You See Where I’m Coming From | Curatorial Project

Gallery with five large abstract paintings on a white wall, featuring colorful, chaotic imagery including distorted faces and textured backgrounds, in a modern art exhibition space.

YOU SEE WHERE I’M COMING FROM

Roles: Curatorial Contributor, Producer, Experience Designer

Gallery: Chella Mitchell Gallery

Curated By: League OTO & Shy Glizzy

2025

Washington, DC

You See Where I’m Coming From? is more than an exhibition. It is a visual memoir and a tribute to perseverance, memory, and creative lineage. Curated by League OTO in collaboration with hometown artist Shy Glizzy, the exhibition explored how art and hip-hop function as parallel storytelling tools, documenting lived experience, community, and growth.

Hosted by Chela Mitchell Gallery, the project aligned with the gallery’s mission to uplift underrepresented voices and create space for culturally rooted, contemporary narratives. The exhibition marked a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a DC music icon and a new generation of visual artists, creating dialogue across mediums, generations, and personal histories.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Crowd of people at an art gallery exhibition, viewing artworks on the walls, sitting at tables, and taking photos.

CURATORIAL FRAMEWORK

At its core, You See Where I’m Coming From? centered storytelling as both personal archive and collective memory. The exhibition invited viewers to consider origin, not only where artists come from geographically, but how memory, environment, struggle, and aspiration shape creative voice.

The curatorial approach emphasized authenticity and emotional resonance, allowing each artist’s work to operate as a chapter within a larger narrative about Black life, growth, and perseverance in Washington, DC, and the diaspora.

Group of five people standing together in front of a white wall with a poster. The poster reads Chela Mitchell Gallery presents: Who Are You Coming From?

The exhibition featured artists whose practices spanned painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and digital media:

Darin Cooper
Gritty, stylized portraiture evoking the emotional rhythm of Black urban life in DC.

Raelis Vasquez
Rich oil paintings exploring diasporic memory and Afro-Caribbean identity.

Jewel Ham
Visually lush works centering Black femininity and self-awakening through surreal, digital-painterly forms.

Nate Langston Palmer
Sculptural and performative explorations of masculinity, memory, and transformation.

Lex Marie
Autobiographical installations honoring Black motherhood and generational storytelling.

Lauryn Levette
Conceptual photography critiquing surveillance, digital beauty standards, and bodily autonomy.

Khari Turner
Spiritually infused portraiture incorporating water from sacred and historically significant Black geographies.

FEATURED ARTISTS

A man wearing a black bucket hat, glasses, and a black t-shirt with a peace sign necklace is pouring a drink, while a woman in a white shirt holds a microphone and looks at her phone. There are drinks and dollar bills on the table.

People at a bar or reception table with bottles of liquor, glasses, red roses, and a sign in a modern decorated room with white shelves and flowers.

EXPERIENCE DESIGN

To elevate the opening reception and create a more celebratory atmosphere, I facilitated the integration of a full-service bar into the exhibition experience. This addition encouraged longer engagement, conversation, and connection among artists, guests, and community members.

While Red Pen Consulting is rooted in the arts, this gesture reflected our broader ethos of connecting dots wherever possible to create experiences that feel intentional, welcoming, and memorable. We aim for visitors to leave not only having seen the work, but having felt the energy behind it.

IMPACT AND REFLECTION

Collaborating on this exhibition was personally and professionally significant. Working alongside a hometown artist whose music shaped my own understanding of DC culture felt less like a celebrity moment and more like a marker of growth, both for me and for my business.

Standing in a gallery space and contributing to a show grounded in community, memory, and creative evolution affirmed my confidence operating within institutional art spaces while remaining deeply rooted in cultural storytelling.

A woman with long black braided hair standing next to an art exhibition poster at Chela Mitchell Gallery. The poster features the exhibition title 'You See Where I'm Coming From?' and lists various curated artists' names.

Two people standing indoors, engaged in conversation. The woman on the left is holding a phone and gesturing with her hands, wearing a checkered dress with red accents, accessories, and cowboy boots. The man on the right has his arms crossed, wearing a white shirt, dark shorts, and orange sneakers, with sunglasses hanging from his shirt.

ROLE & CONTRIBUTIONS

Working on You See Where I’m Coming From? marked a meaningful moment in my curatorial journey. While I had curated exhibitions prior to this project, this was my first opportunity to contribute to a show within an established commercial gallery, an experience that sharpened my understanding of institutional standards, spatial decision-making, and collaborative curatorial practice.

I contributed to curatorial development alongside League OTO, supported artist selection and narrative cohesion, assisted with exhibition layout and spatial flow, and supported production and opening reception logistics.