2024 Fellows - Mural Arts Philadelphia Mural Arts Philadelphia

Mural Arts’ fifth cohort of the Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists is made up of 15 artists showing interest in socially engaged public art and working collaboratively.

Meet the Artists

Brittany Anne Baum

Brittany Anne Baum, born and bred in the vibrant tapestry of Camden, New Jersey, carries the soul of her hometown within her artistic expressions. Now rooted in Philadelphia, Baum’s work stands as a testament to the resilience and beauty of her community, speaking volumes through every stroke of her brush.

Baum’s solo exhibitions are not mere displays of art; they are immersive experiences where emotions dance, and stories unfold, inviting viewers to delve into the heart of the Philadelphia Region. Each canvas serves as a portal, capturing the essence and untold narratives of the city she holds dear.

Her talent hasn’t gone unnoticed; Baum’s artistic prowess has earned her numerous awards and grants, solidifying her status as a trailblazer in the art world. But her impact extends beyond gallery walls; she breathes life into urban spaces through her contributions to public art projects, enriching the fabric of the community.

While Baum’s work shines brightly in solo endeavors, it also finds resonance in group exhibitions, showcasing the vibrancy of contemporary culture and the power of artistic expression. Yet, her dedication transcends personal acclaim; she shares her expertise generously through workshops, nurturing aspiring artists and empowering them to find their own voice.

Through collaborations with various organizations, Baum champions art as a vehicle for positive change and community engagement, embodying her commitment to fostering connection and transformation. Her journey and the stories she articulates have captured the attention of prestigious publications and media outlets, illuminating her creative odyssey and the kaleidoscopic narratives she weaves.

In Brittany Anne Baum’s art, the boundaries between past, present, and future blur, seamlessly intertwining to create a resplendent tapestry of color and emotion. With each stroke, she invites viewers on a voyage of discovery and connection, where art becomes a bridge for understanding and unity.

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Elijah Crawford

Elijah Crawford is the co-founder and Director for Ugly Art. Elijah’s career has led him from modeling on billboards to being featured in multiple magazines including Essence, The Cut, & Insider for his creative direction and fashion. His true passion however, has always lied on the other side of the camera. Although he never went to film school, his vision is a tapestry of movies, television shows, and art exhibitions that he’s studied intensely over the years. With a knack for creativity and a heavy focus on colors, style and composition, he has cultivated an aesthetic that engulfs you into a fascinating world of his own creation. His style can be best described as giving you a sense of nostalgia for a moment you haven’t experienced.

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Kyle Mello Dixon

Mello Dixon, is a trailblazing designer and artist making waves in the wearable art realm. With his company, Greatness Was When…! He is revolutionizing the art scene with his fresh and captivating twist. He has swiftly become one of the most sought-after talents in the industry.

With extraordinary talent he has been showcased at prestigious events and galleries worldwide, including Art Basel Miami and esteemed venues in London, NYC, Los
Angeles, and Hawaii. His art stands out due to its interactive nature, attracting high-profile clients such as Drake, Kylie Jenner, and Future. His most recent accomplishment was being a
part of a Super Bowl Commercial and several segment commercials by Geico.

Now embarking on his most thrilling venture yet, a Mobile Art Gallery. This innovative
concept allows him to bring his exceptional artwork to people from all walks of life, just like
an ice cream truck delivering joy! With

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Terrell Halsey

Terrell Halsey is a visual artist and photographer based in Philadelphia, PA. With a BFA in Film & Media Arts from Temple University, he transferred his knowledge of the camera from cinematography to still imagery. As an artist, he fuses street, conceptual, documentary, and portraiture to create visual experiences of humanity and better contextualize the world around and within him. He seeks to progress the voice and representation of Black and Brown people and use his craft to spark conversations. Halsey has been featured in numerous art exhibitions while also curating experiences himself. Most recently, he was featured in the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy’s juried exhibition titled Philadelphia Black History: The People’s Stories at City Hall (Philadelphia 2024), and was a Keystone Award Honorable Mention for the Silver Eye Center For Photography 2023 Fellowship (Pittsburgh). His work has been mentioned in Aesthetica Magazine, Broad Street Review, Artblog, and is privately collected.

