Education
2022 Master of Fine Art | Metal | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2011 Bachelor of Fine Art | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
Teaching Experience
2023 Adjunct Professor in Metal | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2022 Adjunct Professor in Metal | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
Instructor of Record | Introduction to Metal | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2021 Instructor of Record | Introduction to Metal | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
Teaching Assistant | Basic Metal with Lynn Batchelder | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2020 Teaching Assistant | Basic Metal with Lynn Batchelder | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2011-17 Community Education Instructor | Introduction to Metalsmithing | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
2005-07 Teaching Assistant | Lagos Preparatory School | Lagos, Nigeria
Workshops
2023 *Hollow Fabrication Intensive | Touchstone Center for Craft | Farmington, PA
*Forged Flatware | Peter’s Valley School of Craft | Sandyston, NJ
*Teen Takeover with Crafting the Future | Appalachian Center for Craft | Smithville, TN
*Intro to Jewelry: Steel Fabrication | Snow Farm – The New England Craft Program | Williamsburg, MA
*Metalsmiths + Bakers, Unite! | Penland School of Craft
Mark Making on Enamel | University of Arkansas, Little Rock | Little Rock, AR
*Upcoming
2022 Forged + Fabricated | Haystack Mountain School of Crafts | Deer Isle, ME
Hollow Fabrication | Snow Farm – The New England Craft Program | Williamsburg, MA
2021 Intro to Metal Fabrication | Snow Farm – The New England Craft Program | Williamsburg, MA
Professional Experience
2023 Bench Jeweler | Judi Powers Jewelry | Athens, NY
Project Coordinator | Wingate Craft Fellowship at State University of New York at New Paltz | New York, NY
2015 – 21 Owner + Maker | Funlola Coker Jewelry | Memphis, TN
2008 – 19 Volunteer | Repair Days | National Ornamental Metal Museum | Memphis, TN
2011 – 15 Artist Assistant, Mould-making Technician R&D Dept | Avery Outdoors | Memphis, TN
2010 – 11 Intern | Blacksmith shop | National Ornamental Metal Museum | Memphis, TN
2009 -10 Metal Studio Monitor | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
Exhibitions
2023 Solo Show | Brooklyn Metal Works | Brooklyn, NY
WEAR | Contemporary Jewelry | Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC
We Are Here | National Ornamental Metal Museum | Memphis, TN
{queer}+{metals} | Midland Art Centre | Birmingham, UK
2022 Braided Subtleties (two-person show) | Industry City | New York, NY
Meanderings | Steuben Gallery, Pratt Institute | New York, NY
[queerphoria] | Queer Metalsmiths, New York City Jewelry Week | New York, NY
Slippery Space|s|, MFA Thesis | Samuel Dorsky Museum | New Paltz, NY
Fuller Craft Biennial | Fuller Craft Museum | Brockton, MA
Anthology: Memphis Art Through the Ages | Tone Gallery | Memphis, TN
Forging our Own Path: New Ornament in the African Diaspora | Adorned Spaces, SNAG Conference | Providence, RI
2021 Insight/Onsite | Historic Huguenot Street | New Paltz, NY
Hearts + Flowers | Brooklyn Metal Works | Brooklyn, NY
Outside the Lines | Monique Rancourt Artisan Gallery | Waltham, MA
Hopefully Tomorrow | Brockway Center for Arts and Technology | Brockway PA
Artificial Intelligems | Munich Jewellery Week | Virtual
2020 Multifaceted: Art Jewelry in the South | Westobou Art Gallery | Augusta, GA
Mad for Hoops | Gallery 2052 | Chicago, IL
Denizen | New York City Jewelry Week | Virtual
Residencies
2021 Penland Winter Residency | Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC
2011 Dean’s Council Residency | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
Awards + Scholarships
2022 Kilmt02 New Talent Award | Nominee
Thayer Fellowship | State University of New York, Rockefeller Institute of Government | New Paltz, NY
Penland Winter Residency Fellowship | Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC
David and Sara Walton Metal Thesis Grant | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
Research and Creative Projects Grant | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2020 – 22 Sojourner Truth Fellowship | State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
2020 Here We Are | New York City Jewelry Week | New York, NY
Development Work-study Scholarship | Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC
Arts Accelerator Grant | Arts Memphis | Memphis, TN
2019 Windgate Scholarship | Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC
Work-study Scholarship | Haystack Mountain School of Crafts | Deer Isle, ME
2018 Work-study Scholarship | Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC
Scholarship | Haystack Mountain School of Crafts | Deer Isle, ME
2011 – 12 Work-study Scholarship | Haystack Mountain School of Crafts | Deer Isle, ME
Alumni Travel Fellowship | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
2010 Myrtle Powell-Bowld Travel Fellowship | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
2008 – 09 J.R. Hyde Scholars Scholarship | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
2007 – 11 Portfolio Merit Scholarship | Memphis College of Art | Memphis, TN
Lectures + Talks
2022 Identity Adorned: The Intersection of Jewelry and Queerness | Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
Craft in the African Diaspora | Haystack Online Programming | Virtual
2021 Enamel + Jewelry | Metalwerx Spring Symposium | Virtual
2020 Spotlight Artist | Seattle Metals Guild Symposium | Seattle, WA
Cultural Appropriation and Appreciation in the Arts | Organized by Sylvie Alusitz and Mickey Mariash,
hosted by SUNY New Paltz | Virtual
Initiatives + Curatorial Projects
2022 Black Metalsmith Database | Ongoing Project
Publications
2023 *Ask About Us, Funlola Coker | Metalsmith Magazine
*{queer}+{metals}, Rebekah Frank | Journal of Modern Craft
[queerphoria], Ashley Callahan | Ornament Magazine, Vol. 43, No. 3, p. 42 | Feb 2023 | link
*Upcoming
2022 New Talent 2022 | Klimt02 | link
2021 Linked Connection | Current Obsession Magazine | March 2021
On Offer, Stephen KP | Art Jewelry Forum | Nov 2021
Moving Beyond Acknowledgement: Systemic Barriers for Black American Metalsmiths, Velina Robinson Glass |
Metalsmith Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 2, p. 48