LUKAZA BRANFMAN-VERISSIMO

Let it Be a Tale (text by and in honor of Palestinian poet, Refaat Alareer), Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, 2024

Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo (they/them/Lukaza) is an artist, activist, educator, storyteller, cultural worker, and person of multitudes. Through a practice based in the printed multiple, community-based work and installation building, they invite the viewer to recall and share their own lived narratives, offering power and weight to the creation of a larger dialogue around the telling of B.I.Q.T.P.O.C. (Black, Indigenous, Queer, Trans, People of color) stories.

In line with 836M’s 2024 programming centered around the theme of Beyond Frontiers, Lukaza’s mural, Let it Be a Tale (text by and in honor of Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer), spotlights artists and thinkers whose work transcends physical, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries to produce new ideas and experiences.

They got their MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and BFA at California College of the Arts. Branfman-Verissimo has had solo shows at SEPTEMBER Gallery [Kinderhook, NY], Deli Gallery [New York City, NY], Roll Up Projects [Oakland, CA], Printed Matter Inc. [New York City, NY] and STNDRD Projects [Steuben, WI]. Their work has been included in exhibitions and performances at MOCA Cleveland [Cleveland, OH], Konsthall C [Stockholm, Sweden], EFA Project Space [New York City, NY], San Francisco Arts Commission [San Francisco,CA], Leslie Lohman Museum [New York City, NY], Yerba Buena Center for the Arts [San Francisco, CA], and L’Internationale Online, amongst others. They have been awarded residencies and fellowships at The University of New Mexico, Black Space Residency, Kala Art Center, Women’s Studio Workshop and ACRE Residency.

Lukaza’s artist books and printed editions have been published by Endless Editions, Childish Books, Press Press and Printed Matter Inc. and is in the permanent collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, California College of the Arts Printmaking Archive, University of California Santa Cruz Library, New York University Special Collections and San Francisco Museum of Art Library. Branfman-Verissimo is represented by SEPTEMBER Gallery.