Biography

Lavett Ballard (B. 1970, East Orange, New Jersey) holds a dual Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and Art History with a minor in Museum Studies from Rutgers University and earned an MFA in Studio Arts from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Ballard is an adjunct professor at Rowan College of South Jersey.

To mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, Time Magazine commissioned Ballard to create artwork as one of its regional covers for the “100 Women of the Year”, 2020 edition. Ballard’s subject was civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005), whose peaceful and history-making acts of resistance, in 1955, initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. “The Bus Riders,” a portrait honoring Parks, graced the March 16, 2020, double issue. Ballard was featured within the magazine’s pages.

Black Art in America named Ballard as one of the Top 10 Female Emerging Artists to Collect. Her work is in the permanent collections of the African American Museum of Philadelphia, Colored Girls Museum, Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, and Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art. Ballard is a participant in the Department of States’ Arts in Embassies Program.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Kolbe