Join artist Stephen Towns to learn more about his artwork The Chain Gang, a new acquisition on view in (im)permanent.

Stephen Towns, born in 1980 in Lincolnville, SC, and based in Baltimore, MD, is a painter and self-taught quilter with a BFA from the University of South Carolina. His first museum exhibition, Stephen Towns: Rumination and a Reckoning, was held at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2018. Towns’ work has been featured in prominent publications like the New York Times and Artforum. He received the 2016 Municipal Art Society of Baltimore Travel Prize and was the first Black artist-in-residence at the Fallingwater Institute in 2021, the same year he was awarded the Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award. His works are in numerous collections, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Wichita Museum of Art.  | Instagram: @stephentowns. Photo credit: Malik DuPree.

Image Credit: Stephen Towns, The Chain Gang, 2021. Natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, crystal glass beads, Wichita Art Museum, Museum Purchase, Burneta Adair Endowment Fund, 2023.7

WAM Nights We’re open late on Fridays until 9 pm! Start your weekend with after-hours access to the galleries and shopping in the Museum Store. WAM Nights will include programs with artists, musicians, and performers–don’t miss your chance to see the art at WAM in a new way! The museum comes to life with local creatives during WAM Nights!