HYPE HAIR by Peppermint Sandy

Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs presents HYPE HAIR by Peppermint Sandy in the Atrium Gallery at the Orange County Administration Center. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Admission is free, but advance registration is requested.

According to Peppermint Sandy, “HYPE HAIR is a series of wearable sculptures inspired by not just my relationship with black hair, but a dedication and love letter to all black women and girls everywhere with our hair as well. From the beginning of time, black hair is not only art, but a form of communication. From identifying tribes through braids, to weaving rice for nourishment into the very braids that were cornrowed into escape routes during slavery, to hair being in rollers the night before Easter Sunday, our hair has spoken to us, for us, and by us. Every piece from this series has a part of me in it, incorporating elements of everyday life in an abstract and time traveling to the styles that my elders adorned themselves with. I chose the title, HYPE HAIR to be named after one my favorite and influential magazines during my childhood that showcased the beauty and creativity of black hair. It was one of the only representations of art infused with black that I was able to take home, as I watched these styles being worn by everyone else, or seeing it being done at the flea market. This is a piece of my mind, a love letter, and a confirmation to us black girls & women: we’re the flyest.”

Peppermint Sandy is a multidisciplinary artist working with fabric, hair, textiles, and mixed media to explore cultural and societal constructions of beauty, fashion, and identity. Born in Miami, FL to Haitian immigrant parents, she draws inspiration from personal upbringing, historical aesthetics, and generational memory, her work examines how beauty rituals transcend time and connect past and present experiences.

WHEN:

Opening reception on June 11, 2026

Doors open at 5 p.m.

Program begins at 5:45 p.m.

Display continues through June 25, 2026

WHERE:

The Atrium Gallery

Orange County Administration Center

201 S. Rosalind Ave., Orlando, FL 32801

(Parking Map)

HOW:

Admission to the reception is free, but advance registration is requested.