Zandra’s Art

When Zandra Sneed-Dawkins was hired to paint a mural showing community connections, she couldn’t help thinking about the community that helped build her up and the community she wants to help build as an artist. 

“I want to collaborate with people so I can learn and they can learn,” said Sneed-Dawkins, bfa ’20. “If we work like that, we all get a lot further faster than if I’m trying to be in my pigeonhole and work by myself, holding whatever little bit of knowledge I have and keeping it from somebody who may be able to take what I have and go even further than I’ve gone.” 

She was hired last year by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas to paint a mural on their Topeka campus. The mural represents the company’s commitment to healthy communities across Kansas and is titled “Community Minded. Kansas Rooted.” It features children playing, people at a farmers market, someone celebrating graduation and several Kansas symbols including the state capitol, a sunflower and a bison. 

This was the first mural she created and managed on her own, and she said she learned a lot about the process. Sarah Fizell, executive director of ArtsConnect, an organization advocating for art in Topeka, recommended the mural to Sneed-Dawkins and helped her with the lengthy bidding process.

“She stood up for me when I didn’t know how,” Sneed-Dawkins said. “You need somebody who can be there and get you through the difficult parts.” Large-scale murals can include a contract, insurance, supplies and making sure the artist and the client’s visions are met.

“What I’ve learned since graduating is you need people in rooms you’re not in who can speak for you and open doors you can’t open because you’re not in the room.”

Sneed-Dawkins got help painting the 270 square-foot mural from her granddaughter and from her friend and former classmate, Courtney Cox. BCBSKS had employee workdays where over 50 people, each with different skill levels, helped paint. “Leadership skills were kicking in from the Coast Guard,” she said. “It was exciting and I loved every minute.” They completed the project in August.

Sneed-Dawkins specializes in acrylic painting with a focus on portraiture, expressionism, abstract expressionism, figurative art and illustration. Much of her art raises up Black historical figures forgotten in history like actresses, dancers, singers and scientists. “If you go back and look over the past, you can see our history markers through our art. They are our visual history pieces,” she said. 

Well into her Coast Guard retirement, Sneed-Dawkins realized she wanted to get a college degree.

“I started thinking a lot about legacy, and I started looking at my children and grandchildren and thinking, ‘When you walk away, what would they say about you?’ I felt like I had something to prove, and I also wanted to prove to my kids whatever they wanted to do, they could,” she said.

She dabbled in fields like psychology but worried she would feel too closely
connected to a person. “I could listen to people and feel their pain real deeply, which was hard for me. So, I thought, ‘Why not art.’” 

That brought her to Washburn, where people like Kelly Thor, professor and chair, art, inspired her and gave her a lift when needed, even if it wasn’t in an art class.

“She’s probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever talked to, especially about art history,” Sneed-Dawkins said. “She gave me a swift kick in the pants when I was really having struggles with algebra. I had to take it and I didn’t want to.”

Thor recognized Sneed-Dawkins’ talents and enthusiasm as a student. 

“When she was in my classes, her curiosity and hard work always raised the energy in the room,” Thor said. “Zandra wholly embodied the joy of learning – whether persistently trouble-shooting the interactive art-making machine she envisioned for fellow veterans or challenging theories in an art history class, her passion and discipline were on full display. I couldn’t be happier about her many recent accomplishments, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.”

From a Coast Guard career including assignments on an icebreaker in Antarctica and office work in Topeka’s federal building, to establishing her art business – Zandra’s Art – and being named a Washburn Alumni Fellow in 2024, she recognizes the help and inspiration she received. She is now working to be the person in the room for others.

“I’m working with leaders in the art community to provide information to artists,” she said. “The goal is to help artists identify opportunities in this community by aligning with the Topeka Arts and Culture Master Plan and other community plans. I am very excited about this and I know it will help build the arts in Topeka.”