Luvon Sheppard

Featured Leader: Luvon Sheppard

Luvon Sheppard has been a resident of Rochester since he was five years old. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is a full professor in the School of Art and Design. Luvon has also taught at SUNY Brockport and SUNY

Geneseo Universities. Sheppard’s paintings reflect his involvement in Rochester community life. He is known for his watercolor street scenes and portraits of local African American heroes, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass, choreographer and dancer Garth Fagan, and community activist Mildred Johnson.

His work is in the permanent collections of the Memorial Art Gallery, the City of Rochester, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the University of Seoul, S. Korea, The Henrietta School District, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester Savings Bank, Garth Fagan Dance, and many other institutions.

Essayist: Quajay Donnell

Quajay Donnell is a freelance photographer and writer living in Rochester with his wife, sons and daughter. His photo and essay work have been published locally and nationally in various publications including The Democrat and Chronicle and The Washington Post. He’s honored to be contributing for the fifth time to In This Moment and has been involved since the inception of the chapbook series.

Photographer: Rashaad Parker

RASHAAD PARKER is of Ghanaian and Cameroonian descent, specifically from the Tikar people. He was raised in Rochester, NY, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and Afro-American Studies from the State University of New York College at Brockport. He has presented research on African American male cultural identity at the University of Maryland and the University at Buffalo, aiming to dispel the myths and negative stereotypes about African American men often perpetuated by mainstream media. Rashaad earned a Master of Fine Arts with an Arts Administration certification from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester. He is a filmmaker, visual artist, curator, entrepreneur, and youth educator. His work explores the intersection of art and social justice activism, using Afro-futuristic mixed media that incorporate metals, found artifacts, videography, 16mm film, sound, sculpture, photo collage, textiles, and film as a substrate. Rashaad has written, produced, and directed four critically acclaimed short films on social justice initiatives in Rochester, and has created the video series ROC City Speaks and Conversations on Culture. In his role as a youth educator, Rashaad has helped more than 30 BIPOC youth gain acceptance into college, half of whom have earned four-year degrees to date. Several of these youths’ artworks have also been featured in major galleries, including the Rochester Institute of Technology’s, City Art Space and the Gallery Obscura at the George Eastman Museum. Currently he teaches 10th grade Global Studies at the University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men and is also one of the founding members and Chief Operating Officer of the 9th Floor Artists Collective, LLC, a Black-owned arts organization in downtown Rochester, that believes in the transformative power of art to inspire positive change, wellness, and cultural unity.