Anissa R. Lewis, community and teaching artist, was born and raised in Covington, KY by way of Philadelphia, PA—where she relocated after receiving her MFA from Yale School of Art.  Lewis’ deep belief in community, identity and voice led her to many projects and collaborations including: an arts-based women empowerment classes for a Philadelphia County prison drug and alcohol abuse unit; a rites of passage program for black and brown teenage girls; student driven mural projects aimed to address civic engagement, neighborhood relationships and identity, and others. 

 

Lewis’ work focuses on the power of place in her hometown neighborhood for which she has received a Creative Community Grant from the Center for Great Neighborhoods.  Her photo-based prints, love letter yard signs and maps seek to reconcile her memories of childhood with the present-day neighborhood's changing social fabric, identity and the architecture of homes still present and those lost. 

 

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