Sharidyn Barnes (M.F.A., painting) is an artist from Dallas, Texas who captures the personal relationships and experiences as an African American woman. She seeks to create a universal understanding by exploring the individuality and uniqueness of people. She challenges the idea of her own skin by using the figure to question beauty and how the media often manipulates society’s perceptions. These concepts are made for the audience to gain self confidence in being unapologetically themselves. After receiving her bachelor's degree in painting from Jackson State University, she is currently a seeking her MFA in painting at Savannah College of Art and Design.