Join us for a roundtable discussion with the Studio Museum in Harlem’s 2026 artists in residence, Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina, and Taylor Simmons, moderated by Assistant Curator Adria Gunter. To celebrate the opening of A sustained becoming: Studio Museum Artists in Residence 2026, hear the artists speak about work created during the residency program.

This event is free and open to the public. ASL interpretation will be provided.

Derriann Pharr (b. 1998, Winfield, AL; lives and works in Birmingham, AL) is an interdisciplinary artist who uses an array of media to investigate intersections of identity, safe spaces, memory, and abjection of the human body. Transformation rests at the heart of Pharr’s practice. She envisions her figures as a mirror: reconciliation with her internal worth and self-compassion are both negotiated each time a figure is born. Documenting her transition into womanhood has been reliant on a necessary examination and collapse of false beliefs—choosing mixed media practices as a mode for mending relationships with self. Her fixation on self-esteem, particularly as it intersects with the lack of intrinsic and physical consideration of marginalized bodies in the American South, has shaped an interest in broadening the scope of representation within the historical context of figure drawing. Pharr has had solo exhibitions at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Scott Miller Projects, and Bells Gallery. Group exhibitions include the Gadsden Museum of Art and the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. She holds a BFA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Simonette Quamina (b. 1982, Ontario, Canada; lives and works in Rock Tavern, NY) was born in Canada, and spent her early childhood living between the Caribbean, South America, and New York City. Through the reconstruction of personal and collective histories, her diverse upbringing is constantly woven into the narratives of her work. She creates monumental prints and haunting collaged drawings meticulously done in graphite which grants her the space to re-evaluate perceptions of cultural, racial, social norms, and romanticized ideas of the Caribbean. Quamina’s work has been exhibited at El Museo del Barrio; Smack Mellon; the Art Gallery at Pace University; Glyndor Gallery at the Wave Hill Public Garden and Cultural Center; Gallerie Thaddaeus Ropac; and the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center. Quamina has held residencies in Dieu Donné Workspace; the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program; and El Espacio 23; and is an alum of the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the City College of New York and a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Art and Design. Quamina lives and works in New York.

Taylor Simmons’s (b.1990, Atlanta, GA; lives and works in Brooklyn) paintings, prints, and drawings incorporate hazy fluorescent depictions of everyday life, forming an archive of compulsively collated imagery. His layered compositions, distinct for their neon-colored palette and balance of acrylic, oil, airbrush, and wax, slip between figuration and abstraction, and specificity and ambiguity. Citing music, found photographs, and viral video clips as inspiration, the artist takes impulsive riffs and remixes that coalesce in his organic and all-over dynamic works. His paintings sample fragments of his surroundings, from his upbringing in Atlanta, Georgia to his years in New York City, questioning the conventional performance of masculinity and recalling universal themes of youthful play, human nature, and work and rest. Recent presentations include solo exhibitions at Public Gallery; Helena Anrather; and SIXI Museum; and group exhibitions at Ward Gallery; CC Projects; Kravets Wehby Gallery; Half Gallery; Deli Gallery; Martha’s Contemporary; Particle Foundation; Marlborough Gallery; and Carlye Packer. Simmons was an artist in residence at The Macedonia Institute. His work is in the permanent collections of the X Museum; The Friedrich Christian Flick Collection; Igal Ahouvi Collection; and the SIXI Museum.