It is an honor to exhibit the work of Keion Tremael Davis as part of the BE WELL exhibition.  Their gifts as an artist and communicator amplify the connections between community wellness, care for self, equity and human rights.

Keion Tremael Davis is a Black, Queer designer based in Jacksonville, Florida. Their designs focus largely on the state of humanity, channeling the strife of existing inside of an anti-Black queer-phobic system into physical works.

Yellow House first had the pleasure of working alongside Davis in the virtual space that dominated our lives during the pandemic. They contributed to an online exhibition created to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Ax Handle Saturday and became the featured designer for our virtual exhibition ‘Sit In, Stand Up’. Davis’ poster designs, that amplified the value of Black Lives, the truth of white supremacy, and the need for radical love, became wheat paste installations and appeared in protests in the months after the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

Davis asks important questions for all of us to consider as we define what is required for a healthy society. “How can anyone be well when they step outside of their apartment and witness people sleeping at the door of Fresh Market? How can anyone be well when rights are being slowly eroded from our hands while a small swath of humans destroys our planet? How can anyone be well when it seems some humans actively contribute to ensuring the plight of their fellow person?

“Humans have created systems that have driven us, and the Earth’s well-being to despair. To be well for me means finding any sliver of time where I can feel at peace and joy. Of course, this narrow definition assumes I have food, shelter, and the resources to find such peace and joy.”

It is important for Davis, in all that they do, to foster an atmosphere of love and peace, while never ignoring the tension of these times as we work to remedy inequity, division, and historic wrongs.

“I think fighting for my right to exist has imbued me with an intrinsic confrontational attitude that leaks into my work. It feels great to be making work with such emotion behind it, I don’t think I have a choice as a creative but to make work that is saying something, no punches pulled. I don’t think I ever had a choice. My people have been trampled on for centuries, I carry their struggle on my shoulders every day. I of course try to find time in between for joy and love.”

It has been a gift to see the responses of visitors to Keion Davis’ work during the weeks that the BE WELL exhibition has been open.  Each image is beautiful in color and design and impactful in message.  We invite you to experience the work in our space, which has been co-created by the artists, writers, and our Yellow House team to give us all permission to pause, to find a bit of respite, while giving attention to our connectedness and responsibility to one another.

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Follow Keion Tremael Davis on Instagram @keiontdavis. To see their works in the Sit In, Stand Up exhibition visit here.

See Davis’ work at Yellow House until November 19.  The space is open Wednesdays 12-7pm and Saturdays 11am-2pm.

Call to schedule a visit outside these hours at 904.704.5216 or send a message to hope@yellowhouseart.org.