Stephen Towns was raised in Lincolnville, South Carolina, a small town outside of Charleston. Towns earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of South Carolina and works at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Working primarily in oil, acrylic, and fiber, Towns draws much of his visual inspiration from Medieval altarpieces, Impressionist paintings and wax cloth prints. His work has been exhibited at Gallery CA, Platform Gallery, Hood College, Galerie Myrtis and is in the collection of the City of Charleston, South Carolina.

About his work, Towns says “The portraits I create are not only glimpses of the sitters; they are also a reflection of myself and mirror my struggle to attain a sense of self-knowledge, self-worth and spirituality beyond the Christian values that are so often idealized in African-American culture.”

“I am so excited to receive the Artist Travel Prize. Never having had the chance to travel abroad, this will provide me the opportunity to experience the idea of being ‘American’ outside of my own country,” continued Towns. “Furthermore, I will be able to experience sites of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Ghana and Senegal that I’ve only read about in books. In my next project in 2017, The Taming, I will use images and research from this trip to develop a body of work exploring the history of colonialism and its effects on black men. What methods do humans use to tame each other, currently and throughout history? In what ways do we tame aspects of ourselves and our own culture? I hope to explore expressions of Black American culture that have been tamed but have their roots in West Africa. Thank you to the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City for the amazing opportunity.”

Learn more about Stephen on his personal website: Stephen Towns