Emergence: Stories in the Making
May 31 – July 12, 2025

Opening Reception
May 31, 2025, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

view artwork | about the artists | about the artists audio

Galerie Myrtis is proud to announce Emergence: Stories in the Making, a group exhibition spotlighting a dynamic cohort of emerging artists who use storytelling as a powerful tool for expression and change. This thoughtfully curated show brings together an international roster of contemporary griots—artists whose works delve into themes of solidarity, cultural heritage, and social transformation.

Co-curated by Gallery Directors Noel Bedolla and Ky Vassor, Emergence underscores the vital role storytelling plays in shaping public discourse and advancing societal awareness. The exhibition features a compelling lineup of artists: Aliana Grace Bailey, Schaun Champion, Unyime Edet, Alanis Forde, Damilare Jamiu, Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, Kachelle Knowles, Linnea Poole, Ransome, Kim Rice, and Bria Sterling Wilson.

Each artist presents a unique perspective, employing a wide range of materials and techniques to explore emotional, environmental, and social issues that deeply resonate in today’s world. Their work serves as a mirror to contemporary society, offering viewers a chance to reflect on the narratives that inform and influence our collective experience.

Throughout history, storytellers have acted as the moral compass of society—capturing the spirit of political movements and preserving the human story. The works featured in Emergence continue this tradition, inviting audiences to connect with the urgent voices shaping our time.

Programming

Artist Talk: Saturday, June 21st; Time: 2:00 – 4:00 pm

Virtual Panel & Studio Tours: Saturday, July 12th; Time: 2:00 – 4:00 pm


Aliana Grace Bailey is an interdisciplinary fiber artist, designer, and care worker. She was born and raised in Washington, DC, and lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. She passionately advocates radical self-love, wellness, healing, and grief support.

Aliana is a proud alumna of NC A&T State University, where she double-majored, earning a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts Media Design. She has worked as a socially-engaged teaching artist since 2017, after completing the Art for Social Impact fellowship at The Sanctuaries. In 2020, she earned her MFA in Community Arts and a Certificate in the College Teaching of Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Aliana is a 2023 Rubys Grantee and 2025 Sondheim Finalist. She has completed art residencies in Ghana, Maryland, DC, Virginia, MASS MoCA in Massachusetts, and an apprenticeship at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia.

Aliana is the founder of Vibrant Grace Studio. At Vibrant Grace Studio, she creates patterns, products, and designs and facilitates art + healing workshops. Vibrant Grace Studio caters to health, social justice, and wellness-centered initiatives dedicated to Black communities’ wellness, joy, and liberation.
Photographer: Danielle Finney


Schaun Champion is a visual artist, director of photography, and instructor using digital and analog cameras to explore the truths and myths humans tell themselves. Champion creates work that explores the interconnectedness of the environment, the eyes, and oral/visual historical narratives. Using vignettes of quiet moments that ask for deeper thought around the re-memory of personal and collective histories. Champion draws from our infectious competition to capture the human “stories” developed to cope with our understanding of the world around us—acknowledging that living subjects aren’t always human but have been touched by their presence and asking “What does it mean to be IN nature?”, exploring how humans with no access to previous mythology or ideology might make sense of their situation or “home”.

Schaun’s work is in both public and private collections in several countries. She has exhibited her work internationally through museums and galleries such as the Barnes Foundation, James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, Antipode Gallery of Marseille, Deutsches Architekturmuseum (German Architecture Museum), Eubie Blake Cultural Center, Washington Project for the Arts, and Latela Curatorial.

Champion has been featured internationally through Adobe and publications/networks such as Cultured Magazine, NBC, People Magazine, The New York Times, HBO, NPR, Allure Magazine, Essence Magazine, American Cinematographer Magazine, Rouleur Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, Bloomberg Markets, The Washington Post, BmoreArt, Kinfolk, The Afro, BUST Magazine, Roc Nation, i-D Magazine and more.


