“I’m interested in offering counter-narratives, wanting people to think a little bit differently, question their perspectives, come up with new ideas on their own and open up their imaginations,” said Akinmowo. “I’m interested in care work; one of my favorite writers, Hartman, says ‘care is the antidote to violence,’ and there’s so much violence in the world — not just physical, but also psychic violence, mental violence, verbal violence — that takes place, and it’s something that as a Black woman, I incur daily, and other people incur it, too. I’m interested in putting more care into the world to offer an antidote to the violence that’s taking place.”

Akinmowo identifies as an artist, and all of her work falls into her artistic efforts. Beyond the Free Black Women’s Library, Akinmowo has participated in several residencies and artist programs, as well as set design for television and film. 

From 2023 to 2025, Akinmowo has been an artist in residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her work is inspired by the concept of sisterhood and collectivity amongst Black feminist and womanist writers. Her Black feminist writing collective, Obsidian, is collaborating to publish an anthology at the end of the year.

“Obsidian is inspired by Black women writer collectives or Black women collectives in general and the power that comes with collectivity. One of my favorite abolitionists, Mariame Kaba, said, ‘Everything worthwhile is done with other people,‘” said Akinmowo. “Obsidian consists of 15 black femme writers, and through my residency, I’m publishing an anthology featuring all of the work of the women in the collective.”

Akinmowo was the video artist in residency at BRIC in Downtown Brooklyn from 2022 to 2023, where she created a “highly experimental, hybrid film that features stop motion and live action.“ The short film, “The Myth of Sanity,“ deals with colonialism, ableism, cultural dissonance, and more by deconstructing the notion of sanity.

“Race and gender can be considered constructs, and sanity can also be considered a construct because it’s really about your perspective and what you have access to, your culture and so on,“ said Akinmowo. “If you’re having visions, in some cultures, that’s schizophrenia, and they want to put you on medication. In other cultures, that’s like, ‘Oh, you’re gifted. You’re a seer.‘” 

The short film is part of an exhibition at BRIC that will be open until Dec. 22, titled “To Hold a We.”

Akinmowo has also held residencies and fellowships at Culture Push, the Laundromat Project, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Baldwin for the Arts and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Shop. Residencies have been Akinmowo’s way of learning and growing her passion and skills, which she started cultivating through her creative instincts and trial and error. 

“All of the work I do — whether it’s through the library or film or the writers cohort or publishing — it’s all part of my art practice and about wanting to put beauty and care into the world. It’s not very lofty,“ said Akinmowo. “Everything I’ve learned through experimentation, even with the library, collage, stop motion, printmaking — everything has been learned through doing. I’ve been cash-poor my whole life, so I haven’t had the opportunity to take any fancy art courses or work with a mentor or anything like that. I watch, figure out, read a lot of books, watch YouTube videos, ask questions, get residencies and learn in that way.“

Raised in Fort Greene and living in Bed-Stuy for the past 20 years, Akinmowo is familiar with the challenges and opportunities of being a Brooklynite. 

“The main thing that’s been challenging about Bed-Stuy is the gentrification and how it often feels like there’s a systemic effort to erase the essence and beauty of what has made Bed-Stuy great for me since the very beginning, which is the diasporic nature and the neighborhood feeling of Bed-Stuy,“ said Akinmowo, who noted that living in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood has also pushed her to be resilient, self-aware and careful as she persists in her work. 

“Bed-Stuy is a place that I care about. The library is a love letter to Bed-Stuy, and Bed-Stuy is where I have found my most vibrant and consistent support system in terms of friends, connections, collaborators and community organizations that I’ve been a part of,“ Akinmowo said. “I love Brooklyn. It is a beautiful place, and it’s the reason why I want to do the library here and nowhere else.“