
ALM Visual Representation Project
Placing visual art prints in the hands and homes of Black and Brown boys (newborn to 12th grade).
About
VRP

Why Visual Art Prints?
Representing diverse voices in art is crucial, especially for Black and Brown boys. Research consistently shows that exposure to visual art enhances cognitive abilities, fosters creativity, and promotes critical thinking skills in children. when it comes to representation, it's not just about aesthetics—it's about affirming identity and instilling a sense of pride.
Studies indicate that children who see themselves reflected in art develop higher self-esteem and a stronger sense of cultural identity. Unfortunately, there's a historical lack of representation for Black and Brown artists in mainstream art, which can leave these young minds feeling marginalized.
By placing the work of 12 talented Black and Brown male visual artists into the hands & homes of 500 boys, the "Art Like Me Representation Project" is actively addressing that gap. In a world where diversity should be celebrated, the "art like me" project is not just putting art on walls; it's creating windows into a world where every Black and Brown boy can see themselves as artists, creators, and contributors to the rich tapestry of human expression.

ALM Inaugural Artists

glittery, unmistakably black, and emphatically brown figures in environments that are spiritually
charged. His paintings are in a sense icons or doorways to the sacred - timeless, visual manifestations
that serve as a portal into the artist’s creative world. When you look at an icon, it is meant to make you
aware that you are in the presence of someone sacred. To have imagery that looks like us, honors us,
reflects us, reminds us that we are sacred.
Gerardo Castro (b. 1967 - d.2024, Ponce, Puerto Rico, lives and works in Newburgh, NY) received an MFA from
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY (1997). Castro has exhibited nationally and internationally, including
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Budapest, and major US Cities. Solo and group exhibitions have been organized at following selected art shows, galleries and museums: Toxic Landscapes,
Biblioteca Nacional, Havana Cuba. Body, Bodies, Bodies SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA.
Past, Present, Pa’ Lante, Museum of the History of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Contemporary Directions: Niger to Afrofuturism, Westfield State University, Westfield, MA. Water, Air, Earth, Fire - Dual Art Gallery, Budapest, Hungary. Art as RE-Existence: The Afro Puerto Rican - Museum of History, Anthropology and Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Back To School exhibition 2023-2024- Kube Art Center Beacon, NY.
Upcoming 2024: solo exhibition: Evidence of Things Not Seen: Buckham Gallery, Flint Michigan.
Participating artist for 24th Havana Biennial, 2024 (La Casa de Africa).
Recent publications, interviews and artistic retreat: Castro’s artwork is featured in the 2023, award
winning short-form documentary Faith in Blackness that delves into the vibrant tapestry of AfroLatine experiences exploring spirituality, faith, resilience, and the power of community. Presenting lecturer at Cumbre Afro - March 2024, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Summer 2023, Featured artist and speaker for Third International Colloquium and Seminar Topic: Visual Regimes of Enslavement and Their Afterlives in the Caribbean (The Puerto Rican Case.
January 25, 2023, Black Art in Puerto Rico: 10 Afro-Puerto Rican artists in the Diaspora. April - May 2021, participating artist in DEAR (Digital Evolution Artist Retention) Artists Virtual
Retreat at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) New York, NY.
AFROTAINO 2021, Spotlight: Gerardo Castro - online article.

My most recent work explores the personal effects of my experience growing up in America as an African American as it relates to self-identity and one’s personal level of authenticity. The work explores innovative techniques of mixed media onto a canvas to visually express the most significant aspect of authenticity, i.e., transparency conveyed through the material, color, and context. My art leverages the physical and visual tension between brokenness and honesty, urging viewers to seek authenticity. The Miami Herald, Miami New Times, and Art Burst Miami have all written articles about i. I have provided the links for viewing pleasure.


His most recent artistic accomplishments include, “The Box They Tried to Put Me In” Collection - exhibited at ‘Brick Lane Gallery’, London, England. “Fear to Tread” exhibition at ‘Roger That! Gallery’, Bristol, RI. “All Roses Aren’t Red” solo exhibition at the Co-Creative Center, New Bedford, MA. "Reflections" solo exhibition at the Liberal Arts Gallery, Detroit, MI. "Looking at Black Portraiture." currently exhibited at the New Bedford Art Musuem, New Bedford, MA.
With many years in the industry, he has an impressive portfolio. He has worked with various artists in many industries, including art, fashion and music, from all over the world. His previous collaborations have been featured in New York Fashion Week, as well as Vogue Magazine. William is continuously creating new ideas. His creativity shines through his work.


has been exhibiting his work for the past seven years. Mere’s work has been
exhibited in galleries, museums and venues, which include the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY; Venice Art Gallery, Venice, Italy; The Oculus at the World Trade
Center, New York, NY; The Billie Holiday Theatre, Brooklyn, NY; Norman Rea
Gallery, York, United Kingdom, and The Africa Center, Harlem, New York. He has earned various awards including being a recipient of the 2022 Elizabeth Foundation For The Arts Studio Program, a 2023 recipient of the Frederieke Sanders Taylor StudioProjects Fund, the 2018 Citation of Honor (Arts) from the District Attorney of Kings County, and the 2018 Jean-Michel Basquiat Award from Creole Image Honors. In 2018, C-Suite Quarterly chose Mere as a NextGen 10 in Philanthropy, Art, &
Culture. Mere and his work has been featured in publications and television
networks such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue Magazine, Esquire Magazine, Artsy, NPR, News 12 New York, Philly Magazine, Broadway
World, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Colossal, GlobeNewswire, Nylon, C-Suite Quarterly, and more.
Mere attended Florida A&M University, receiving a B.A. in Business Administration in 2011 and a Masters in Business Administration in 2015. He was born and raised in the town of Belle Glade, FL to two immigrant parents from Haiti. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and maintains a studio at The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in Times Square, Manhattan.

