"At the Edge of Entanglement" Panel Discussion - Art of Transformation 2025

AT THE EDGE OF ENTANGLEMENT: The Re-Enchantment of the World in African American Art

The artists' panel discussion centers on the Black creative voice as a vital force in exploring the complex interconnections between art and current issues. Moving beyond simplistic narratives, this conversation delves into the profound entanglement of past, present, and future—where ancestral memory meets the speculative potential of the future, and where the physical body interfaces with the digital realm. These artists navigate the tensions and possibilities at this fertile crossroads, using their work to question, reimagine, and redefine realities. A deeply nuanced exploration of how Black artistic practice not only interprets our intertwined world but actively weaves new threads of meaning, identity, and liberation from the very edge of what is known!

Panel Guests:

Lamerol Gatewood

Dr. Reginald Jackson

Amy Araujo

Charisse Watson

Mr. StarCity

WHO: Presented by Ten North Group featuring emerging and established African American artists.

WHAT: A feature panel discussion of the 13th Annual Art of Transformation, centered on the 2025 exhibition At the Edge of Entanglement. This showcase explores how artists navigate, resist, and reimagine the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and systemic oppression through decolonial aesthetics.

WHEN: Thursday, December 4, 2025 | 12- 1 PM

WHERE: The ARC, 675 Ali Baba Avenue, Opa-locka, FL | Free parking available

Join artists, scholars, and the public for an in-depth conversation that invites audiences to dwell in dissonance, confront historical tensions, and imagine the possibilities beyond the shadow of history.

All exhibitions and discussions are free and open to the public.
Learn more at www.tennorthgroup.com/aot

Panelist Bios

Lamerol Gatewood

Lamerol Gatewood is a multidisciplinary American artist whose practice explores the spiritual, historical, and aesthetic lineages of the African diaspora. Working across painting, mixed-media assemblage, and collage, Gatewood layers color, texture, and symbol to interrogate the movement of people, memory, and culture across time. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including the Smithsonian, the Museum of African American Art, and galleries throughout New York, St. Louis, and the Caribbean. A lifelong cultural steward, Gatewood is known for translating lived experience into bold, improvisational visual language that bridges ancestral knowledge with contemporary form. He splits his practice between New York and South Florida.

Dr. Reginald Jackson

Dr. Reginald Jackson is an artist, scholar, and curator whose work sits at the intersection of visual culture, history, and Black speculative traditions. With a Ph.D. in Africana Studies, Jackson’s research-driven practice examines the entanglements between race, technology, ritual, and social memory. His installations, photographs, and text-based works have been featured in academic institutions, museums, and public-art commissions across the United States. Jackson is widely regarded for his ability to translate complex historical narratives into accessible, future-oriented visual forms. He currently serves as a faculty member and cultural theorist advancing new conversations on Black futurity and social transformation.

Amy Arujo

Amy Arujo is a Miami-based visual artist whose practice centers the Caribbean and Latin American diasporas through portraiture, abstraction, and cultural storytelling. Her work draws on familial memory, migration, and the everyday rituals of communities navigating identity across borders. Using vibrant color palettes, layered surfaces, and symbolic patterning, Arujo creates paintings and mixed-media works that honor the beauty, vulnerability, and resilience of diasporic life. Her work has been exhibited in South Florida galleries, regional art fairs, and community-centered cultural spaces dedicated to Afro-Latine narratives. She is deeply committed to arts education, cultural preservation, and community-rooted creative practice.

Charisse Watson

Charisse Watson is an emerging interdisciplinary artist exploring Black womanhood, embodiment, and collective memory through sculpture, performance, and textile-based practice. Her work draws from ritual traditions, ancestral craft, and the material histories of the African diaspora. Watson’s installations and sculptural forms often merge natural fibers, found objects, and hand-woven elements to create meditative spaces of reflection and healing. Her work has been presented in regional exhibitions, emerging-artist showcases, and public-art activations that uplift underrepresented voices. Watson is part of a rising generation of artists reframing identity and liberation through material experimentation and narrative depth.

Mr. StarCity

Mr. StarCity is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, and cultural provocateur whose work bridges painting, drawing, assemblage, and experiential installation. Rooted in a deep engagement with Black urban life, mythology, and pop-cultural remix, his practice blends humor, symbolism, and social critique. Known for his bold linework, dynamic characters, and improvisational mark-making, StarCity creates worlds that challenge assumptions and invite audiences into a playful, unfiltered commentary on power, culture, and creativity. His work has been featured in national exhibitions, collaborations with cultural institutions, and private collections across the country. Based between New York and Miami, he continues to push the boundaries of contemporary Black expression.