Addison B. Conn (b.1998) is a mixed media artist at Washington University in Saint Louis, and his work engages with the historically fragile position of the Black subject within the canon of Western art and design. Born in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, Addison obtained his undergraduate degree in English Literature at Haverford College and is currently pursuing a doctorate in English and American literature. His academic work focuses on the African American literary tradition, book arts, and the environment. 

Addison’s work is informed by his writing and his work often prioritizes Black subjects and their development the American visual landscape. In other words, Addison draws from materials that include Life, Ebony, and other periodicals that advertised to Black people in order to repurpose and reimagine the ways in which we currently think about race, consumerism, and politics. Conn’s work reconfigures and layers different print and photographic materials to tell visual myths and allegories anew, and his work often prioritizes the biblical, mythological, and epic narratives that dominate collective American culture.

Conn has shown his work previously at the Spartanburg Artists Guild’s WOVEN exhibition (2023,2026) and the Saint Louis Artists Guild Ann Metzger Biennial Memorial Exhibition (2023) where he was awarded honorable mentions. Addison has also organized an exhibition of his and his father’s work in an exhibition titled Carolina Shout (2026) in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He has also shown his work at Washington University in Saint Louis (2024) and the Delaware Art Museum (2026).