Open Air: Artist Talk with April Bey, Kandy G. Lopez, and Josie Love Roebuck

Open Air is a monthly series of intimate conversations with Black artists across the globe, hosted by the Gantt Center. Tune in and learn about the work of artists April Bey, Kandy G. Lopez, and Josie Love Roebuck, who are included in the Gantt Center and McColl Center collaborative exhibition Sown Together: New Voices in Contemporary Textile Art, on view at the Gantt from September 11, 2026, through January 24, 2027.

This program will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

April Bey (b. 1987) grew up in the Bahamas (New Providence) and now resides and works in Los Angeles as a visual artist and art educator. She is currently a tenured professor at Glendale College. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at The Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV; The Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA; The California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA, among others. She has been included in group exhibitions at The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; The National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica; The Modern Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ; Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA; The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas, among others.

Bey's work is in the public collections of California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT; Escalette Collection, Chapman University, Orange, CA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Nassau, The Bahamas; Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA; Fullerton College Art Gallery, Fullerton, CA, among others.

Kandy G Lopez (b. 1987) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring cultural identity, representation, and power through fiber art, portraiture, painting, and mixed media. Born to Dominican parents, she draws from her experience navigating multiple cultural landscapes.

Lopez holds a BFA in Painting and a BS in Marketing/Management from the University of South Florida and earned her MFA in Painting from Florida Atlantic University in 2014. Her background in both fine arts and business informs her meticulous material investigations and strategic engagement with art institutions. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Arts at Nova Southeastern University, where she integrates critical theory with hands-on material practice.

Josie Love Roebuck (b. 1995) is an interdisciplinary artist from Rising Fawn, Georgia. Roebuck received her M.F.A from the University of Cincinnati (2021). She received her B.F.A with an emphasis in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia (2019). Josie Love Roebuck is currently a Visiting Teaching Professor at Northern Kentucky University. Roebuck is a storyteller- a weaver of perspectives and identity. Her work delves into the depths of human pain, while simultaneously highlighting the healing journey that follows. Through the act of sewing, her canvas morphs into paper and her needle to a pen, and the stories—her own and those shared with Roebuck—are brought to life.

She has exhibited her work internationally at The Exhibitionist Hotel (UK), Denny Dimin (HK) and Kunstheille Krems Art Museum (AUT), and nationally: Brave Lee Programs (NY), Art Gallery (OH), Phillips Auction House (NY), Charlie James Gallery (LA), Kavi Gupta Gallery (IL), Expo Chicago (IL), Akron Art Museum (OH), Ann Arbor Art Center (MI), New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art partnered with University of Southern Indiana (IN), Denny Dimin Gallery (NY), Roy G Biv (OH), Christie's at Rockefeller Plaza in collaboration with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair (NY), NADA House (NY), LatchKey Gallery (NY), Contemporary Arts Center (OH) Portrait Society Gallery (WI), Dutoit Gallery (OH), Untitled Art Fair with Denny Dimin Gallery (NY/online), Yeiser Art Center Gallery (KY), Site: Brooklyn Gallery (NYC), BSB Gallery (NJ/online), Tabula Rosa (OH), Lupin Gallery (GA), Strohl Art Center (NY), and Fowler-Kellogg Gallery (NY).

Dexter Wimberly is an American curator based in Japan who has organized exhibitions in galleries and institutions around the world including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, The Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, KOKI Arts in Tokyo, Bode Projects in Berlin, and The Third Line in Dubai. His exhibitions have been reviewed and featured in publications including The New York Times and Artforum; and have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and The Kinkade Family Foundation. Wimberly is a Senior Critic at New York Academy of Art, and the founder and director of the Hayama Artist Residency in Japan. He is also the co-founder and CEO of the online education platform, CreativeStudy.