{"id":383331,"date":"2026-01-02T10:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/383331\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T10:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:07:14","slug":"a-life-in-art-education-and-community-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/383331\/","title":{"rendered":"A life in art education and community leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rochester, N.Y. \u2014 Luvon Sheppard, a renowned artist and professor, has been a fixture at the Rochester Institute of Technology<\/a> for 55 years, where he also earned his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees. Beyond his academic career, Sheppard has made significant contributions to the local art scene, participating in exhibitions such as Rochester Contemporary Art Center\u2019s 2018 show \u201cNo Soil Better: Art & The Living Legacy of Frederick Douglass.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Sheppard\u2019s connection to Frederick Douglass is deeply personal. <\/p>\n

“Frederick Douglass is a person I\u2019ve been interested in for years,” he said. “He was a Rochesterian, an abolitionist, but in reading about him and reading his work, I became very fascinated with him because of his spiritual background and his being a self-taught person.”<\/p>\n

Sheppard was recently honored at the University of Rochester Aging Institute\u2019s \u201cAging INSPIRED!\u201d<\/a> event at the Memorial Art Gallery. Mayor Malik Evans praised Sheppard\u2019s influence, calling him a personal inspiration. The event included a video tribute, showcasing Sheppard\u2019s decades of work and community engagement.<\/p>\n

Sheppard\u2019s journey began in Florida; he moved to Rochester as a child and discovered art through his father\u2019s creative gestures. <\/p>\n

“What got me started in art was when I was very young, I couldn\u2019t have been more than maybe 5 or 6 years old,” Sheppard recalled. “My father was in the army, in the Second World War army, and he came home on furlough. He took the bottom of his khaki pants, cut it off, and he made a little hat, a soda cap, and put it on my head, and he put an army insignia on it. So, that got my attention. The other thing that he did was draw a profile of a face. Then he made a little boat, he made a little flat boat, and he put a propeller in the back of the boat and used a rubber band for the propeller that would spin around. He put it on the water, and it floated across. When I saw that, the art experience started for me.”<\/p>\n

Teachers nurtured Sheppard\u2019s talents throughout his schooling, and mentor Rina McKinley-Stigawell encouraged him to pursue a broad liberal arts education before focusing solely on art. <\/p>\n

After a stint in the army and an initial pursuit of a history degree, Sheppard returned to Rochester and immersed himself in community art projects while studying at RIT. <\/p>\n

“I did a lot of sidewalk art shows while at RIT and ran some sidewalk art workshops,” he said. “They were storefronts that were converted into studios during that time.”<\/p>\n

After earning his master\u2019s, Sheppard\u2019s community work led to a position at the Memorial Art Gallery, where he developed programs for urban communities, including the city\u2019s first Black art show, \u201cExposure Four.\u201d He later accepted a full-time teaching role at RIT, a decision that shaped his legacy as an educator and artist.<\/p>\n

Now 85, Sheppard shows no signs of slowing down. <\/p>\n

“I believe in building communities and setting a good example. Then I think of somebody like Frederick Douglass, who set a good example. Living out the reality the best you can do is all that you get out of this. I\u2019m always learning, I\u2019m always gleaming. I\u2019m always rethinking, you know, the life that I\u2019m living. I believe in the higher realm of life.”<\/p>\n

Sheppard\u2019s admiration for Douglass extends beyond historical interest. He sees parallels between Douglass\u2019s faith and that of his own mother.<\/p>\n

“The amount of biblical knowledge he had and the way he used that as a weapon and as a vehicle for dealing with racism, I thought, was really amazing. When I read what he wrote back then, it would still be applicable today. And he spoke with conviction and truth. He was a walking bible for all intents and purposes. But my mother, who only had a fourth-grade education, was a student of the bible, and she became a minister, and I watched that. So, when I see people like Frederick Douglass and a person like her, that opened up a door of comprehension and understanding, revelation-wise that transcends the human argument. It says, \u201cI can\u201d in a whole different way beyond humanism and it\u2019s a belief system, you know, that has teeth. So, he\u2019s a person that demanded respect and he got it and it evolved way beyond the station of life. I see him being as potentate today as he was back then and so if I could say it, he would be more of, I look to him as a mentor, still. That spirit never gets old. That spirit never dies,” Sheppard said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his extensive influence, Sheppard said, “I do have a lot of people out there that I\u2019ve been blessed to work with, and I know that they would support me no matter what. I know that the life I shared with them has helped them. My expectation is that they will pass it on.”<\/p>\n

Sheppard\u2019s story stands as a testament to the power of art, education, and mentorship across generations. <\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more information about his artwork.<\/p>\n

RELATED: ‘In This Moment’ preserves the legacies of local Black leaders<\/a> | New observation deck honors Frederick Douglass at Rochester airport<\/a><\/p>\n

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