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Keshawna Logan

Keshawna Logan is an award-winning visual artist and educator based in Philadelphia. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the University Of The Arts, and her work has been nationally exhibited. Her paintings frequently reflect how she perceives and feels nature in her dreams. Her artwork investigates her curiosities and fascination with the grandeur and intelligence of the natural world. She aims to explore the mysticisms of our subconscious and examine how ecosystems and humans interact, considering how living circumstances impact collective mental health.

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LUSMERLIN

Originally from the Dominican Republic, LUSMERLIN is a multidisciplinary artist and chemical engineer with a background in textile and cement manufacturing. She currently splits her time between Philadelphia, PA and Columbia, MD and exhibits her work nationally. LUSMERLIN’s works across media share a thematic interest: womanhood, dance, the transformation of immigration, and the scenes of daily life that accompany her journey of re-discovery. LUSMERLIN’s approach to work borrows from Caribbean values, where it’s more important that a person “pops” in a room, rather than blend in.

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Alexsi Morales

Alexsi Morales is a self taught multimedia artist currently based in West Philadelphia. Alexsi’s work is driven by their take on contemporary art, the beauty of life, the people around them, dealing with self-love in a constantly mediated space, and the multifaceted endeavor of connecting with each other. Representing the many faces of beauty is an intrinsic quality to their work: born and raised in New York City, showcasing the diversity and chaos of the world translates over into how he emulates fragmented figures and faces. They seeks to continue to showcase pieces on the subject of Afro-latinx identity, masculinity, sexuality, and queerness. With graphite, pen, pastels, oil paint and digital medium, Alexsi works on framing the images and faces they interact with and interpreting them in their own way. A blend of loose and gestural pencil work, sometimes combined with vibrant color, creates a dynamic mix of values. Playing between both abstraction and realism illustrates a freedom of choice and style that’s true to them.

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Kara Mshinda

Kara Mshinda (b. 1978) is a visual anthropologist who creates photo-based artworks about identity, memory, and embodiment in public spaces. Mshinda is an alumna of Temple University (‘07) and is best known for using collage, collaborative portraiture, and alternative photo processes to document graffiti, children at play, candid social encounters, and the material culture of daily life. Mshinda is a Principal Collaborator of GrioXArts, a studio-based space at Cherry Street Pier that focuses on building community via process-based art education.

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Michele Pierson

Michele Pierson (b. 1993) is a contemporary painter born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Michele obtained her B.A. in Studio Art and Art History from Spelman College and has maintained an active studio practice alongside a fulfilling career in nonprofit arts fundraising.

Drawing inspiration from surrealist and metaphysical painting, Michele’s paintings fuse earthly and cosmic elements into surreal, metaphysical landscapes and portraits. Utilizing strategic color choices and symbolic motifs like stars and mirrors and windows, Michele invites viewers on introspective journeys, encouraging contemplation of fate, life’s interconnectedness, and the boundless expanses of existence.

“Embedded within my artistic philosophy is a belief in the transformative power of understanding our interconnected existence as a catalyst for resistance against oppressive systems. I posit that a rich comprehension of life’s interdependence serves as the bedrock for ethical behavior and compassion. Through the medium of painting, I extend an invitation to viewers—a call to engage in profound contemplation and unveil their individual relationships to the interconnected web that envelops us all.”

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Susan Ragland

Susan Ragland is a self-taught artist whose focus has been to unwaveringly create joyful
images of Black people affirming their human connections. Amidst bursts of color and
intricate designs, her paintings seek to examine the humanity of Black subjects while
paradoxically depicting the ordinary: African Americans as regular folk, sans the presence
of historical trauma. Her work aims to imbue majestic feelings in viewers who have
experienced a questioning of their being and beckon others to identify universally-shared
Joy.

