Sanah Brown-Bowers: "The Joy Lab"

Exhibition Dates:
February 12 – March 24, 2026

Artist’s Talk & Reception:
Thursday, February 26, 2026:

Artist’s Talk, 4-5pm,
Ballston Center Auditorium
Reception, 5-7pm, Cody Gallery

Curated by Mary Proenza, Associate Professor of Art & Cody Gallery Director

In celebration of Black History Month and beyond, Cody Gallery proudly presents Sanah Brown-Bowers: “The Joy Lab.” Fusing such inspirations as graffiti, cartoons, African prints, and styles from her childhood in Queens, New York, Brown-Bowers’ immersive installation honors family, faith, and Black history. The vibrant works include large-scale, mixed-media altarpieces, paintings, screenprints, sculptures, video, and audience interaction. A gifted multi-media artist, Brown-Bowers expertly handles materials ranging from oil, acrylic, and spray paint to candy, cast resin, wood, and video.

“‘The Joy Lab,’” Brown-Bowers writes, “is a space of experimentation, inheritance, and holy imagination. Rooted in Christian Kingdom belief, this lab is an extension of my desire to share faith through Jesus Christ and the biblical values that have shaped my life and lineage. Scripture teaches that ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength’—especially in communities that have learned joy as resistance and faith as endurance. In this lab, joy is studied, tested, cultivated, and intentionally passed down. Afro-futurist figures, ancestral symbols, and playful materials operate like instruments on a lab table—each exploring how faith, laughter, and legacy move across generations. These pieces ask what happens when joy is nurtured on purpose, and when descendants inherit not only survival, but praise, imagination, and spiritual confidence. This lab honors elders as the original keepers of faith—those who refined joy under pressure and passed it down with wisdom, humor, and prayer. Welcome to ‘The Joy Lab’—where joy is the experiment, faith is the foundation, and viewers are invited as active participants.”

Sanah Brown-Bowers is a Baltimore-based artist who earned her MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she also regularly teaches. Her recent accolades and exhibitions include first prize in the 2024 Bethesda Painting Awards and solo shows at Touchstone Gallery in Washington, DC and at VisArts in Rockville, MD.

Sanah Brown-Bowers: “The Joy Lab”

Photographs: Installation images in Cody Gallery of Sanah Brown-Bowers: “The Joy Lab.”