Unyime Edet completed his studies in painting at the University of Uyo in Nigeria. He is currently a full-time studio artist based in Abuja, Nigeria. Specializing in contemporary realism, Edet’s work is characterized by figurative elements. His works reveal the nuanced truths of life and explore its profound mysteries.

Edet creates art as a response to a calling deep within his soul. His work stems from a yearning for joy and peace, aiming to guide others toward a deeper understanding of the mysteries of life and existence. Using oils and watercolor, he focuses on the human figure to present poetic and visual allegories.


Alanis Forde is a figurative portraiture and surrealist Barbadian artist who works mainly with oil paint and collage on traditional surfaces like canvas. She attended Barbados Community College, attained her Bachelor’s Degree, and has been a full-time artist for seven years.

Alanis has participated in several international and regional group Exhibitions, Museums, Auctions, Residencies and Art Fairs. Her work can be found in both public and private collections in London, Nigeria, the United States of America, and the Caribbean Museum Center For The Arts in St.Croix. Alanis is one of the artists in the company called A3 Design Studio, most known for the creation of the tallest mural in the eastern Caribbean called “The Stamp”, located on the Barbados Postal Service building in Bridgetown, Barbados.

In 2023 Forde completed her third residency with Black Curatorial x ICF in London. She’s also been featured in publishing’s such as Sugarcane Magazine and an ARTnews article titled “7 of the Best Artworks of Armory Week 2023.” Forde currently lives and works in Barbados.


Damilare Jamiu was born and raised in Lagos Island, a bustling commercial area of Lagos, Nigeria. From a young age, he discovered his passion for drawing and apprenticed with Lagos-based artist Muyiwa Williams.

As a young Nigerian artist, he draws inspiration from the rich tapestry of his environment, capturing the essence of contemporary Black awakening. His work is deeply rooted in the transformative power of painting human figures, often accompanied by pets like cats and dogs, reflecting the profound depth of African experiences and philosophies.

This practice serves as his sanctuary, where he contemplates the beauty of the world and humanity, embracing the essence of his Black experience. Jamiu is not only a master painter but also a certified linguist, specializing in Arabic. He holds a second-class upper degree in Arabic Language (with a History major) from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. His talent has been recognized both locally and internationally, as he views art as a means to transcend socio-political power dynamics.

He considers himself an African Realist, focusing on authentic African narratives contributing to a broader discourse on African identity and culture. Jamiu began his career in 2016. He expanded his international presence in 2022 with shows at the TAAG Gallery in Iowa, United States. His reputation has continued to grow with notable collections including The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which acquired four major works from the artist in 2024. Jamiu has over 30 works in private collections both in Nigeria and internationally. Image courtesy of AGA Culture Magazine


Maxwell Pearce is a mixed media artist and a Harlem Globetrotter from Tuckahoe, New York, who challenges how we perceive humanity in and out of sports. In the midst of playing five sports throughout his childhood, he was always focused on his ability to define reality beyond life in sports – which came through the arts. In the third grade, he cemented his passion for the arts when his drawing was selected to be the yearbook cover for his elementary school.

Maxwell was a starting point guard at Purchase College, where he quickly built a global reputation for his slam dunk videos. His social presence led to being featured in CNN, GQ, CBS, Sportscenter, MTV, and more. In 2018, he won the first ever shark tank business competition at Purchase College with his idea for a nonprofit called Flynance, a program that he founded with a teammate from Purchase. This program aims to help student athletes with the transition from sports into their next phase of life. This program was named a 2018 Westchester Up & Coming Award recipient, and was featured in Westchester Magazine. That same year, he represented Purchase College in the ESPN College Slam Dunk Championship in San Antonio and came in 3rd place. Pearce became just the 7th Division III player to participate in the championship. His outstanding performance led to being discovered by the Harlem Globetrotters and signing a contract upon graduating with a bachelors degree in economics.

