ALL STARS: A Constellation of 10 Resident Artists

We are celebrating three wonderful years at our gallery on Lynn Way with ALL STARS, an exciting group exhibition featuring the extraordinary talents of ALMA | LEWIS. This show highlights ten remarkable resident artists, both past and present: Marvin Touré, Murjoni Merriweather, Tunde Wey, Yaw Owusu, Tajh Rust, Addoley Dzegede, Kleaver Cruz, María de los Angeles Rodríguez Jiménez, Stephen Towns, and L. Kasimu Harris.

Like a constellation in the night sky, each artist shines with their unique vision, creating a rich tapestry that connects themes of identity, resilience, and community. Their work spans a range of mediums, inviting us to reflect on the intricate narratives that have all brought us here and how they are intrinsically connected.

Reading and Album Selections

Each of our ALL STARS artists were asked to select readings that inform their practice and may provide a greater insight into their work. The exhibit’s curator, Kilolo Luckett, was asked to provide readings that represent the artists – both as an individual and collectively as a constellation. Their responses are below.

Many of the books selected are available in The Black Archive and are showcased in the library of the exhibit.

Marvin Touré – Fall 2021

• The Jungle Is The Only Way Out by Mereba (listen on Spotify)
• Lies About the War by Jacob Banks (listen on Spotify)

Murjoni Merriweather – Winter 2022

• Feeling Seen: The Photographs of Campbell Addy by Campbell Addy
• Lord Knows This Sh*t Ain’t Easy by Adelfa Marr

Tunde Wey – Spring/Summer 2022

• Tao Te Ching by Laozi

Yaw Owusu – Winter 2023

• The Lure of the Local: Senses of Place in a Multicentered Society by Lucy R. Lippard 
• The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them by Ekow Eshun

Tajh Rust – Fall 2023

• Hide and Seek: Camouflage, Photography, and the Media by Hanna Rose Shell 
• Black Mirror: The Cultural Contradictions of American Racism by Eric Lott  

Addoley Dzegede – Fall 2023

• The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel
• African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent by John Gillow

Kleaver Cruz – Winter 2024

• Orders of Service by Willie Lee Kinard III
• Black Collagists by Terri Henderson and Justin Smith 

Maria de los Angeles Rodriguez Jimenez – Spring/Summer 2024

• Electric Santería by Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús
• Kingdom of this World by Alejandro Carpentier 

Stephen Towns – Spring/Summer 2024

• Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi 
• Where We Find Ourselves: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum edited by Margaret Sartor and Alex Harris
• Teenie Harris, Photographer: Image, Memory, History by Cheryl Finley, Laurence Glasco, Joseph William Trotter, Jr
• The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah Jones

Kasimu Harris – Fall 2024

• Kindred by Octavia Butler 
• Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist edited by Susan Earle

Kilolo Luckett – Chief Curator

• The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz
• Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert 
• Toyin Ojih Odutola: The UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi by Toyin Ojih Odutola 
• All These Liberations: Women Artists in the Eileen Harris Norton Collection edited by Taylor Renee Aldrige 
• Cut from a Bigger Cloth by Addoley Dzegede
• Elegy by Dawoud Bey
• A Pictorial History of the Negro in America by Milton Meltzer and Langston Hughes  
• Stephen Towns:  Declaration & Resistance by Kilolo Luckett