22: SHANNA MEROLA ON THE REVOLUTIONARY ART OF WAYNE CURTIS, EMORY DOUGLAS, AND YUSUF LATEEF
In her book the Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century, Grace Lee Boggs writes “History is not the past. It is the stories we tell about the past. How we tell these stories - triumphantly or self-critically, metaphysically or dialectally - has a lot to do with whether we cut short or advance our evolution as human beings.”
The upcoming exhibition “I AM WE: The Re:Evolutionary Art of Wayne Curtis, Emory Douglas, and Yusuf Lateef”, brings together three artists whose practices recontextualize American history through the lens of revolutionary movements. From the avant-garde legacy of Black midcentury abstract expressionists to the self-determination and liberatory politics of the Black Panther Party. Individually, and collectively, the works chosen for this exhibition speaks from each artists’ lived experience drawing from their unique roles as teachers, organizers, philosophers, and cultural creators. Connected by a visual language that balances care, community, and resistance the works in this show affirm humanity while challenging widely held assumptions of history.
Curtis and Douglass bridge the Black radical tradition between their respective homes of Detroit, MI and Oakland, CA – two cities deeply connected through a legacy of visionary organizing. Through Douglass’s prolific career he championed the anti-imperialist critique of the Black Panther Party who’s deep understanding of symbolism through visual language forever changed the cultural lexicon of resistance.
Lateef and Curtis share a profound philosophy of education as a tool for liberation. They have devoted decades to teaching both in and outside of conventional educational systems – from Curtis’s Art in the Garden program at Feedom Freedom Farm and programming at the James + Grace Lee Boggs Center in Detroit, MI to Toledo School for the Arts, Radiant City Arts, Youth Arts Alliance, and the University of Toledo, in Lateef’s home of Toledo, OH.
I AM WE: The Re:Evolutionary Art of Wayne Curtis, Emory Douglas, and Yusuf Lateef runs from October 23 - December 12 at the College for Creative Studies Valade Family Gallery with a free, public talk and reception October 22 + October 23. Co-curated by Lucy Cahill, Halima Afi Cassells, and Shanna Merola.
– Shanna, September 2026
Shanna Merola is a visual artist, photographer, and legal worker. Her sculptural photo-collages are informed by the stories of environmental justice struggles past and present. Travelling to EPA designated Superfund sites, she has documented the slow violence of deregulation – from her own neighborhood on the Eastside of Detroit, to Chicago’s Altgeld Gardens, and Love Canal, NY. In addition to her studio practice, she has ten years of experience working in Civil rights law through the National Lawyers Guild Detroit and San Francisco Chapters. Merola has been awarded studio residencies through MacDowell, Banff Centre for Arts + Creativity, the Studios at MASS MoCA, Foundation House, Kala Institute of Art, and the High Desert Test Sites. She has held teaching appointments at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies, and in the Department of Art Practice at UC Berkeley.
