Karen Hampton of Lowell, Massachusetts, is a conceptually based fiber artist, addressing issues of colorism and kinship. She is recognized as a figurative storyteller who weaves together textures and colors of the ancient world with that of an imagined future.

Hampton’s artwork is held in the collections of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, and the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2008, Hampton received the coveted Eureka Prize from the Fleishhacker Foundation. Hampton is an assistant professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston. 

“Karen Hampton tells stories using needle and thread, dye, and cloth, creating historic narratives based on her engaged, careful research focused on where her ancestors were enslaved,” said ACC Awards Committee Member Pat Hickman. “Her visual art gives voice and serves as a cry for a collective conscience, based on memory, resilience, and hope.”