Living Legacy: Juneteenth Art Exhibition 2026.
About this Event
Diaspora Fine Art presents Living Legacy, a group exhibition opening during Juneteenth Weekend in Tampa, Florida.
The exhibition features the works of Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes, three alumni of the James Weldon Johnson Artist Residency whose practices span painting, mixed media, and the ongoing conversation between African and diaspora experience. Their work is grounded in a shared conviction: that art is an assertion of identity, culture, and lived experience.
James Weldon Johnson was a poet, civil rights leader, and one of the defining voices of the Harlem Renaissance. He believed that Black art carried the full weight of Black humanity. Living Legacy asks what it means to carry that weight forward, and what these three artists have to say about freedom, visibility, and cultural memory in 2026. The opening weekend runs June 18-21 at the AC Hotel Tampa Airport, featuring a curated exhibition of 15 to 25 works alongside four days of programming. Exhibition viewing on the hotel's public walls continues June 22-30 at no charge.
Weekend Schedule
- Thursday, June 18: VIP Preview, 6:30-10:00 PM (Doors at 6:00 PM)
- Friday,June 19: General Opening, Juneteenth, 6:30-10:00 PM (Doors at 6:00 PM)
- Saturday, June 20: Art Talk and Evening Mixer, 10:00 AM-10:00 PM
- Sunday,June 21: Poetry Reading at 1:00 PM, Open Collector Viewing, 12:00-5:00 PM
All ticketed events and programming are included in your ticket. No separate tickets are required for individual events.
Thursday
🕑: 06:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Thursday - VIP Preview
Info: The Living Legacy exhibition opens first to the people who make it possible. Before the public doors open on Juneteenth, Diaspora Fine Art invites collectors, press, and Friends of Diaspora members to an exclusive evening with the work and the artists who made it.
Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes will all be present and available for conversation. This is a rare opportunity to engage directly with each artist, understand the creative decisions behind their work, and be among the first to acquire pieces from what promises to be a significant Juneteenth weekend exhibition.
The Living Legacy show explores what James Weldon Johnson's legacy looks like when carried forward by three contemporary artists of the diaspora. This evening sets the tone for that conversation.
Attendance is by invitation only. Capacity is limited.
Friday
🕑: 06:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Friday - Opening Night
Info: June 19th is not a backdrop. It is the reason.
Living Legacy opens to the public on Juneteenth, the day the last enslaved people in America learned what freedom meant. Diaspora Fine Art chose this date deliberately: James Weldon Johnson spent his life arguing that Black creative expression was not peripheral to American culture but central to it. The work of Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes makes that argument in paint, form, and image for a new generation.
This is the public opening of a curated exhibition at AC Hotel Tampa. Admission is open to all. Hotel guests enter free. Come ready to be moved, to ask questions, and to spend real time with work that deserves it.
The artists will be available at scheduled times throughout the weekend. Friday is where the conversation begins.
Saturday
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
General Viewing
Info: The exhibition is open. Come when you're ready, stay as long as the work holds you.
Living Legacy brings together three artists of the diaspora in conversation with the legacy of James Weldon Johnson: Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes. The works are on display throughout the day. No agenda, no program. Just you and the art.
Hotel guests enter free. General admission applies to all other visitors.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Artists' Talk
Info: Dr. Jocelyn Marshall sits down with the artists.
This roundtable discussion brings Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes into direct conversation with each other and with the audience. Dr. Marshall, co-curator of Living Legacy, will draw out the creative decisions, the research, the personal histories, and the cultural stakes behind the work. These are the conversations that rarely make it onto a wall label.
Seating is limited. Arrive early.
🕑: 06:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Networking Mixer
Info: The art stays on the walls. The artists come to the bar.
This is the social hour of the weekend: a chance to connect with fellow collectors, meet the artists outside the formality of the gallery floor, and continue the conversations that started earlier in the day. Good company, good drinks, and people who love art.
Sunday
🕑: 12:00 PM - 05:00 PM
General Viewing
Info: The final afternoon. Living Legacy closes its doors as a ticketed exhibition today, and the pace is quieter for it.
This is the time to return to a piece you haven't been able to stop thinking about, or to see the exhibition for the first time without the energy of opening weekend. The work of Noland Anderson, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Gomes doesn't ask for a crowd. It holds just as well in stillness.
Hotel guests enter free. General admission applies to all other visitors.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Poetry Showcase
Info: James Weldon Johnson was a poet before he was a civil rights leader, a diplomat, or an institution. The word came first.
This closing showcase brings together local poets whose voices carry something of that lineage, whether or not they're writing about Johnson directly. Hosted by Thee Charles Hines, the afternoon is a reminder that the legacy Living Legacy is named for was never confined to canvas. It moves through language too.
Come ready to be moved.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 25.00