She has had a 30-year career creating and selling art largely outside of the conventional art
circuits. Through private exhibits and by word of mouth, her art has found its way into the
permanent acquisitions of major art collectors throughout the U.S. including the Colored
Girls’ Museum; a long-time host of ABC’s The View; professional athletes; George
Washington University, Temple University; various on-air news pundits, and in the homes
of regular folks.

Recent exhibits include the Woodmere Museum Annual 82nd Juried Exhibition; Montclair Art
Museum’s Juneteenth Exhibit, and the Philadelphia Magic Gardens.

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Qiaira Riley

Qiaira Riley is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, educator and cultural worker, from Chicago’s south-side, and based in Philadelphia. She holds a dual B.A. in Black Studies and Studio Art from Lake Forest College, as well as an M.F.A in Socially Engaged Studio Art from Moore College of Art and Design. She is a founding member of 2.0, a Philadelphia based collective that curates free, experimental offerings for Black femmes and women. Her 2021 self-published, MFA-thesis-turned zine “How Tiffany Pollard Built the Internet: Representations of Simulacra, Virtuality and Black Women and Femmes on the Internet and its Art” is a part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection. She is the host of “Something You Can Feel”, a contemporary Black art history podcast. Her creative practice shifts between painting, ceramics, artist books, video, and alternative photography and transfer techniques. Her work explores and is influenced by Black archival practices; the visual language of Chicago’s south-side,cooking phenomenology; vernacular interiors; storytelling; familial artifacts and reality tv. Qiaira was the January 2024 Resident at Our House Culture Center, showcasing her debut solo exhibition Beauty of the Week, a series of works created as the 2023 Leeway Foundation X Fleisher Art Memorial Artist in Residence.She is currently the artist partner with the Friends of the Tanner House, supporting creative opportunities to envision the future of the historic Henry O. Tanner House in North Philadelphia.

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Ronald Washington

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Shahvteeaylah Williams

As an illustrator and designer, Shahvteeaylah Williams (Shahv) enjoys creating vibrant, expressive artwork and colorful wearables. She is a mixed-media artist who prefers working with acrylic ink and colored pencils, before polishing designs digitally.

She completed her BFA in Illustration at the University of the Arts in 2021 and currently works as a freelancer and Young Artist Instructor for Moore College of Art & Design. Since graduating, she has been selected as a 2023 InLiquid Wind Fellow, had her work displayed at the InLiquid Gallery in Philadelphia, and has been the featured artist in the April 2023 issue of Surface Design News.

Her work is inspired by comics, animation, nature, and fashion. In her practice, she is driven to depict the world around her through a lens of joy and silliness; often creating art to process difficult personal experiences and paint an authentic, relatable, and refreshing portrait of black womanhood.

When not working, she can be found at the roller rink, her local coffee shop, or hanging out in the many green spaces in Philadelphia.

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Nasir Young

Nasir Young received his BFA from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art in 2021. Nasir
is currently represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia. In 2020 he was
awarded The Raymond D. & Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship to go to London. Young
was awarded an illuminate arts grant in 2021 and 2022, and a 2024 Elizabeth greenshields
grant recipient. He was the Second place winner of the Philadelphia Sketch Club 158th
exhibition of small oils, a 2022 Davinci Art Alliance Resident, and 2023 Delaware
Contemporary resident. Nasir’s primary source of imagery is the everyday scenes of
urban inner city life is influenced by the shared visual language between places. He had his
first solo show in February of 2024 ,and has had multiple group shows around the
Philadelphia region.

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Meet the Artists

Brittany Anne Baum

Elijah Crawford

Kyle Mello Dixon

Terrell Halsey

Keshawna Logan

LUSMERLIN

Alexsi Morales

Kara Mshinda

Michele Pierson

Susan Ragland

Qiaira Riley

Ronald Washington

Shahvteeaylah Williams

Nasir Young

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