Artist Biography

 Karmyn Valentine, a 45-year-old Michigan native, had never considered herself an artist until finding herself incarcerated for a crime later decriminalized in her county. Failed by Michigan's justice system and left to fend for herself at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility Karmyn turned to art as a way to survive. Working with Michigan's Prison Creative Arts Program and attending literature classes taught by EMU's Rob Halpern are ways Karmyn fought to preserve her humanity during her seven years there. Through this Karmyn discovered a love for creating and has found success in various avenues such as painting, writing, and most recently sculpting

Karmyn Valentine has had paintings featured in RCAH Lookout Gallery, Duderstadt Center, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Flint Institute of Arts, and has one painting traveling internationally in Germany. Karmyn has also found success through writing with features in; Detroit Research Magazine, Bathhouse Journal, and the publication "The Beautiful: Poets Reimagine a Nation"

Currently you may find Karmyn Valentine's painting 'The Way it Feels!' displayed in Flint Institute of arts' "Beyond Survival" Exhibit. Karmyn was also selected to feature her very first sculpture in Grand Rapids' ArtPrize 2025