Voices of the Diaspora: The Artisans Behind the Canvas

Lavar Munroe (1982- ) is a Bahamian-American artist who works mostly in mixed media painting, cardboard sculpture, and drawing. He is interested in fables and folklore, particularly parallels between stories of the Bahamas and his travels in Africa. He incorporates glass, newspapers, crocheted and synthetic flowers, feathers, and jewelry into his paintings and sculptures. Munroe's work includes personal, historical, and mythological references and sits between a desire to leave home and the longing that accompanies the journey. Munroe received his MFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013. In 2007 he received his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. 

Le'Andra LeSeur (1989- ) is an American artist working across video, installation, photography, painting, and performance.  LeSeur is interested in Black femininity and feelings of invisibility. She creates work that honors and centers the trauma experienced by Black women. Taking the audience with her she seeks to revel in the pain and joy that exist simultaneously. LeSeur also seeks to highlight Black queer experiences. 

Leasho Johnson (1984- ) is a Jamaican contemporary artist known for his provocative and thought-provoking works that explore themes of gender, sexuality, and Jamaican culture. Johnson's diverse body of work encompasses painting, sculpture, and mixed media, often incorporating elements of popular culture and Jamaican iconography. His bold and innovative approach to art has earned him recognition both locally and internationally, establishing him as a significant voice in the Caribbean art scene. Johnson received his BFA at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in 2009 and his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020. 

Leilah Babirye (1985- ) is an Ugandan artist based in New York. Known for her abstract sculptures made out of used materials, Babirye's pieces are all “woven, whittled, wielded, burned and burnished”. Her use of discarded materials relates to abasiyazi in Luganda, meaning "rubbish" and is a prerogative to refer to members of the LGBTQIA community. Through material and subject matter, masks, she is asserts that queer identities are not oppositional to African identities.  Babirye studied art at Makerere University in Kampala from 2007 to 2010. 

Leonardo Benzant (1972- ) is a Dominican-American artist with Haitian heritage. He studies Yoruba and Kongo initiation rites to inform his work. Benzant is a multidisciplinary artist using various materials to connect to his African and Caribbean heritage.  Benzant received his BFA from Pratt Institute in 2010.

Leonardo Drew (1961- ) is an American artist who took inspiration for many of his creations from the landfill adjacent to his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Drew uses everyday objects and various materials such as wood, mud, paper, iron, and cotton and puts and transforms them. Through burning, oxidation, decay, and weathering, the materials bear little resemblance to where they started. This results in sculptures that strike a delicate balance between chaos and order.  Drew was born in Tallahassee, Florida.  He attended Parsons School of Design in New York and received his BFA from Cooper Union in 1985.

Lorraine O'Grady (1934-2024) was an American conceptual and performance artist.  In O’Grady’s works across mediums including text, photo-installation, video, and performance, multiple emotions and ideas coexist. She explored cultural constructions - namely race and gender- from a Black woman's viewpoint. Her work rejected binaries in any form.  O'Grady received her BA in economics from Wellesley College in 1956. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa in 1967 from the Iowa Writers Workshop. 

Lubaina Himid CBE RA (1954- ) is a British artist who works across painting, printmaking, and installation. Her work focuses on reclaiming cultural histories and memories. She was also a curator focused on creating space and acclaim for Black artists in the United Kingdom. She paints on various surfaces including wood. This allows the viewer to interact with her work and invites them to the performance in addition to addressing gaps in European art history. Himid was one of the first artists to be involved in the British Black Artist Movement of the 1980s.  Himid received her BA in Theatre Design from the Wimbledon  [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimbledon_College_of_Art]College of Art, where she studied Theatre Design in 1976. She received her MA in Cultural History from the Royal College of Art in London in 1984.

Luce Turnier (1924-1994) was a Haitian painter, printmaker, and collage artist. Turnier's charcoal and pastels offered an alternative, sensitive depiction of Black women that contrasted with the sexualized and Voodoo themes that were popular at the time. She successfully integrated a Haitian perspective with modernist styles. Many of her works feature women or landscapes.

Lucia Hierro (1987- ) is a Dominican-American multimedia artist working across sculpture, digital media, and installation.  Her work is a critique of capitalism with "bodega aesthetics". Art movements like Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and European still-life painting influence her work. Hierro's work  Hierro received a BFA from SUNY Purchase in 2010 and an MFA from Yale School of Art in 2013.