EDUCATION
McMaster College, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, BFA Studio Art
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
Boise Museum of Art, Boise ID
City of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan
Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington DC
National Portrait Gallery
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ
The Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY
Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA
Wichita Museum of Art, Wichita, KS
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Stephen Towns, Declaration & Resistance, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC
2022 Stephen Towns, Glimpses of Americana, De Buck Gallery, New York, NY
2022 Stephen Towns, Declaration & Resistance, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
2022 Stephen Towns, Declaration & Resistance, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA
2020 A Songbook Remembered, De Buck Gallery, New York, NY
2019 Rumination and a Reckoning, Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA
2019 The Night Light Fell from the Sky, De Buck Gallery, New York, NY
2019 A Path Between Two Continents, York College, York PA
2018 Rumination and a Reckoning, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
2017 A Migration, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
2016 Take Me Away to the Stars, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD
2014 CoPatriot, Gallery CA, Baltimore MD
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 (im)permanent, The Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas
2023 Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures, NMAAHC, Washington, DC
2022 Flora Fauna Fiber: Textiles in Contemporary Art, The Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA
2022 Activating the Renaissance, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
2021 Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience., NMAAHC, Washington, DC
2021 The Social Fabric: Black Artistry in Fiber Arts, An Homage to Viki Craig, Morris Museum, Morristown , NJ
2019 [Un] Common Collections, David C. Driskell Center, College Park, MD
2019 Conjuring Wholeness in the Wake of Rupture, De Buck Gallery, New York, NY
2019 Every Day: Selections from the Collection, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
2018 Parking on Pavement, Jack Shainman: The School Gallery, Kinderhook, NY
2018 Familiar Boundaries, August Wilson Center, Pittsburg, PA
2018 Myths, Archetypes, and Folklore, The Art Barn, Gaithersburg, MD
2017 Censored, The Motor House, Baltimore, MD (Curated by Leslie King-Hammond)
2017 Two Lane Stories, Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD
2017 INTERDISCIPLINARIUM, AAC: Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA
2016 To Be Black in White America, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD
2016 All American House, Carroll Mansion, Baltimore, MD
2016 Consumption, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD
2016 Untitled, Busboys and Poets, Washington, DC
2016 Narrative in Black Identity, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD
LECTURES & PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2022 Alexander Smalls & Stephen Towns Declaration & Resistance Dinner, Greensburg, PA
2022 An Evening with Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Greensburg PA
2022 Artist Talk, Virtual In Conversation: Stephen Towns and Kilolo Luckett, Online
2021 Artist Talk, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA
2021 Artist Talk-PRIZM, Miami, FL
2021 Artist Talk-Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania
2021 Artist Talk, Space for Creative Black Imagination, MICA, Baltimore, MD
2020 Artist Talk with Larry Ossei-Mensah Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, Baltimore, MD
2020 In Conversation with Larry Ossei-Mensah, DeBuck Gallery, New York, NY
2019 Guest Lecturer, York College, York, PA
2019 Guest Lecturer, PCAD, Lancaster, PA
2018 Artist Talk, August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2018 VOICES Series: Baltimore Portrait Artists Amy Sherald and Stephen Towns in Conversation, Baltimore, MD
2018 Mark Bradford in Conversation with Stephen Towns, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
2017 Guest Lecturer, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
2017 Guest Lecturer, Towson University, Towson, MD
2016 Faculty, Maryland Institute of Art, Course: Art and Activism, Baltimore, MD
HONORS & AWARDS
2021 Fallingwater Institute Artist-In-Residence, Mill Run, PA
2021 Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award, Baltimore MD
2019 National Parks Arts Foundation Artist Residency at Gettysburg, Gettysburg, PA
2019 Sondheim Prize Semi-finalist, Baltimore Office for the Promotion and Arts, Baltimore MD
2018 Sondheim Prize finalist, Baltimore Office for the Promotion and Arts, Baltimore MD
2018 Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award in craft
2018 Semifinalist Bethesda Painting Awards, Bethesda, MD
2017 Semifinalist Bethesda Painting Awards, Bethesda, MD
2015 First Annual Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City Artist Travel Prize, The Municipal Art Society of Baltimore City & the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, Baltimore MD
2015 Rubys Artist Grant, Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, Baltimore MD
DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS
Laster, Paul. Stephen Towns, Storytelling Through Art, Whitehot Magazine, November 12, 2022
Lanay, Jessica. This Little Light of Mine (I Am Gonna Let It —): Stephen Towns Interviewed by Jessica Lanay, Bomb Magazine, April 25, 2022.
Flake, Ebony. A new art exhibit reflects the role of African American labor in building the US economy, INSIDER, March 25, 2022
Scott, Chadd. Stephen Towns Spotlights Workers At Bottom Of America’s Economic Ladder, Forbes, February 6, 2022
McMarlin, Shirley. Westmoreland Museum Exhibition Delves into African American Dream, Trib Live, Jan 28, 2022.
