ART PROJECTS

​Stephanie Anne Johnson
The Art of Theatre — Arts Benicia Gallery
Artist Statement

I am a second-generation theatre worker. My mother Virginia Johnson (née Greene) worked with The American Negro Theatre in the 1950s. She created the collaged cigar box on display using programs from early on in my career.

Light is my primary tool as a designer and visual artist. Its ethereal nature provides me with a means to express unseen narratives, enhance the onstage productions, and educate viewers about the human experience from an African American artist’s point of view.

​The 2D work was created specifically for this show to provide a visual map of my process from the drafting board to the stage. I have synthesized my skills as a designer and visual artist for the first time in building these shadow boxes.

This work is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Virginia Johnson and father, Dr. Lawrence J. Johnson, who supported me on this fifty-year long journey as an artist.

Mixed Media Shadow Boxes, July-August, 2025
Photos and Drafting - Stephanie Anne Johnson

Click on the images to see larger versions and details:

​​​"MOMMY'S GIFT​"
This collaged cigar box was created by my mother Virginia E. Johnson in 1974 using headlines, reviews, and program information that I sent to her early on in my career. This piece is dedicated to her memory.

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"THE WOLF PLAY"
Shotgun Players, Berkeley, 2023
Directed by Elizabeth Carter

"GOVERNMENT HOUSING"
Lower Bottom Playaz, Oakland, 2024
Written and directed by Dr. Ayodele Nzinga

"THE KINGDOM"

Mixed media shadow box

Among Dr. Johnson's earliest work, she was the lighting designer for The Kingdom directed by Rufus Collins in De Engelenbak Theatre, Amsterdam, Holland, 1984. ​Shown here is the shadow box she created and gifted to the private Collection of Louise Schine and Anasa Cavitt. 

The Kingdom was created when Johnson was living in Amsterdam, Holland. She worked with director Rufus Collins, best known globally as a figure in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The Kingdom detail

LAKE MERRITT AUTUMN LIGHTS FESTIVAL 2024
Another Parks & Recreation Award-Winning Year for
​​ANCESTOR'S GROVE: A SPACE JOURNEY

​This art installation by African American lighting designers / visual artists / scientists -- Stephanie Anne Johnson and Kevin E Myrick is a creative manifestation of our exploration of outer space, African ancestral practices, nature, and sustainable resources. ​We chose the baobab tree, one of the oldest and tallest organisms on earth whose symbolic & medicinal qualities are a unique part of our African legacy.

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LAKE MERRITT AUTUMN LIGHTS FESTIVAL 2021 & 2022:

ANCESTOR'S GROVE: A SPACE JOURNEY
​Video by Alexa Burrell​

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ANCESTOR'S GROVE:

 Ancestor's Grove: A Space Journey ​is our Afro Futurist vision of the intersection between legacy, nature and technology, and the bond between humans and the spirit world.  Ancestor's Grove: A Space Journey was created specifically for the Lake Merritt Light Festival. - Gardens at Lake Merritt, 666 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland, CA

Winner: Oakland Parks & Recreation
& ​Youth Development Award - 2021, 2024

See More, from The Variety Arts Network>

 

​Oakland Theater Project's 'Binding Ties' - The 16th Street Station
​February 11- Extended to March 7, 2021 - Sold Out

The 2021 Season kicks off with the 30th Anniversary production of Binding Ties: The 16th Street Station, a site-specific art installation show at the historical 16th Street Station in West Oakland, created by Oakland Theater Project’s Resident Lighting Designer Stephanie Anne Johnson with Michael Copeland Sydnor.
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Binding Ties uses a theatrical art installation experience by using video projections to casts its story directly on to the historic building where this story takes place and weaves archival images, original audio interviews and captivating historical narratives to tell the story of the former Southern Pacific Railroad workers, and explore the economic and cultural forces surrounding the station and the subsequent migration of Oakland’s Black and immigrant communities in the first half of the 20th century.

​This innovative and moving art installation production combines the historical building with original interviews and photographs of its community members, as if the voices and images are coming from deep within the building's consciousness.

