"Uncovering the Invisible"
Stephen Towns makes visible the stories systematically erased from American history: Nat Turner's rebellion, the forgotten Black woman who ran Fallingwater, and the leisure spaces denied to generations.
Sometimes the most radical act is remembering what we've been told to forget.
Stephen Towns is a Baltimore artist whose quilts and paintings make visible the stories systematically erased from American history. From Nat Turner's rebellion to the forgotten Black leisure spaces of the Jim Crow era, Stephen's work is an act of recovery, stitching together fragments of history that refuse to stay buried.
"Current circumstances that are going on in this country make it very difficult for artists like me to express ourselves. I'm attacked by my being, being a Black, gay man. I'm attacked by being an artist who makes work about Black American history."
— Stephen Towns
In 2018, Stephen became the first African American artist in residence at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Think about that for a moment. 2018. The first. He created a monumental portrait of Elsie Henderson, the Black woman who ran that famous house for decades yet whose story had been relegated to footnotes.
Every image of Elsie showed her elderly, holding a cake. Stephen found photos of her young and vibrant, and painted her reclining in a bathing suit. He wanted to un-mamify her, to restore her dignity.
"He really created this other image of Elsie that kind of pushed back on this kind of ageist sensibility... He wanted to un-mamify Elsie Henderson and once again put this dignity back into her."
— Kilolo Luckett, Alma Lewis Museum
We also hear from Kilolo Luckett, Stephen's longtime curator at the Alma Lewis Museum, on what it means to support Black artists in the current political climate.
"I am worthy of this work. We have never been a trend. Certain people like to put us in a box, but I am worthy of this work and supporting and advocating and providing the scaffolding to support visual artists, literary artists, and cultural workers. So I'm unafraid and I want to live in an unencumbered way."
— Kilolo Luckett, Alma Lewis Museum
Segment Breakdown
| Time | Segment |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | Cold Open: "Sometimes the most radical act is remembering what we've been told to forget" |
| 00:06 | Introduction: Ian introduces Stephen Towns as first Feature Artist profile |
| 02:18 | Stephen's Sister: The quilt that revealed her radical history |
| 02:50 | Current Climate: Stephen on being attacked as a Black, gay artist |
| 04:40 | Research Process: Deep dives from podcasts to primary sources |
| 05:00 | Nat Turner's Rebellion: Inspired by Baltimore uprising and Freddie Gray's death |
| 06:58 | Fallingwater Residency (2018): First African American artist in residence |
| 09:20 | Elsie Henderson: The Black woman who ran Fallingwater |
| 12:00 | Un-mamifying Elsie: Restoring dignity through portraiture |
| 18:00 | On Young Artists and Access: "There is a boom of creativity that can happen" |
| 20:00 | Kilolo Luckett Interview: Founding director, Alma Lewis Museum |
| 21:17 | Elsie's Archive: Finding the young, vibrant Elsie |
| 23:39 | Archival Audio: Elsie Henderson on WQED |
| 25:00 | Kilolo on the Current Moment: "I am worthy of this work" |
| 25:55 | Stephen's Upcoming Show: Paradise Park exhibition in Wichita |
| 28:20 | Closing & Next Episode Preview: Kim Werker and "Perfect is Boring" |