Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art

Lavett is creating new works that will represent and amplify African folklore and tribal stories told from a Black woman’s perspective.Artist StatementThis body of work is inspired by cherished Storytime moments with my granddaughter, particularly our shared love for The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton. This powerful tale, rooted in an African American folktale, has also influenced one of my favorite authors, Toni Morrison, in Song of Solomon. These works serve as the foundation for my exploration of resilience, hope, and freedom throughout African American history.The Visual narrative I seek to convey traces a journey from Africa, through the

Devan Shimoyama draws from classical mythology and the cultural landscape of his youth to create works that center the queer Black male formDevan Shimoyama draws equally from classical mythology and the cultural landscape of his youth to create works that center the queer Black male form. Through self-portraiture and tableaux, he reflects on the politics of queer experience while navigating his own personal narrative.Working across a wide range of materials and techniques, Shimoyama explores the tension between celebration and silence within queer culture and sexuality. Referencing the dramatic sensibilities of painters such as Caravaggio and Goya, he layers his surfaces

Sabree elevates her subjects, members of the African diaspora, as spiritual messengers highlighting the whispers of hidden histories.The Spectrum of Resilience reveals moments of strength, tenacity, vigor, and adaptation expressed through the spirits of members across the African Diaspora. This work is developed alongside research into my own African ancestry and genealogy, and the ancestral histories of those that I connect with on the way  and my own research from literature such as: Oxford’s “Archaelogy of the African Diaspora”, the African Union’s “The Diaspora Division”, and “Cultural Resilience and Filiel Responsibility Among the African Diaspora: To Be or To Belong” among other