Click on the image below to see larger photos:

Hear Wanda Sabir's Interview with Stephanie Anne Johnson about "Binding Ties" and relevant historic information:

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​SF Chronicle: Oakland Theater Project’s ‘Binding Ties’ makes 16th Street Station come alive. - Lily Janiak, SF Chronicle - See the review>
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Theatrius: “Binding Ties” Shines migrant stories on Rail Station - Barry David Horwitz - See the review>

Broadway World: Oakland Theater Project Launches 2021 Drive-In Season with "Binding Ties" - BWW News Desk - See the review>

Local News Matters: The often-forgotten history of POC railroad workers is illuminated in Oakland revival of 1991’s "Binding Ties" - Charles Lewis III, Bay City News Foundation - See the review>

PROGRAM NOTES>

New exhibit showcases vital contribution of African Americans to Berkeley

A new Berkeley Historical Society exhibit open Sunday May 16 - Oct. 10, 2021 (onsite and online) showcases the influence of African Americans in the city from 1940 to 2000, featuring flourishing business and churches, a vibrant political and social scene, and prominent Black residents who helped shape Berkeley’s reputation as a diverse destination city. ​

Harvey Smith and Dr. Stephanie Johnson, co-curators of the “African Americans in Berkeley’s History and Legacy” exhibit, make final preparations before the second leg of the three-part series opens Sunday, May 16, 2021. Credit: Kelly Sullivan

​“African Americans in Berkeley’s History and Legacy” - Co-curators: Harvey Smith and Dr. Stephanie Johnson

​The exhibit highlights the Rainbow Sign, an African American cultural and social center that drew influential Black artists and activists from all over the country to Berkeley in the 1970s, which was frequented by Vice President Kamala Harris and her family when she was a child. Other Black political figures who visited the center included Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968; Ron Dellums, who grew up in Oakland and was a Berkeley City Councilman before representing the region in Congress; and Huey P. Newton, who founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland in 1966.  

See All About It>

"AFRICAN AMERICANS IN BERKELEY: FOUR FAMILIES
Curated by Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson and Harvey Smith ​

​Oct 27, 2019 – April 4, 2020

Stephanie Anne Johnson - Photo by Vicki Dello Joio

African Americans in Berkeley: Four Families, is the first in a series of exhibits to explore the extensive history of African Americans in Berkeley, beginning with the first early families, through the explosion in population during the wartime industry boom of World War II, and into the civil rights era and beyond.

It focuses on housing issues, including racial covenants, redlining, fair housing, and the current displacement crisis: employment discrimination; religious, social and business organizations; arts, entertainment, education, politics and sports; and notable Black contributors to the city's civic life.

​This first exhibit focuses on four African American families: the Griffins, the Reids, the Rumfords, and the Howards. The exhibit includes a rich photographic record, personal memorabilia from the families, and special programs including film presentations.

PRESS
​Photos, examples from the exhibits - ​Click on images below to see largest versions:

LOBBY IMAGES

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HOWARD FAMILY

RUMFORD FAMILY

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

All of my pieces are homages to the ancestors. My work is an invitation to examine the delicate membrane which veils those who dwell in thespirit world from those we refer to as the living. This membrane is called the heart. Light, historical artifacts, photographs and oral narration are my primary tools. I use these elements to reveal neglected members of our culture, (re)placing them in public view.

In my slide projection pieces, I combine the ethereal nature of light and the solidity of architecture to symbolize a balance between the spiritual and material worlds. Projecting images in outdoor architectural settings is my way of monumentalizing the forgotten. — This is my work.

"I am a faith-filled servant of God, the Ancestors, and all that is divine. Everything I need is provided at all times." — From Every Twenty-One Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me

PREVIOUS ART PROJECTS
Click on an image to see more.

See  SF Chronicle Article>

​Stephanie Anne Johnson uses her installations and mixed media sculptures as a way to preserve and honor the history of Africans. She uses large-scale slide projections in settings such as railroad stations, churches, cemeteries and galleries.
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As an artist, Ms. Johnson’s work has been exhibited at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), The Jewish Museum (San Francisco), The African American Museum (Dallas), Spelman College Museum of Art (Atlanta) and The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston) among many other national venues. She has had one-person shows at The Center For African American Life and Culture (San Francisco) and The African American Historical Society (San Francisco).

She has been the recipient of grants from The Gerbode Foundation, New Langton Arts, and The National Endowment for the Arts and has been commissioned by The Atlanta Arts Festival, The City of Oakland, The DeYoung Museum, Intersection for The Arts (San Francisco), and Saint Lawrence University (Canton) among other organizations.
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In a lighting design career that spans more than three decades, Ms. Johnson has designed shows for Cultural Odyssey (San Francisco), Dimensions Dance Theater (Oakland), The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Arizona Repertory Theater, La Mama Theater  (New York) and Black Moon Theatre (New York and Paris). Her lighting design work has been seen in India, The Netherlands, Italy, France and Belgium.
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Ms. Johnson holds degrees (theater, interdisciplinary studies and art) from Emerson College (Boston), San Francisco State University, The University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Public Policy from The Union Institute & University (Cincinnati). She is a Professor in The Visual and Public Art Department at California State University, Monterey Bay. She has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from The Gerbode Foundation (San Francisco), The Margaret Calder Hayes Prize (U.C. Berkeley), and California State University, Monterey Bay.