Elenora “Rukiya” Brown is a mixed-media, sculpture and design artist who lives and works in New Orleans. Her work fuses the historical influences of People of Color traditions with contemporary times. Renowned for her soft sculptures and masking suits as Rukiya, Queen of the Creole Wild West Tribe, Brown is a self taught master craftsperson and visual storyteller. Rukiya gracefully forms weaving, beading and quilting into the three-dimensional to inform and inspire communities of Color about the majesty of life pre-slavery and the resoluteness of their evolving diaspora. Rukiya’s practice is a therapeutic dance among her materials. The process heals her first and the joyful creations are left to share in the healing of others.
Rukiya began her journey masking as a Mardi Gras Indian in the late 80’s. She is an evocative reminder that there are other perspectives to the male-dominated hierarchy often represented in Mardi Gras Indian traditions. When Rukiya masks, she is honoring her Chahta Indian heritage and also paying homage to her ancestors including her late sister whose life was cut short to gun violence at the age of 21. Having spent her formative years dressing mannequins for some of the City’s biggest fashion retailers as a fashion buyer, Rukiya’s pieces are an intricate display of her many collections, travels, and training.
Through the many fabrics, beads, feathers, and keepsakes, Rukiya shares the wisdom of a thriving creative and New Orleanian who has been married twice, raised two children, and studied beading abroad. In the artist’s words, “I create from experiences that we are going through here in America. My biggest pleasure is the expression of our cultural rituals. My white buffalo suit is about peace. I’m that big queen that rides the white buffalo. People mask for all kinds of reasons, but when I put on my suit, I am honoring my ancestors and reaching out to touch people’s spirits. When I mask, I am really taking the mask off; I am an American Chahta Indian.”
Rukiya has exhibited internationally, and her work has been acquired by a number of institutions and featured in books. She has been exhibited and awarded by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Her suits have been acquired by the New Orleans Museum of Art, Ohio State University, and The Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, a French National Museum in Paris that is dedicated to the indigenous art and cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. In 2022, The Colored Girls Museum in Philadelphia acquired one of Rukiya’s soft sculptures. Rukiya Brown has been publicly honored by New Orleans Mayor, LaToya Cantrell, and US Congressional Representative of Louisiana, Cedric Richmond, as a cultural and historical ambassador.
Rukiya Brown Gallery 