Lisa Brown is a multidisciplinary artist, archivist, and visual documentarian, as well as a certified psychiatric rehabilitation program counselor and community advocate. Her practice is rooted in analog photography, darkroom printing, sculptural installations, and visual documentation that explore themes of justice, memory, and the lived experiences of Black women. She earned her MFA in Community Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art, integrating creative practice with community engagement. Lisa has exhibited nationally and internationally, including Senegal, Ghana, and across the United States.
EXHIBITION SYNOPSIS:
Hard Lessons in Light reflects on what is learned when difficult histories are brought into view. This photography exhibition centers Black women as teachers, memory keepers, and cultural guides whose knowledge has often been shaped through struggle, displacement, and care. Their lessons are not abstract, they emerge from lived experience, community responsibility, and resilience.
Education, in this context, extends beyond classrooms and institutions. Black women have long taught through storytelling, example, and collective memory, even when formal systems denied them access or authority. These forms of teaching, rooted in lived knowledge, expand how education is defined and practiced.
Diversity among women educators strengthens educational outcomes for all students. Research has shown that when students learn in environments that include racially and culturally diverse teachers, academic engagement increases and measurable outcomes, such as standardized test scores, attendance, and long-term educational attainment, often improve. Students benefit not only from representation, but from expanded teaching approaches that value multiple ways of learning, communicating, and understanding the world.
By bringing these community educators into the light, the exhibition asks viewers to consider what has been lost, what has endured, and what can be restored. Hard Lessons in Light invites reflection on education as both a site of inequity and possibility.
See more of Lisa’s amazing work at healherphotography.com.
Community Through the Lens:
A Darkroom workshop with artist Lisa Brown
A two-part workshop
January 31st & February 7th
2:30-4:30 p.m.
$65 + registration fee
For ages 16 and up
Join Lisa Brown for an immersive journey into the world of black and white film. This two-part workshop series takes the art off the gallery walls and puts the process into your hands, fostering a deeper connection between the artist, the community, and the craft.
Part 1: The Community Photo Walk
Step outside and see the neighborhood through a new lens. Lisa will guide participants on a curated walk, encouraging you to document the community's unique textures, faces, and stories on film.
Part 2: The Darkroom Session
Demystify the development process. You’ll head into The Union’s darkroom to learn the tactile art of black and white roll development. Under Lisa’s expert guidance, you’ll transform your captured moments into physical negatives, gaining the skills to navigate the darkroom with confidence.