Artist Prospecting: the Local Exposure Pipeline

Cindy Stockton-Moore 

Cindy Stockton-Moore is an artist, educator, and administrator based in Philadelphia. In her current work she makes her own inks and dyes from foraged materials to create drawings and paintings of her surroundings. Her work explores the socio-political nature of materials and how they’re sourced. She has exhibited widely around the US.

As a Local Exposure Artist, Cindy worked with students to create a set of postcards exploring natural dyes and pigments. Cindy has explained, “Their school –Kensington Health Sciences Academy [KHSA]– is just a short walk from my house, so it was interesting to consider the complex implications of the spice trade that continue to impact our shared neighborhood. Our publication is shared like a set of recipe cards, reflecting intergenerational family connections to food.”

Shawn Alleyne 

Shawn Alleyne is a freelance artist, writer, and inker who fuses sci-fi and mythology with his Caribbean roots and love of hip-hop. He formed the comic book networking group Xion and has published a Xion Artbook showcasing the work of many of its members. In between freelance projects, Shawn constantly seeks to grow as an artist and promote the independent scene.

As a Local Exposure artist  Shawn facilitated a character design workshop with students at Northeast High School inspired by SolarPunk, a sci-fi subgenre. Students continued to develop their characters following the conclusion of Shawn’s visit. 

Jay Coreano 

Jay Coreano is a Puerto Rican artist and muralist born and raised in Philadelphia’s Juniata Park/Feltonville neighborhood. He has done projects with Walls for Justice and at Tacony Creek Park. He creates art as inspiration for people to take a deep breath, a step back and a moment to enjoy their life experiences.

As a Local Exposure artist Jay began with creating freestyle poems with Southwark Middle School students, then translating those into abstract works of art. Jay explains, “The students used acrylic paint on canvas panels to portray their poems. The final surprise was we were able to give the students blank journal books in which they painted the covers. In hopes that their new books would be filled with more stories and poems for them to continue to express themselves and tell their stories.”

Robert Carter 

Robert Carter is a visual artist, photographer, and writer whose figurative work often features brown skin in an array of hues, usually set against lush textures and vibrant colors. With influences ranging from the ancient and historical worlds to fantasy and afrofuturism, his work is a meditation on the things that connect us all.

“In spring of 2023, artist and commercial photographer Robert Carter worked with students as a Local Exposure artist to produce a series of portraits that answer the question, “How do you want to show up in the world?” Students learned about digital portrait photography including staffing, lighting and set design, as well as post production practices of editing, formatting for web and print, and client relationships.

 “Working with Mural Arts as a Visiting Teaching Artist has been so rewarding! On the one hand, it’s allowed me to use what I already know to help inspire a younger generation of artists and artists-in-the-making to think of creativity as something that can be fun, but also vital in their lives. I’ve had a few young people share with me that they had been taught that the arts, and particularly photography, were not fields that they should pursue beyond hobbies. It’s been rewarding for me to show them the possibility of a path that embraces their creativity and allows them to live a fulfilling life. I’ve also learned a lot from each of my students, and from the other teaching artists I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”