Please join the Carnegie Center for Art and History and the Floyd County Library in welcoming artist Jaylin Stewart as November’s online Lunch and Learn speaker. This is a free to the public program, however, you will need to register for this talk to receive the online link. The Lunch and Learn series is sponsored by Jamey and Sarah Aebersold.

Over the past few weeks, the Southern Indiana community has come to know and appreciate Jaylin and her positive vision through the colorful mural she has just completed for the Floyd County Library’s Central Branch in downtown New Albany, IN. Her mural, painted boldly on the side of a Library out building, depicts five scenes featuring children having a good, quality time through visual arts, music, and learning. Two of the panels also show adult caregivers with children sharing a book together or perhaps experiencing one of the many online opportunities present realities are mandating, and to which libraries such as the Floyd County Library are making big contributions. Jaylin will talk about how the mural came about and the positive, inclusive messages it sends, along with updates on the evolving arc of her burgeoning career.

Jaylin has a remarkable story to share about how she first became involved in public, community art and what attracted her to what is often perceived as being a solitary pursuit. The artist is from West Louisville and a dedicated teacher that had created her own nonprofit Adah School of Art that once provided art instruction for children before the pandemic came.

Undaunted by COVID-19’s changes for all our plans, Jaylin Stewart achieved recognition for another public art project that consisted of a series of sidewalk chalk drawings dedicated to the unsung everyday heroes in the form of health care workers on the frontline of a dangerous disease. There is an often intentional performative aspect to Jaylin Stewart’s art. She likes working in public, fielding questions from passers-by who are curious about her charismatic art. There is a purpose here: Stewart is modeling the positive example she believes helps change the world for the better.

Jaylin Stewart’s open approach to creation has also resulted in other exceptional art projects. Among them was the installation entitled, God Rest America that she created for Louisville’s former Scheherazade Gallery. The art installation was pre-pandemic and informed by another community scourge in the form of urban violence.  

Perhaps the single image created by Jaylin Stewart that has received world recognition is her projected, painted portrait of the late Breonna Taylor. On the evening of June 9, 2020 in downtown Louisville, an image of Stewart’s painting was projected upon the façade of Metro Hall. That day would also have been Breonna Taylor’s birthday and a peaceful crowd in the thousands gathered in peaceful protest to remember her and the ongoing demand for justice to be served.

Register to receive a Zoom link to join the event. For more information, email info@carnegiecenter.org.