Lovie Olivia American Artist, Lovie Olivia--born, living, and working in Houston Texas creates works that spans numerous mediums and methods informed by race, gender and sexuality and the historical and cultural nuances surrounding these intersections. She engages various archives--unearthing matter, employing painting, printmaking, sculpture, and installation to arrive at her makings. Her practice presents a Contemporary reinterpretation of classic Italian Renaissance Frescos matched with a rich and archival approach to collage. She strongly believes in what Valerie Cassell Oliver coined as “Intuitive Intellectualism” where the artist's practice evolves from a mostly self-taught strategy. Olivia’s work hangs in numerous private and public collections including Project Row Houses, ACRE Residency Chicago, the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute and University of Texas Austin. She is a recipient of three Individual Artist Awards, which are funded by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. Including a current commission with the City of Houston and Bush Intercontinental Airport. She has exhibited nationally and internationally at Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn NY, 1969 Gallery Manhattan NY, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago IL, Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN, Tinney Contemporary Nashville, Frist Museum Nashville, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), Blaffer Museum, Houston TX Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC), Houston TX, Art Pace, San Antonio TX The Station Museum, Houston TX, Project Row Houses, Houston TX, TSU University Museum, Houston TX, Erin Cluley, Dallas TX, Arthello Beck Gallery in Dallas TX and many more.

CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town is an onsite artist-in-residency program that aims to highlight, honor, and animate the histories and stories of Freedmen’s Town, a neighborhood established in 1865 by over 1,000 formerly enslaved people that is now recognized as Houston’s first Heritage District. In line with HFTC x CAMH’s goals, CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town aims to generate research, contextualize, and connect artists and the general public to the stories of Freedmen’s Town through month-long residencies.

For more information, visit CAMH.ORG/CAMHLAB.

The Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that protects and preserves the history of Freedmen’s Town for the benefit of future generations. We support community engagement, re-education, and heritage tourism.