ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Anthony Smith Jr. received a B.A. in Fine Arts from Amherst College and an M.F.A. in Painting from the University of Michigan. Smith also studied wood-block printmaking in Kyoto, Japan at Kyoto Seika University in 2001. He has recently showed in the “Tribute to Michelangelo” show at CrisolArts Gallery in Barcelona, Spain. Notable exhibitions include work in the 2014 “Artist Chain Reaction Competition” at the Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx, the 2013 Fuse Arts Infrastructure Cigar Factory and Schoen’s Building shows in Allentown PA, and the 2010 “Sailing the Barbarous Coast” show (which traveled to the New Art Center in Newton, MA, University Galleries, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA and the Walker Point Art Center, Milwaukee, WI). Also notable was the 2008 “Runaway” show at the University of Texas Pan-American Gallery in McAllen TX for which he received a Puffin Foundation grant. He has been reviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Detroit Free Press, The Ann Arbor News and the Artist’s Magazine.
Anthony has taught at such institutions as the University of Michigan, Parsons, Princeton and Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland. Smith served as an artist –in-residence at the National Academy of Design from 2006 to 2008. Most recently he has taught at Lehigh University and as a visiting artist at Muhlenberg College. He lives In the Bronx and Allentown with a studio at the Banana Factory Art Center in Bethlehem, PA.
Kenny Screven (he/him) is a Lehigh Valley based social media influencer and LGBTQ+ activist, frequently creating safe spaces for queer people of color through their Haus of Shadez program. Kenny received his bachelor’s in criminal justice from Desales University. He empowers other LGBTQ+ community members to represent their true authentic selves. Kenny continues to represent marginalized communities in the beauty industry.
Dr. Ashleigh Strange (they/he) was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska and have lived in the Lehigh Valley since 2013. Currently, they are the Director of Narrative and Communications for Pennsylvania Stands Up, a basebuilding political organization changing politics for everyday people. A Black and non-binary activist, comedian, networker, and worm bin parent, they have a personal passion and unique stakes in preserving voting rights for all.
Kevelis Matthews-Alvarado is a queer afro-latine multimedia interdisciplinary artist, writer, and scholar currently based on Lenape land (Bethlehem, PA). Kevelis has a BA in Africana Studies (2020), a BA in Public Health (2020), and a MA in English (2021) from Lehigh University.
As a self-taught artist, Kevelis explores spectrums of race, gender, and sexuality as they seek to better understand their own identity by mixing and layering different media together to depict something whole. Kevelis’s work is informed by and situated within the radical Black tradition of resisting through art. Inspired by historic Black art movements like the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and the creation of Hip Hop, Kevelis draws upon ancestral connections and uses art to radically imagine future landscapes which center BIPOC queer love, joy, and community.
Notably, their first solo exhibition show titled ‘Creating Home’ is currently up at the Bradbury Sullivan Center.
Deirdre Van Walters (she/her/they) is a local teaching artist with Touchstone Theatre’s Young Playwrights Lab, principal board member, poet, playwright and performing artist with Basement Poetry (a non-profit devised theatre group based in Bethlehem, PA that is committed to serving the community through raw art) and Health Enrollment Coordinator at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center located in Allentown, PA. Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center creates a vibrant LGBTQ+ community in the Lehigh Valley through arts, health, youth, training, and Pride programs. In her current role at the Bradbury-Sullivan Center, she focuses on expanding and building community
relations and advocates for fair access to health benefits within the LGBTQ+ community and abroad.
Ashley L. Coleman (she/her) is the Executive Director of Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center. Ashley was appointed by the center’s Board of Directors in January 2023. She has been a fixture in the LGBTQ+ community in Philadelphia for over ten years having previously served as Executive Director at galaei and Senior Events Manager at Mazzoni Center. Her activism and advocacy began as a youth in the Lehigh Valley, leading Queer youth initiatives while producing large scale events for nonprofits in Northeastern Pennsylvania. She went on to serve as the general conference coordinator of the world’s largest Transgender specific conference from 2016-2019, and she led galaei through the production of Philadelphia’s 50th Pride parade and festival in 2022.
ENID M. & MICHAEL J. SEIDEN '63 '64