Jocelyn E. Marshall, FQT Scholar, Curates "Living Legacy"

Offered during Juneteenth weekend at the AC Hotel Tampa, Living Legacy presents the practice of three contemporary artists, Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes. Celebrating the enduring impact of James Weldon Johnson, the exhibition centers continuity and presence to show how legacy is not just in the past but is actively shaped by those who carry it forward.

Living Legacy unveils the enduring connection that characterizes the relationship between this cohort of artists, a deep personal and professional bond. Initiated with Meclina Gomes being introduced to Kamil Peters, who later invited Noland Anderson to join the creative fun, the trio quickly became inseparable. During the residency at the James Weldon Johnson Foundation, the artists developed a sense of belonging in distinct and impactful ways.

The residency opened a collective spirit which encouraged direct engagement with Johnson's historic environment in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The artists visited Johnson's former Five Acres home, where significant projects were realized, including Johnson's 1927 poetry collection God's Trombones and 1933 autobiography Along This Way.1 Drawing on the remarkable scenery of the foundation, the artists' residency resulted in large-scale portraits of Johnson and W. E. B. Du Bois, now part of the Foundation's collection.

The techniques and flairs that the artists cultivated during the residency opened up windows of diverse practices spanning from painting to sculpture to micrographic portraiture. Amidst the collective's creative experimentation, they came to a pivotal moment in realizing a shared inquiry: how to portray Black lives with dignity, depth, and agency.

In Anderson's paintings, there is evidence of everyday subjects with a quiet strength who exude presence over spectacle. In Peters' sculptures, metal is reclaimed and altered with a focus on ancestral memory, rendering welding and re-forging as symbols of resilience and recovery. Gomes's distinct micrographic portraits showcase the dynamic nature of text — visual and textual language serving as structure or skin, clearly seen in her portrayal of Johnson using his own words.

The recurring visuals and conceptual themes throughout the exhibition activate the space with the artists' unique collective dynamism. One thrilling aspect of the selected works is the repeated use of a particular shade of blue — indigo — as a nod to the cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee people.2 The narrative of resistance and preservation resonates throughout, expanding across three different approaches to material and form.

Such synergy between the artists reflects both their distinctive modes of cultural and political expression as well as contributions to ongoing traditions in Black art. For James Weldon Johnson, art was not just decorative; it was a tool to assert the humanity of Black people and envision freedom. Living Legacy pushes his notion forward, fashioning a space for each artist to contribute to a broader dialogue about visibility, inheritance, camaraderie, and change.

Highlighting Anderson, Gomes, and Peters' distinctive practices, Living Legacy ultimately invites us to experience accomplishments through brushstrokes, wielded forms, and carefully constructed words. By coinciding with Juneteenth, the exhibition amplifies ancestral echoes while encouraging viewers to see art as a space for continuation — an active archive of voices that refuse to remain static.

Because legacy is not what is left behind. It is what is lived, now.

1 God's Trombones (1927) is a celebrated collection of seven free-verse poems by James Weldon Johnson. Along This Way (1933) is Johnson's autobiography, detailing his life as a writer, diplomat, and NAACP leader.

2 The Gullah Geechee are a distinct African American population living in the coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. Due to historical geographic isolation, they preserved more African cultural, linguistic, and agricultural traditions than any other African American community in the U.S.

3 The diversity of Black expression encompasses a wide range of cultural, artistic, and social practices that have evolved across the African diaspora, characterized by improvisation, adaptability, and a blending of traditions.