Art and Legacy | Midshow Reception
Join us on 1st Saturday, June 6th!
The Midshow Reception for “Art and Legacy” is this weekend.
This exhibition presents a retrospective of the late Evelyn Cleopatra Facison, an artist and gallery owner whose career unfolded across multiple mediums, names, and roles. The 2D works on view were created by Evelyn under various surnames associated with different periods of her life.
Primary source materials included in the exhibition document Evelyn’s activity as both an artist and a cultural organizer in Philadelphia and beyond. Legal records from 1968 confirm her operation of Facison’s Art Gallery in Philadelphia, establishing her place among the earliest Black women to own and operate an art gallery in the city.
Contemporary newspaper and magazine coverage trace her exhibitions, public recognition, and visibility across civilian and military contexts, including features at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.
The exhibition is presented with the assistance of Evelyn’s son, Alfred Newell Bradley Jr., who has contributed original woodworking elements. The artwork, archival documents, and present‑day collaboration form a living record of an artistic life—one that is remembered through fragments, but whose impact continues to resonate.
You’re invited to the Midshow Reception on Saturday (June 6th) from 5pm to 8pm. There will be an artist Q&A with Alfred and another of Evelyn’s relatives. After, we will enjoy live acoustic music outside!
We hope to see you there. Family-friendly event, BYOB.