The Tubman Museum unveiled an exciting exhibit on July 9, titled, ‘Myths and Tales: The Art and Imagination of Tyler Staten’. The exhibit will be on display until Aug. 4, 2021. 

The art work is visually stimulating, containing a series of primordial ideas saturated with layers of acrylics, pastels, and pencil. 

Originally from Macon, Georgia, Tyler Staten’s illustrations are inspired by theatre, literature, and films, beginning with the animated movies of Walt Disney, and evolving to the creation of his own stories.

Staten describes his stories as, “capturing the beauty of blackness, inserting figures in fantastical settings or rendering them in multiple layers of pastel, watercolor, and acrylic.” He uses his art as a means of confronting issues on race, and gender in the guise of mythology, theater, and the magic of children’s stories.

“I have been heavily influenced by both the literature of storytelling and the imagery that is paired with it my whole life,” explains Staten. “Through this vast collection of stories, I saw a lack of stories with characters who looked like me, and an absence of stories from Africa. With these findings and a great many stories of my own, I became a storyteller.”

 There will be a celebratory reception at the museum on Saturday, July 24th from noon to 2 p.m.