After experiencing a deeply inappropriate live interview with Alabama television anchors that had racist undertones, Pearce channeled the extreme backlash he received into an artistic celebration of the human under the jersey. This inaugural collection debuted at N’namdi Contemporary for Miami Art Basel in 2022. He had pieces acquired by the LA Dodgers, Detroit Institute of Art, the Pittsburgh museum of Diversity and Culture, the Westchester County Hall of Fame, and more.

Maxwell Pearce’s work emphasizes the multi-dimensionality of being an athlete and a total person. His textured mixed media pieces are often created out of sports equipment and shoelaces – which he believes to be the common thread between so many of us. His sculptures—each of which offers multiple points of view—maintain historical and contemporary references through inspirations like important people, moments, ideas, family members, and also athletes. His perspective as a professional athlete and an artist gives him a very unique vantage point. Further, Pearce intends for his works to act as form of social practices engaging society to reflect on meaning, material, and movement


Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre is a Haitian American interdisciplinary artist who was raised on Chicago’s South Side. He creates works that uncover the past at the intersection of community, spirituality, and systèmes socio-politiques. His Caribbean heritage, international travels, and academic research inspire him.

Jean-Pierre is a Howard University adjunct professor and US State Department Art in Embassies Artist. His works are featured in the US Embassy in Benin, Malawi, and Niger. He also serves as a guest curator for exhibitions at The Embassy of Haiti. He has been featured in three Smithsonian exhibitions and was a Barack Obama invitee to the White House to speak on the role of the arts in youth justice. In 2021, he was an invited featured artist for the annual Atlantic Festival.

His collaborations include: Alvin Ailey, Boys & Girls Club, DC Commission on the Arts, International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bank, Minnesota State Arts Board, Something In Water Music Festival, and West Elm, among many others. His works have been featured in The Atlantic, Black Enterprise, BET, Ebony Magazine, NBC, Netflix, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Jean-Pierre’s public art has been featured in Cape Town, Pretoria, South Africa, New York, Chicago, DC, Istanbul, Panama, Port-au-Prince, London, and Paris. He holds a Master of Arts from Howard University and has an atelier and Galerie D’Art in Washington, DC.


Kachelle Knowles is a contemporary artist who explores the ideas of gender identity, cultural preservation/ production, and social relations within the black community. Her approach is both masculine and feminine, with the black male figure as her main subject matter.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Illustration at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada, in 2017. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in the Bahamas and has been shown in galleries such as the Central Bank of The Bahamas and The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. In 2013, Knowles exhibited at the 40-Year Bahamian Independence Show held by the Bahamian Embassy in Beijing, China. She has also exhibited in the IMAGO MUNDI (Luciana Benetton Collection) show held in both Venice, Italy, and Lincang, China in 2014. Her solo show, ‘Bahamian Man Since Time’ was shown at the National Gallery of the Bahamas in 2019. She exhibited as a solo artist at SCOPE Miami in 2022 with The Current: Baha Mar Gallery and Art Center, which is based in The Bahamas. She is currently working as a practicing artist in Nassau, The Bahamas.


Linnea Poole is an Educator and Art Practitioner from Baltimore, MD. Linnea’s interdisciplinary art practice includes autoethnographic writings and proposes open discussions surrounding topics on Black women, mourning, and healing.

Poole is also a Professor and has lectured at various schools and colleges such as the Baltimore School for the Arts, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Morgan State University, and Coppin State University as well as held leadership positions at youth arts programs across Baltimore City. Their work has been exhibited at prominent institutions such as the James E. Lewis Museum, Horowitz Gallery at Howard Community College, Brentwood Artist Exchange and the Live! Casino and Hotel. Linnea has also presented her studies and research at many higher-ed art conferences sharing her knowledge on the importance of the early stages of the developmental practices for art students in the first year experience classroom. Additionally, Poole has received media coverage from outlets like CBS News and publications such as BmoreArt.