Urist, Jacoba. Six Discoveries to Make at Miami’s Untitled Art Fair 2021, Cultured, December 3, 2021.
Villa, Angelica. Emerging Artists Reign Amid Absence of Mega-Galleries in Expo Chicago’s Online Fair. Art News, April 12, 2021.
Kamp, Justin. The 10 Best Booths at EXPO Chicago’s Online Edition, Artsy, April 9, 2021.
Lesser, Casey. Inside My Collection: Carla Shen, Artsy, Mar 22, 2021.
Henderson, Teri. Triumph in the Face of Terror: African-American Spirituals and Stephen Towns, BMore Art, November 27, 2020.
Helligar, Jeremy. 11 Amazing Black Artists Who Have Been Flying Under the Radar, Readers Digest, October 8, 2020.
Shurvell, Joanne. 154 Contemporary African Art Fair, The Only International Art Fair To Open In London This Autumn, Forbes, October 9, 2020.
Valentine, Victoria. Works by 21 Artists are Featured in ‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,’ a New Documentary About the Acclaimed Author, Culture Type, June 21, 2019.
Estiler, Keith. De Buck Gallery Highlights Black Imagination & Self Identity in Group Show, HypeBeast, May 1, 2019.
McClure, Diana. Contemporary African Art Through African Eyes, AFROPUNK, May 1, 2019.
Staff. Shows to See: August / September 2018, American Craft Council Magazine, August/September 2018.
Lauren LaRocca. Cameo: Stephen Towns, Baltimore Magazine, July 2018.
McCauley, Mary Carole. Artists explore American identity in Sondheim Artscape Prize, Baltimore Sun, June 21 2018.
Fesseden, Marissa. Artist’s Quilts Pay Tribute to African - American Women, Smithsonian Magazine, May 14, 2018.
Ober, Cara. Artists and Curators Weigh In on Baltimore Museum’s Move to Deaccession Works by White Men to Diversify Its Collection, Hyperallergic, May 8, 2018.
Callahan, Maura. Recharting America’s Origin Story Through Quilts, Hyperallergic, April 27, 2018.
McCauley, Mary Carole. Two of Baltimore's hottest artists — Amy Sherald and Stephen Towns — to host public talk about their work, Baltimore Sun, March 14, 2018.
McCauley, Mary Carole. Baltimore artist Stephen Towns lands career-making solo show at Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore Sun, March 10, 2018.
McLeod, Ethan, BMA debuts artist Stephen Towns’ mystical quilt collection on Nat Turner, American slavery, Baltimore Fishbowl, March 7, 2018.
Heinrich, Will. Art: Story Quilts by Stephen Towns, New York Times, March 3, 2018.
Staff. 23 Reasons To Travel This Winter Baltimore, Forbes Magazine, December 22, 2017.
Kirkman, Rebekah, Paintings removed from Stephen Towns' solo show prompt discussion on empathy and emotion, Baltimore City Paper, September 12, 2017.
Ober, Cara. Provocative Nat Turner-Inspired Portraits Fuel Debate After Their Removal, Hyperallergic, September 8, 2017.
Jenkins, Mark. In the galleries: Doubling down on artworks, Washington Post, September1, 2017.
PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Luckett, Kilolo. Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance Catalog. Westmoreland Museum of American Art. 2023.
Cruz, Kleaver. The Black Joy Project. 2023.
Akers, Tyler. Stephen Towns. Gayletter Issue 18, 2023.
O’Hern, John. Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance. American Art Collection, February 2022.
Lutz, Glenn. There’s Light: Artworks & Conversations Examining Black Masculinity, Identity & Mental Well-being, 2022.
Scarborough, Klare & Boothe, Berrisford. Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021, 2022
Sherald, Amy. The Artist’s Artists: International group of Artists to select a single exhibition or event that most memorably captured their eye in 2018. Artforum, The Year In Review, December 2018.
Staff. Shows to See: August / September 2018. American Craft Council Magazine, August / September 2018.
McCauley, Mary Carole. Two of Baltimore's hottest artists — Amy Sherald and Stephen Towns — to host public talk about their work, Baltimore Sun, March 14, 2018.
Heinrich, Will. Art: Story Quilts by Stephen Towns, New York Times, March 3, 2018.
Wilkinson, Michelle Joan. For Whom It Stands: The Flag and The American People. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 2016, 94- 95.
Hampton, Christine and Rosalee Washington. The History of Lincolnville, South Carolina. BookSurge, LLC. 2007. 119-120.
FILM
The Pieces I Am, Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Magnolia Pictures, 2019