Kellogg Community College will exhibit nearly two dozen unique mixed-media mosaics by Chicago artist Keila Strong starting this month on campus in Battle Creek.
The innovative exhibit, titled “Tales and Tokens,” explores identity at the intersection of hair and fashion in Black culture through mosaics made from everyday objects found in Black homes, including combs, bobby pins, buttons, fabric, hair accessories and more.
“Tales and Tokens” will run Monday, Jan. 12, through Thursday, Feb. 12, in the Davidson Visual and Performing Arts Center’s Eleanor R. and Robert A. DeVries Gallery, on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular gallery hours, which are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays.
An artist’s lecture – also free and open to the public – will be held in the gallery as part of the College’s DeVries Lecture Series beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, followed by a closing reception.
In an artist’s statement, Strong said the exhibit “centers Black hair as both adornment and archive.” Hair and fashion produce a language in Black communities that communicates creativity, resilience, stature and belonging, Strong states, and the works in the exhibit examine “how hair and clothing work together as tools of self‑expression, particularly in spaces where identity is nurtured rather than performed.”
Strong’s work assembles familiar and often overlooked materials into “powerful silhouetted figures, allowing hair and fashion to speak in place of facial features,” the artist’s statement continues. “These works invite viewers to recognize personal and collective memory stories passed down through ritual, care and everyday life.”
Strong is a Chicago-based mixed media artist whose practice celebrates the beauty, resilience and innovation of Black culture. Known for her playful use of color and unconventional materials, she transforms everyday objects into textured mosaics that tell stories of identity, memory and style.
Strong has exhibited in galleries and museums across the U.S. and continues to be recognized as an important contemporary artist and innovator. Her vision is rooted in creating art that brings people together, offering spaces for joy, reflection and pride in shared heritage.
For more information about artist Keila Strong or her work, visit keilastrong.com.
For more information about Strong’s KCC exhibit or other KCC arts events and initiatives, contact KCC’s Arts and Communication Office at 269-965-4126.
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