Vernacular art is a genre of visual art made by artists who are usually self-taught. They tend to work outside of art academies and commercial galleries, which have traditionally been the purview of white, affluent artists and collectors.
Sociologist Gary Allen Fine says a common facet of vernacular art is an emphasis on the artist’s biography: their personal, family and employment history.
Vernacular art resonates with people because it is made by the artists’ hands, using common materials, in ways that reflect their own unique life and artistic visions.
