Changing Hearts | Changing Minds, An Inspiring Art Exhibit

Changing Hearts | Changing Minds, An Inspiring Art Exhibit

Featuring the works of
Jaypix Belmer, L’Merchie Frazier, Khalid Kodi, and Hakim Raquib

Exhibition Opening: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 5:30 pm
Artist Talkback and Reception: Sunday, June 1, 2025 at 12:00 pm
First Parish in Lexington, 7 Harrington Rd., Lexington, MA

On Sunday, June 1st at First Parish in Lexington from 12:00 to 2:00 pm, there will be an Artist Talkback and Reception for an inspiring and vibrant art exhibit, Changing Hearts | Changing Minds. The exhibit features the work of four distinguished visual artists from Greater Boston’s African and Black artistic and cultural communities: Jaypix Belmer, Photography; L’Merchie Frazier, Textiles; Khalid Kodi, Mixed Media, and Hakim Raquib, Digital Media.

The art exhibit opening will be May 18th at 5:30 pm, immediately following the Jams for Justice concert, a benefit concert for UU Urban Ministry. Art can also be viewed on Sundays, May 25th through June 15th, during the hours of 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, and by appointment by contacting Sirarpi Heghinian-Walzer (sirarpiwalzer@gmail.com, 781.307.7306).

This exhibit marks the first collaboration between the Arts Team of First Parish in Lexington, led by Sirarpi Heghinian-Walzer and the UU Urban Ministry, The work is curated by the UU Urban Ministry’s Art Liaison, D. Walters. All proceeds from sales will go directly to the artists.

The UU Urban Ministry is a Roxbury-based, nonsectarian nonprofit organization with nearly a 200-year legacy of working for racial, economic, and social justice. The ministry provides essential programs in education, housing, and life skills, with a mission focused on dismantling racism and promoting equity and empowerment.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jaypix Belmer (Jay, they/them) is an African American artist and documentary photographer whose work captures the “visual soul” of their subjects. Their photography involves authentic engagement with communities of color, LGBTQ+ communities, and urban neighborhoods, serving as a community liaison and capturing cultural realities that are not often visible. Jaypix works on local and national commercial projects focusing on anthropology and amplifying artist identity and environmental assets through archiving and exhibition to build vibrant, livable neighborhoods. They are a Polly Thayer Starr Visiting Artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

L’Merchie Frazier is a visual activist, public artist, historian, educator, and poet. Frazier’s innovative art supports social and restorative justice and pursues civil and human rights through a lens of 500 years of Black and Indigenous history. Her lifelong work, “Save Me From My Amnesia,” calls for action to Remember, Reclaim, Restore, and Reimagine. She is an artist-in-residence at the African American Master Artist-in-Residence Program (AAMARP). Her works are permanently housed in institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the White House, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Khalid Kodi is a Sudanese American master artist, educator, and cultural critic known for his prolific participatory art projects in Sudan, Africa. He uses art to facilitate dialogue across various forms of difference and addresses social justice issues such as racism, injustice, slavery, wars, and genocide—particularly in Africa. His work employs non-traditional mediums like music, art, and community storytelling to reclaim marginalized aspects of identity and enact resilience against structural injustices.
He is an artist-in-residence at the African American Master Artist-in-Residence Program (AAMARP). His work has been widely exhibited and featured in publications such as
The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art.

Hakim Raquib is an artist driven by an insatiable curiosity for the technical and interpretive boundaries of photography, active in Boston after formative years in New York, California, and France. Drawing from extensive educational, professional, and personal experiences, Raquib delves deep into his inner self to uncover and capture
the hidden meanings of the world around him. He is an artist-in-residence at the African American Master Artist-in-Residence Program (AAMARP). His work has been most recently exhibited in the National Center for Afro-American Artists exhibition, Cancel Violence, and at the Mayor’s Art Gallery, Congress Street, No Going Back: Voices of
the African Diaspora, the AAMARP Gallery, and the Bromfield Gallery.

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Media Contact:
Dayenne C Walters
617.894.6885
dwalters@uuum.org

PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST