The Elma Lewis Center at Emerson College has launched the Elma Lewis Living Stories Project’s “What Miss Elma Lewis Taught Me” in honor of one of Boston’s most important African-American female luminaries in the arts, education, and the civil rights movement.

The project is launching with a “Call to Artists,” inviting those who knew Elma Lewis best and those who wish to honor her legacy to document in audio recordings, photographs, video, and film the stories they wish to share. The call will remain open through August 28, 2020.

Miss Lewis, a Roxbury native who founded the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in 1950 to provide arts education for Boston’s African-American community and later founded the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA), received the Presidential Medal for the Arts in 1983. She was recently honored by the City of Boston on February 25 as part of Boston’s Black Excellence 2020 initiative.

“This Living Stories Project intends to bring the impact of Elma Lewis’s work into public memory as a core part of black history, arts, and education in the Boston area and in the world,” said Tamera Marko, executive director of the Elma Lewis Center, in a press release. “Visual art is a powerful form of storytelling that can embody and communicate the soul and heart of what the storyteller wants to say about how Elma Lewis impacted them and their communities.” 

According to Marko, many community members from the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, and surrounding areas can passionately tell a story about “what Miss Elma Lewis taught me,” and how their lives have been deeply impacted by the seven decades of her work.

“Elma Lewis had an unwavering dedication to hope, education, creativity, and intellectual development. She was an inspiration during her lifetime and remains an inspiration to us today at Emerson and in Boston,” said Sylvia Spears, vice president for Equity & Social Justice at Emerson College.

The Living Stories project is intended to move stories beyond the traditional cloisters of academic and institutional archives by thoughtfully circulating these stories in the form of artwork throughout vibrant and interactive community spaces, such as cafés, murals, and schools. Its goal is to also inspire ongoing conversations about Elma Lewis’ impact in the community and in the arts.