The artist’s article “If We Speak, Do You Listen; If You Hear, Will You Respond?” was published by the Teacher’s College at Columbia University in October 2023 in collaboration with many Professors from art college institutions all over the US. Linnea holds a BS in Urban Arts Theater from Coppin State University and a MFA in Community Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art.


Ransome was born in the small town of Rich Square, NC, moved to New Jersey as a teenager, and now resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York. He received an MFA from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, and a BFA from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. Through collage, painting, sculpture, installation, and video, Ransome’s work comments on his family’s life in America from 1899, when his grandmother was born, to our current times. At the core of his practice is a reflection on the Great Migration, the period in American history when six million Black people left the south and migrated north and west in search of a better life. While his pictorial narratives are personal, the images in his work are universal and interplay with larger social, racial, ancestral, economic, and political histories that inform our nation to this day.

Ransome’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Opalka Gallery, Albany, NY; the Contemporary art Museum (CAM), Raleigh, NC; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; Woodstock Artist Association & Museum, Woodstock, NY; and Geary, Millerton, NY. Group shows include the 2023 Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial, Rockland, ME; An Unpredictable Time & Place, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; 47th Presentation of Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC; as well as exhibitions at the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ; Band of Vices, Los Angeles, CA, The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Winston-Salem, NC; The Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY; and the Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY. Ransome was a 2022 Pollock-Krasner foundation grantee and was awarded the 2022 Hudson Valley Artist Purchase Award from The Dorsky Museum. He was recently awarded a Silver Medal in the Innovation category from Contemporary Collage Magazine.

He participated in residencies at the Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; Studios of Key West; Key West, FL; and will be an artist-in-residence at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY in January 2025. ransome’s work is in the collection of The Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC; The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY; The Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY; University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH; and the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ. In addition, Ransome curated the exhibition Hudson Valley Artists 2025: Movement at The Dorsky Museum, which opened in February 2025. Artwork details: Blues, Voice for the Voiceless, 2025, Acrylic and collage on canvas, 48 x 48″


Kim Rice creates artworks that focus on the construct of race through the lens of whiteness. She uses common materials and craft-based media to meditate on systemic racism and the policies that affect American society today. Crocheted, sewn, and linked together, Rice’s labor-intensive art practice reveals the ways in which whiteness is woven into our everyday lives.

Rice earned her BFA in Sculpture and MFA in Printmaking from the University of Oklahoma. Her work has been exhibited at public and private institutions throughout the country, including the Alexandria Museum of Art, the Fred Jones Museum of Art, the Northern Illinois Art Museum, the Delaware Museum of Art, the Peale Museum, and Prospect 4 Satellite. She has received multiple awards, including a Maryland State Arts Council Creativity Grant and the McNeese Grant for Socially Engaged Practice.

Born in Kentucky, raised in California, educated in Oklahoma, loved in New Orleans, and now home in Baltimore, Kim’s work is influenced by her two children and the pile of books by her bed.


Bria Sterling-Wilson is a Baltimore-based photographer and collage artist whose work explores the Black experience through innovative and captivating compositions. A graduate of Towson University with a B.F.A. in Photography and Digital Arts, she recontextualizes found materials such as magazines, newspapers, and fabrics to create striking scenes, portraits, and interiors. Her art reflects on themes of cultural appropriation, race, police brutality, identity, stereotypes, and beauty standards imposed on women of color. By juxtaposing contrasting hair textures, facial features, body parts, and environments, her collages capture the complexity of the African diaspora while challenging oppressive histories and discriminatory imagery.

Sterling-Wilson’s work has been widely recognized and exhibited internationally, with showcases in Sanquhar, Scotland; Brooklyn, New York; Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore, Maryland. Her artistry has been featured in prominent publications like BmoreArt Magazine, Contemporary Collage Magazine, EBONY Magazine, and Black Collagists: The Book. Currently an artist-in-residence at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, Sterling-Wilson uses her practice to reclaim and reshape narratives surrounding African American identity, celebrating the resilience, beauty, and solidarity of the Black community.
click here for more information on Bria Sterling-Wilson