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Megan Lewis

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MEGAN LEWIS

MURALIST

MEET THE ARTIST

Lewis defines herself as an illustrator. She paints with bold colors and shapes to form geometric patterns and portraits of notable Black figures, particularly women. Her surfaces for paint and other visual mark-making media alternate between wearable clothing, community walls, wooden furniture, and canvas.

Megan Lewis focuses on stories that reflect a critical view of social, historical, and cultural issues involving brown women, addressing Black beauty, fashion, body images, and their linked histories.

BORN: 1990 in Baltimore, Maryland

LIVES: Baltimore, Maryland 

ARTIST WEBSITE:
www.meganlewis1illustrator.com

“I LOVE NARRATIVE. I LOVE THE THOUGHT OF CREATING SOMETHING AND WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT IS FINISHED.” https://youtu.be/OQZSgoFeGF4https://youtu.be/tIoYepGFZ90https://youtu.be/Rq7OwZRdzTQ

SKILLS

Mural Painting, Drawing, and Color Theory

MEDIA

Acrylic paint, Exterior Walls, Wood, Fabric

MAKE

Create a colorful drawing that tells a story about who you are as a person. Research and draw, or paint, a portrait of a notable Black person from American culture who inspires you to be a better person. Identify values and beliefs this figure has that you share as well. Create an abstract painting/drawing using geometric shapes and flat colors to design a clothing pattern that describes personality. In your artist statement, describe how the colors you selected illustrate your character.

CONNECT

GRADES K-2
ELA Reading Standards: With support ask and answer questions about key details in a text [about Black women].
Maryland State Fine Arts Standards (MSFAS): I:P-2:1: Think creatively about self, others, places, and events. GRADES 3-5
ELA Reading Standards: Determine and explain the main idea of a text [about Black women] and explain how it is supported by key details. When needed, summarize the text for further comprehension.
MSFAS: I:3-5:1: Act on creative ideas to develop personally meaningful compositions through observation, imagination, or memory. GRADES 6-8
ELA Reading Standards: Cite the textual evidence to clearly support an analysis of what the text [about Black women] says as well as inferences drawn from the text.
MSFAS:I:6-8:1: Access, evaluate, use and manage information throughout the context of art history and design. HIGH SCHOOL
ELA Reading Standards: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text [about Black women].
MSFAS:I:9-12:1: Act on creative ideas within the context of a given or chosen art problem.

TALK

Talk to Your Kids About Race
How to Talk to Your Kids About Race

Vocabulary for Social Justice:
Vocab from Racial Equity Tools
Vocab from Whites For Racial Equity

Books for different age groups:
Recommendations from the New York Times
Recommendations Get free hip hop civics.com
Black Lives Matter Race Curriculum

Other Education-Specific Resources for Teachers:

Books about Race for Educators:

  • Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
  • How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • White Fragility (with an educator guide) by Robin DiAngelo
  • “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria” And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
  • Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit

 GRADES K-2  Pre and Post Questions about Megan Lewis’s Videos

Preview: How do drawings tell stories? How can stories make us feel? 

Post:  What images does Megan paint and draw? How can you use drawing and painting to celebrate someone? Why is it important for Megan Lewis to celebrate Black women?

Resources about Social Justice starring black girls (Books with illustrations):

  • A Sweet Smell of Roses, by Angela Johnson and Eric Velazquez
  • Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry
  • Grace for President, by Kelly DiPucchio and Leuyen Pham
  • I Am Enough Book by Grace Byers
  • Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o

GRADES 3-5 Pre and Post Questions about Megan Lewis’s Videos

Preview: How do artists tell stories? Why is storytelling important?

Post:  Why does Megan Lewis paint and draw famous and everyday black figures? Why is it important for Megan Lewis to celebrate Black women? 

Resources about Social Justice

GRADES 6-8 Pre and Post Questions about Megan Lewis’s Videos

Preview: How do artists create stories to talk about social issues, like beauty, fashion, and personal identity? Why is storytelling important? How can stories support or harm people? 

Post: What is race and why is it important to talk about race? Why does Megan Lewis think it is his duty to paint and draw famous and everyday Black Figures, particularly Black Women? What are stereotypes?

Resources about Social Justice

HIGH SCHOOL (4.) Pre and Post Questions about Megan Lewis’s Videos

Preview: In what ways do artists create visual art to create personal narratives? How can stories support or harm people? 

Post: What is it important for a Black woman to tell her story? What are stereotypes? Is Black history American history?

Resources about Social Justice

View Megan Lewis’ Printable PDF ]]>