there; you can either pay me to condense it all for you and hand it to you, or you can look for it yourself. Sometimes people just want to hear you say it.

WARD: Because you’re also a community organizer, there’s this sense of democratizing knowledge in how you learned your craft.

PRAISE: 100%. Traditionally, when we study artists, they’re often portrayed as very solitary. I make my best work when I collaborate. If I’m not printing directly, I’m working in the studio alongside a friend. Even just being around someone else helps me. My practice is not solitary. I need other people around.

WARD: With these works you’re making, you’re not using a UV light, you’re only using the sun?

PRAISE: Unless it’s huge, I will pretty much only use the sun. If I make a big or very experimental piece and want consistency, I’ll use a UV light because it gives me more control. That’s when I go science mode.

WARD: You’ve said your process is collaborative. Much of your work revolves around identity—personal and communal. What draws you to these themes?

PRAISE: When I think about my role as an artist, I think about how I grew up and the identities I hold: I’m Black, from the South, and I grew up really Christian. I’m in a time of life when I’m constantly challenging the values I was raised with and seeing how they mesh or clash with the values I’ve developed. I also think about what my work can mean for my community. Much of it centers on religion—why people turn to it, and how communities are built—drawing connections between organizing work I’ve done and religious practices. Discovering liberation theology gave me a framework for connecting my upbringing with my work about myself and my community. Studying those who came before me is essential to my practice.

WARD: You grew up in a Christian household. Did you always realize you wanted to become an artist?

PRAISE: Yes. My parents were always supportive of my creativity, but they saw art as secondary. My dad was a blue- collar worker but wrote poetry, my mom was a social worker but sang. They thought art was something you do to keep from going insane in your day-to-day life. Once I proved to my mom that I could make money from it, she became very invested.

WARD: When did you realize you were an artist?

PRAISE: I think it can be a self-proclaimed thing. You don’t need to accomplish something specific to call yourself an artist. Honestly, when I was a kid and got the 94-pack of crayons and oil pastels, I was like, “All right.”

WARD: Who are some artists who inspire you?

PRAISE: My main inspiration is Faith Ringgold. She merged activism and art, worked until her last breath, and experimented with many mediums. She’s your favorite artist’s favorite artist. She’s the blueprint.

WARD: I also see a lot of imagery in your work surrounding Black cowboys. What drew you to this?

PRAISE: In 2020, I started looking into it. I’ve always loved horses. The first book I checked out from a library was a horse encyclopedia. As with much history, Black people’s role in it had been silenced. That proved true with little digging. I got obsessed. I took riding lessons, read about Black rodeos, found photographers documenting them, and even worked with one, Ivan McClellan. I began creating work as an archive, making iconic images of Black cowboys. I also used this imagery to open up conversations about Southern history, farming, and organizing.

WARD: What can you tell me about the work you’re creating for the show?

PRAISE: I wanted to challenge myself technically by making a cyanotype on glass, which has always intimidated me. I decided to experiment with mirrors, thinking about what it means to place an image on one. I’ve been reading a book tracing African American history through the color blue, reflecting on that, and considering cyanotype’s original archival purpose.

WARD: The show is in Nyack, which has a deep history of slavery and liberation. How do you feel about your work existing in a forest with that history?

PRAISE: It makes me think about where I’m from. Houston, near Galveston, where Juneteenth originated. Placing an archival cyanotype on a mirror in that forest feels like opening or closing a portal, something spiritual or mythical. Being rooted in that place with the history I carry feels special.

WARD: Because cyanotypes use the sun, your work is literally created with the elements. How do you feel about the piece being in nature and transformed by it?

PRAISE: It makes the work stronger. I picture the mirror reflecting trees and light, making the forest feel more expansive, almost like using a mirror in a room to make it bigger. Light through rustling leaves is one of my favorite views, and imagining that bouncing off the mirror is part of why I wanted it to be a mirror, not just glass.

WARD: Do you have any final statements about your work or process?

PRAISE: I’m passionate about archiving, not just my own history, but also that of my community and those who came before me. Community is central to everything I do; I couldn’t do any of it without my friends and loved ones.

WARD: Can you speak a bit more about your community work?

PRAISE: I’ve worked with WAWOG [Writers Against the War on Gaza] and have done tenant organizing. I believe in contributing however I can—sometimes that’s showing up for court support, sometimes preparing meals for comrades. Community is taking care of each other and knowing our roles, stepping in when others can’t.

WARD: Are there people or groups you want to acknowledge?

PRAISE: Yes. My best friends, Astrid and Rosa, who are constant examples of selflessness and commitment. Rosa’s mother, Jude, has helped me heal deeply and has a long history of community organizing. She’s still active and fearless today. Cheryl from WAWOG opened Another World, a community space in Crown Heights, with incredible programming. Leah at Plaza Proletaria does amazing work, as does the Ridgewood Tenants Union. There are so many spaces where people can give their time and resources, and they make you feel part of the community while supporting your own political education.