He is proud to be an independent artist who has cultivated a loyal following around the world. His first solo exhibition Out the Mud debuted at ThinkSpace in Los Angeles in 2023. Recent group exhibitions include Operation Varsity Blues at Allouche Gallery in New York and Masterpiece II at Band of Vices in Los Angeles. His work belongs in esteemed private collections such as Dr. Joy Simmons, CFP Ayesha Selden, Dr. Michael Glassner, Wright Collection, DJ D-Nice, musician Lil Yachty and the permanent collection of the Louisiana Museum of Art and History. He has been featured in press outlets including Ebony Magazine, Design Milk and Complex.
Robert truly believes art should be felt and not just seen. The hope is that we are all felt and seen.
Various notable international collections, both public and private, collections ranging from notable established collections to green collections, including but not limited to MOAH Lancaster (Lancaster Museum of Art History), The Des Moines Art Center (permanent and institutional collections): Butts Family Collection, Selden Collection, Joy Simmons Collection, The Wright Collection, The Glassner Collection, D-Nice, Taye Diggs, Gayle King, Taraji Henson, Edward Little Collection, Ingrid Best, and many more……


''I believe that all visual artist go through various stages in their career overtime where they will explore not only different mediums and subjects but also themselves. It has always been important to my development as an artist to go through these stages of exploring myself and different ways of creating because they have pushed me to come out on the other side a better artist and person than I was.''
''Initially, the paintings that I created were based solely on stock images of celebrities that I found on the internet. As I grew as an artist so did my desire to become more creative and so I began photographing men, women, and children that I know. Over the past three years, my paintings began to evolve and focus more on the black experience as I know it through my life which is obviously projected onto each new work. My art is my truth and my voice, it reflects a softer side of black people often not portrayed in the media and yet it still finds a way to show our strength and resilience, something that I want to see more of in galleries and museums.''

drawing graffiti, cartoons, and sketching still figures around the house on any piece of paper he could find. For over 10 years, Benford’s creative tool of choice has been a
mouse which he has used to create unique identity solutions through his graphic design
business, Authentic DNA Studio, LLC.
In December of 2018, Benford picked up paint brushes and began expressing his creativity
in a brand-new medium. Primarily using acrylics, his confidence and conviction in his artwork grew consistently throughout the years, culminating in the establishment of his
namesake art company, B.D. Stellmacher, Jr., LLC in 2020. His artwork, which spans themes of social justice, music, faith, education, and the Black experience in America, has been received with fervor and praised for its messaging, composition, quality, and uniqueness.
Benford refers to each of his artistic creations as “Conversations”, strategically intending
for each piece to act “as an independent catalyst to an internal dialogue with the
viewer.” Nearly every day, he is debuting a new “conversation” through canvas that aims
to inspire, influence, and impact his audience. As a proud man of faith, Ben views his canvases as a pulpit, through which the spirit of God has a voice to speak to the hearts of
mankind as they behold the textures, patterns, colors and holistic composition of each piece.

fabric manipulation extended toward the artist's ability to equally manipulate space. This keenness exposed him to video, sculpture, and installation that further influenced the development of his
definition of art.
Classified by the “full 360”, art speaks toward the increased engagement of a piece from the perspective of the viewer in regards to space, interpretation, and physical / unbodied movement. His education, including a study abroad in Amsterdam in 2019, introduced him to the notion of how the visual arts can communicate without a verbal language and theorized the
avenues through which his work could be defined through form, materiality, and conceptualism.
Documentation of his studio, social, and environmental interactions have cemented themselves
within the foundation of a practice that is rich in the absorption of information from the past, present, and future. This documentation takes shape as a collection of quotes from conversations,
clipped scenes from cinema, or storing found objects from interior and exterior spaces. In October
2022, Philip faced the unexpected loss of his mother, Katherine Doraella Steverson, which
prompted his work to balance the concepts of emotional exploration, grief versus grace, and
propose the idea of objects existing as time trackers. By concentrating on the usage of distinct motifs, materials, and techniques that will evoke emotion from viewers, Philip identifies the key purpose of his work as, healing. As his artistic practice matures, the spiritual connection with his
mother continues to guide the confrontation of his emotions as he adapts to changes in his life that
are ostensibly out of his control.

For Musah, art is a tool for self-expression, creating awareness, and transforming society. His paintings, sculptures, mixed media works and murals render stories that reflect African identity, cultural values and daily life. Currently, he paints on repurposed wooden panels, plywood, paper, and canvases to create layered mixed media portraits. His current art speaks to the complex transnational identities of the African Diaspora.
In May 2020, Musah completed residency and exhibited with the BronxArtSpace. He has also exhibited at Calabar Gallery (NYC), the Stimson Center (DC), Vivid Gallery (DC) and Art All Night DC 2018-2020.
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